This oral history interview with Charles E. Heaney was conducted by Charles Digregorio at Heaney’s home in Portland, Oregon, on May 15 and May 22, 1978, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on May 15, 1978, Heaney discusses his interest in calligraphy. He talks about his early life in Portland, Oregon, about working for the Brandenburg Engraving Company, and about studying at the Museum Art School, now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He describes traveling in Eastern and Southern Oregon and in rural Nevada, and talks about how those areas influenced his paintings. He discusses his artistic process, talks about his friendship with Oregon artist C. S. Price, and reflects on what it means to be an artist. He speaks about his feelings regarding his early artwork.

In the second interview session, conducted on May 22, 1978, Heaney speaks further about his friendship with C. S. Price, and talks about Price’s life, his personality, and his career as an artist.