How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York

Book excerpt: Marius de Zayas (1880-1961), a Mexican artist and writer whose witty caricatures of New York's theater, dance, and social elite brought him to the attention of Alfred Stieglitz and his circle at "291," was among the most dedicated and effective propagandists of modern art during the early years of this century. His writings were the first to provide the American public with an intellectual basis upon which to understand and eventually appreciate the newest artistic developments. How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York, originally written in the 1940s, is a fascinating chronicle assembled from de Zayas's personal archive of photographs and from newspaper reviews of the exhibitions he discusses, beginning with those held at the Stieglitz gallery and including important shows mounted in his own galleries: the Modern Gallery (1915-1918) and the De Zayas Gallery (1919-1921)