Oral history interview with Louis Bunce

Collection

Identifier: SR9323

Staff Only

Oral history interview with Louis Bunce

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Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Louis Bunce was conducted by Charles Digregorio from June 1 to July 19, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's oral history program. The interview was conducted in two sessions. A portion of the audio on Tape 1, Side 2, is missing, but is included in a transcript.

In the first interview session, conducted on June 1, 1978, Bunce discusses his education at the Museum Art School in Portland, Oregon, now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He talks about his experiences during the Depression and his involvement with the Works Progress Administration. He talks about his influences; describes his work in the Portland shipyards during World War II; and shares his artistic process. He talks about his involvement in the Portland Center for Visual Arts; discusses some of his art exhibitions; and talks about working on a commission for the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California.

In the second interview session, conducted on July 19, 1978, Bunce reflects on his career as an artist. He talks about his art style and how it changed over the years. He revisits the topic of working on a commission for the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California. He also revisits the topics of his artistic process and art style. He closes the interview by talking about the art community in Portland.

Dates

Creation: 1978 June 1-July 19

Creator

Bunce, Louis, 1907-1983 (Interviewee, Person)
Digregorio, Charles (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Louis Bunce. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Louis DeMott Bunce was born in Lander, Wyoming, in 1907, and came with his family to Portland, Oregon, in 1920. He attended the Museum Art School in Portland, now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art. In 1927, he began attending the Arts Student League in New York. In 1939, he worked for the Works Progress Administration on the East Coast. He returned to Oregon a few years later and continued his work for the WPA as an art instructor in Salem. He worked in the Portland shipyards during World War II, and after the war’s end, he began teaching at the Museum Art School. He retired in 1972. He died in 1983.