David Anfam, Historian Who Rewrote Summary Expressionism, Dies at 69

David Anfam, an artwork historian and curator whose scholarship on Summary Expressionism added new chapters to the motion’s historical past, died in London on Wednesday, sources near him advised ARTnews. He was 69.

Anfam’s rigorous, in-depth research on Summary Expressionism have been roundly praised. His 1998 catalogue raisonné of Mark Rothko’s work, a 1,000-page tome that critic John Russell as soon as labeled “a e book for all seasons,” is a core textual content for students of the motion. His 2016 Summary Expressionism survey for London’s Royal Academy of Arts was known as “essentially the most pleasurable, provocative exhibition of American artwork in Britain this century” by the Monetary Instances’s Jackie Wullschläger.

And his writings, Anfam revealed the multitudes of Clyfford Nonetheless’s grand abstractions, beforehand unseen sides of Jackson Pollock’s work, and turned mainstream audiences onto the worth of Summary Expressionism, with a 1990 e book on it for Thames & Hudson’s “World of Artwork” sequence now in its second version.

“With out wishing to disclaim the depth and breadth of Cubism, Surrealism or, later, Pop Artwork, some would say that Ab Ex at the very least matches and arguably even exceeds their intricacy and variety,” Anfam as soon as stated in an interview for the Royal Academy. “This alone makes Ab Ex totally different from what had come earlier than. It included most of these earlier issues – after which some.”

Most significantly, even when a few of this scholarship was meant for readers who have been well-versed in artwork historical past entering into, his writing remained unfussy and simply accessible. Jargon, he as soon as stated, was “unreadable writing.”

All of the whereas, Anfam curated exhibits for a various array of artists, from Lynda Benglis to Invoice Viola, the video artist whose work Anfam shoed in a church through the 2007 Venice Biennale.

David Anfam was born in London in 1955. He recalled that though his dad and mom weren’t themselves knowledgable about artwork, they checked out books about it from the library. From a younger age, he acquainted himself with books printed by Phaidon and Skira, absorbing all this artwork historical past whereas he was battling bouts of bronchitis. By the point he was 15, he’d decided that he needed to be an artwork historian.

He attended London’s storied Courtauld Institute of Artwork, first as an undergraduate, then as a PhD candidate, learning beneath the artwork historian John Golding. Anfam elected to put in writing his dissertation on Nonetheless, an artist admired for his work resembling torn wallpaper and feared for his chilly demeanor. Anfam by no means succeeded in assembly his idol, however his analysis linked him with others whose data of Summary Expressionism ran deep.

Regardless of having proved his value by the point he acquired his diploma in 1984, he initially didn’t make a profession within the subject of artwork historical past. As a substitute, he took a part-time job driving Volvos from the manufacturing unit to the individuals who purchased them. Unusually for an artwork historian of his stature, he continued to talk about this job, itemizing it alongside his numerous educating positions on his LinkedIn. “Massive enjoyable driving fancy vehicles at excessive speeds everywhere in the UK… and by no means having a thought in my head,” he wrote.

However others within the subject of artwork continued to consider in him, and Nikos Stangos, an editor at Thames & Hudson commissioned him to do the Summary Expressionism e book. Then, in 1989, he started work on the Rothko catalogue raisonné, a undertaking that lasted almost a full decade. “If there’s one enterprise I take with absolute lethal seriousness, it’s each phrase dedicated to the web page,” he advised critic John Yau.

Anfam continued to commit himself to Nonetheless, serving as a senior consulting curator to the Clyfford Nonetheless Museum in Denver and main that establishment’s analysis heart. “In impact, Nonetheless’s been a sleeping large of the 20th century — now, I hope, totally awoken,” Anfam advised Hyperallergic in 2013, two years after the museum opened.

Along with writing books and essays for establishments and galleries, Anfam additionally contributed to artwork publications similar to Artforum and the Artwork Newspaper.

He was not shy about espousing controversial opinions. When the Nationwide Gallery of Artwork in Washington, D.C., delayed a Philip Guston in 2020, fearing that viewers may misunderstand the artist’s portray of Klansmen, Anfam was among the many many who spoke out in opposition to the choice, calling it “stunning.”

In an interview with Artlyst about that postponement, Anfam stated, “Don’t again down. Be daring. Follow your weapons.”

Daniel Cassady contributed reporting.