“The history of masterpieces has become largely synonymous with the history of art itself.”– Walter Cahn, Masterpieces (Princeton UP, 1979), xvii. To better understand past artworlds, we might investigate once-popular and collected artists who have largely disappeared from art history. While scholars are recapturing careers of women artists and artists of color, the list of once-popular artists lost to history is vast. Uncovering their careers can provide rich maps of period tastes.
Art dealer Berthe Weill, for example, in her autobiography lists many artists she supported, once colleagues of Picasso and the Fauves, but faded from art history, their art now largely unsold at auctions. Exploring such artists’ careers could map patterns of the dissemination and marketability of styles across historical periods. Panelists may explore markets of artists who have faded from art history from any period or country on these suggested, but not limited to, topics:
• What were markets for such artists during their lifetimes?
• Who were their patrons or who commissioned their works?
• Where did they exhibit?
• What were contemporary comments/criticisms of their work?
• What style(s) did they adopt and/or transform?
• How did their work reflect disseminations of styles when they were active?
• Where are their works now?
• What is the current market, if any, for their works?
• What are their works’ auction histories?
• Have these artists been subjects of scholarly or curatorial investigations?
• For artists’ lives already studied, what more can be investigated about their markets?
• Are there explanations for artists’ changing current or historic profiles?
Chair: Julie Codell, Arizona State University
For addional information, visit: https://caa.confex.com/caa/2027/webprogrampreliminary/Session17957.html
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