Oral history interview with Ruth Esherick and Mansfield Bascom on Wharton Esherick, 1991 March 26

Collection Information

Size: 130 Pages, Transcript

Format: Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 40 min.

Summary: An interview of Ruth Esherick Bascom and Mansfield Bascom regarding Wharton Esherick, conducted 1991 March 26, by Marina Pacini, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.

Ruth Esherick Bascom and Mansfield Bascom speak about Wharton Esherick's family, his education, his "organic" life in Paoli, Pennsylvania, and his efforts to support himself through the sale of his paintings, furniture and sculpture. They discuss Esherick's work, its stylistic development, and changes in his prints and furniture, materials; clients such as the Hedgerow Theater, The Fischer family, Marjorie Content, Curtis Bok; Esherick's studio and his workshop; Esherick's relationship with Miriam Phillips and some of the clients she brought him; and contacts in New York City.

Biographical/Historical Note

Ruth Esherick Bascom (1922-2018), from Paoli, Pennsylvania, was the daughter of Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), who was a sculptor, painter, printmaker, and furniture maker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was married to Mansfield "Bob" Bascom (1923-2020), an architect and strucutral engineer. The Bascoms founded and maintained the Wharton Esherick Museum. She also worked in theater design.

Provenance

These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics anda others.

Language Note

English .

Funding

This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.