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

Book excerpt: "Marius de Zayas', "How, When and Why Modern Art Came to New York" compellingly describes de Zayas's seminal role in the first American avant-garde. As gallerist, publisher, artist, and theoretician, de Zayas assumed a commanding position at the crossroads of the transatlantic avant-garde. Long immersed in the study of this period, Francis Naumann has mid-wived a rich compendium of early twentieth century views of modernism; it is scrupulously illustrated, concretely inclusive, thoroughly and non obtrusively annotated and introduced. [This book] is an essential document for the study of a revolutionary era". -- Steven Watson, cultural historian, author of "Strange Bedfellows: The First American Avant-Garde" 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 late 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).