While primarily known as a scholar of medieval and modern art, Meyer Schapiro was also interested in artists and art movements outside of these two genres. In this regard, Meyer Schapiro wrote about "naive painting" in the unpublished outline titled "Significance of modern naive painting" and his writing on this genre is as topical as […]
The Americans, Robert Frank, and Meyer Schapiro
In anticipation of this weeks exhibition opening of “Looking In: Robert Frank’s The Americans” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I thought it a good moment to shed light on Meyer Schapiro’s role in helping Robert Frank with that particular photographic project, “The Americans.” In the mid-1950s, Frank would travel throughout the United States to […]
Archival transfers and the resonance of ephemera
Archivists are very familiar with the transfer of archival material: from filing cabinet to box; box to truck; truck to repository; repository to archivist; archivist to process; process to description; and, finally, description to access. Electronic records follow the same general transfer, but, instead of a physical “filing cabinet,” there is the “file structure” of […]
On "records," papers," and "collection": a DACS case in point
As the project keeps progressing, one thing has become abundantly clear: the Meyer Schapiro archive encompasses much more than a traditional manuscript collection. While a significant potion of the archive is indeed Schapiro’s “papers,” it also houses other material such as audio-visual documents and a major collection of his own drawings, paintings, and sculptures. These […]
Technological advances and Stuart Davis’s postcards
Artist Stuart Davis used color and form to wise effect, forcing upon the canvas a vibrancy that at times jumps a painting’s support. Davis was a painter influenced by the burgeoning jazz scene, and he sought to portray the canvas as a field of forms that mirrored the syncopation of jazz rhythm while also reflecting […]
Meyer Schapiro Portraits by Alice Neel
Artist Alice Neel painted portraits of Meyer Schapiro twice in his life, once in 1947 and the other in 1983. Known for her expressionistic renderings of her subjects, Neel’s portraits sustain a deep gravitas towards the subject depicted. The portraits can be viewed on Alice Neel’s website. Neel’s 1983 portrait of Schapiro is part of […]
Preserving lipstick (and its traces)
I recently wrote about a note in the archive from Frida Kahlo to Meyer Schapiro that includes traces of Kahlo’s lipstick. As an archivist, this naturally brought me to think about the preservation of the medium itself. I turned to Elizabeth Homberger, Assistant Conservator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles […]
The Schapiro Wing, the Brooklyn Museum, and the clandestine facade
I recently made my monthly trip to the fantastic and inspiring Brooklyn Museum. (Their first free Saturdays are packed with great live performances, music, and other special events.) I’ve walked the galleries frequently before, but did not really catch on to the fact that there is a Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing. Needless to […]
A portrait of Sam
The Watts Towers exemplify how the vision of an artist can transform the built environment while creating a world of its own. The art environment was created by the Italian Sabato (Simon / “Sam”) Rodia at his home in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and includes the iconic two towers, a gazebo, walkways, and […]
Frida Kahlo: Lipstick Traces
Frida Kahlo‘s imagery is as mythic as her life and, without question, she remains a haunting figure in the art historical canon. Kahlo’s personal relationship with the artist Diego Rivera and the turmoil she experienced with physical and medical issues all compound to make her life story a truly evocative one. In all her posthumous […]