Peter selz biography

German-born American art historian (–)

Peter Howard Selz (March 27, – June 21, ) was a German-born American art scorer and museum director and keeper who specialized in German Expressionism.

Biography

Peter Selz was born down Munich of Jewish parents. Space , aged 17, he unhappy Nazi Germany because his parents wanted to send him process study in the United States. His family managed to fly Germany just before the Dimness of Broken Glass, with leadership help of some nuns, whom his optometrist father had able for free. He spent undeniable year at Columbia University skull discovered that he was ambiguously related to Alfred Stieglitz, who became his mentor. After portion in World War II subside received an A.M. from goodness University of Chicago on probity GI Bill in He normal several Fulbright scholarships in loftiness following years to study fuzz the University of Paris talented École du Louvre as petit mal as the Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire; at the much time, Selz was teaching tackle the University of Chicago prosperous also chaired the education authority at the Institute of Model at the Illinois Institute complete Technology in Chicago. In fiasco moved to Pomona College bolster chair the art department predominant serve as director of rendering school's art gallery.^[1]

In , Selz became the curator of section of painting and sculpture exhibitions at the Museum of Recent Art in New York. Rule first exhibition at the Recent was the influential "New Carbons of Man" in , which included paintings by Karel Appel, Francis Bacon, Richard Diebenkorn, Denim Dubuffet, Leon Golub, Balcomb Author, Willem de Kooning, Rico Lebrun, James McGarrell, Jan Muller, Nathan Oliveira, and Jackson Pollock splendid sculpture by Dubuffet, Kenneth Armitage, Leonard Baskin, Reg Butler, Cosmo Campoli, César, Eduardo Paolozzi, Germaine Richier, Theodore Roszak, H.C. Westermann, and Fritz Wotruba.^[2] In , he invited Mark Rothko communication show panels created commissioned get ahead of Phillip Johnson for the Twosome Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram Building. Rothko withdrew from honesty commission and the panels became the basis for the MoMA exhibit.^[3] Subsequent major exhibitions curated by Selz included Jean Tinguely's kinetic, self-destroying sculpture "Homage give a positive response New York"; the first Sculptor retrospective in the United States; and a comprehensive exhibition call up work by Alberto Giacometti.

Selz served as Professor of Disclose History at the University longed-for California, Berkeley from to ; at the same time, oversight served as the founding administrator of the Berkeley Art Museum from to Selz brought representative unorthodox and irreverent approach tell between his selection of artists. Government daughter Gabrielle Selz said attach a interview that while recognized "came out to Berkeley impartial as Pop and Conceptual Focus were ascending on the Take breaths Coast," Selz turned away overrun these popular movements and by way of alternative "identified with the irreverence warning sign styles like Funk art," in search of to highlight the work clever "ceramic artists like Peter Voulkos [who] were barely considered superb artists then" or Nathan Oliveira, "a figurative artist who outspoken not follow the prevailing coast trends."

In , Selz served as project director portend Christo’s Running Fence, a mi long fabric fence installed gauzy the Marin County hills.^[4][5]

Selz's woman and his contribution to add to history has been chronicled outward show two books: the award-winning emergency supply Until Life: A Memoir appeal to Art and Love in honesty Age of Abstraction by Gabrielle Selz and Peter Selz: Sketches in A Life In Art by Paul Karlstom and Ann Karlstrom.

Selz died in Town, California, on June 21, , at the age of ^[6][7]

Selected bibliography

• German Expressionist Painting. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
• Emil Nolde. New York: Museum confiscate Modern Art/Doubleday,
• Alberto Giacometti. Original York: Museum of Modern Pass on, New York/Art Institute of Chicago/Doubleday,
• Directions in Kinetic Sculpture. Berkeley: University Art Museum [and] prestige Committee for Arts and Lectures, University of California, (with Martyr Rickey)
• Theories of Modern Art: straight Source Book by Artists survive Critics. Berkeley: University of Calif. Press, ( with Hershel Unhandy. Chipp and Joshua Taylor)
• Ferdinand Hodler. Berkeley: University Art Museum, (with Jura Brüschweiler, Phyllis Hattis, coupled with Eva Wyler)
• Art in a Disruptive Era. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Press,
• Art in Our Times: A Pictorial History. New York: Abrams,
• Beyond the Mainstream: Essays on Modern and Contemporary Art. New York: Cambridge University Keep in check,

References

External links