Synopses & Reviews
He was extraordinarily successful at acquiring for the collection such monuments of modern art as Pollock's One: Number 31, 1950 and Picasso's 1914 sheet-metal Guitar. The exhibitions he mounted as Chief Curator and later Director of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum--among them the unprecedented Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective--set a standard of curatorial excellence. A Curator's Quest is the story of the professional life of a pioneering curator who built the Modern's unparalleled collection, and a history of MoMA itself during that key period. For anyone interested in the history and world of modern art, in connoisseurship and collecting, and in art scholarship in general, A Curator's Quest is at once an indispensable addition to the history of modern art and a testament to William Rubin's life and achievements--is truly a publishing event.
Synopsis
A brilliant curator, critic, collector, and teacher, Bill Rubin was tenacious, energetic, and extraordinarily successful at acquiring masterpieces of modern painting and sculpture and mounting such exhibitions as the fabled Picasso: A Retrospective during his tenure as Head of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA.
Synopsis
The distinguished curator, critic, collector, art historian, and teacher William Rubin was a forceful presence for over two decades at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from the late 1960s through the 1980s.
About the Author
William Rubin (1927-2006) taught at Sarah Lawrence College and NYU before joining MoMA in 1976 as curator. He was director of the Department of Painting and Sculpture from 1973- 1988, an editor for Art International, and a collector of contemporary art including works by the Abstract Impressionists and Frank Stella. His major exhibitions for MoMA include 'Picasso: A Retrospective' (1980), 'Primitivism in 20th Century Art' (1984), and 'Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism' (1989).