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The Making of an American Sculptor: David Smith Criticism, 1938-1971

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The Making of an American Sculptor: David Smith Criticism, 1938-1971 THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN SCULPTOR: DAVID SMITH CRITICISM, 1938-1971 MEGHAN LEIA BISSONNETTE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ART HISTORY AND VISUAL CULTURE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO August 2014 © Meghan Leia Bissonnette, 2014 Abstract At the time of his death in 1965 at the age of 59, American sculptor David Smith was widely recognized as one of the greatest sculptors of his generation. By then, he had been honoured with a mid-career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and had represented the United States at Documenta and major biennales at Venice (on two occasions) and São Paolo. Countless studies have analyzed Smith’s career and artistic development, but very little has been written on the published criticism of his work or its larger impact on our understanding of this artist. In this dissertation I examine the historiographic reception of his sculpture from 1938, the year of his first solo exhibition, until 1971 when Rosalind Krauss published Terminal Iron Works, the first monograph on Smith. I trace this reception from the early focus on Smith’s biography and working methods (the biographical paradigm), to the later interest in formal analysis (the formalist paradigm). I further analyze this criticism in the context of artistic developments in the 1940s and 1950s, namely Abstract Expressionist painting and sculpture. In the process, I draw out common themes, tropes and narratives that appear in the criticism on Smith and the Abstract Expressionists. To do so, I engage in a close textual analysis of the exhibition reviews, magazine and newspaper articles, and catalogue essays published during this period. I demonstrate that this reception is culturally, socially, and ideologically informed. References to Smith’s biography, working methods, materials, and exceptionalism all point to the aims, desires and interests of the writers, but also to the influence of social and cultural factors. Ultimately, I intend to provide a revisionist history of Smith’s work that draws out the mythology that this reception contributed ii to—a mythology that continues to shape our understanding of mid-twentieth-century American art. iii Acknowledgments I have a number of individuals to thank for the final version of this dissertation —without them this study may have been completed, but it wouldn’t be the product that it turned out to be. First and foremost my deepest gratitude goes to my supervisor Dan Adler, whose encouragement, feedback, and advice throughout this process had a significant impact on the overall strength of this project. Our discussions of modern art and writing will stay with me; he also helped me to see the larger impact of my project at times when I felt overwhelmed by minor details. I’m equally grateful to my committee members Sarah Parsons and Carol Zemel; both contributed valuable feedback that shaped this study. Sarah Parsons’ encouragement to look at photography and the narratives underlining Smith’s reception was invaluable. And this project would not have happened had it not been for Carol Zemel’s support from the very beginning, along with her thorough critique at each step of the way. At my defense, Paula Wisotzki provided invaluable feedback that could only come from someone with an intimate knowledge of the literature on David Smith. Professors Janet Jones and Brandon Vickerd’s suggestions and critiques have given me much to think about as I develop this research for future projects. I am immensely appreciative of the assistance I received during my research trips to New York and Washington D.C. At the David Smith Estate, Susan Cooke provided access to the David Smith Papers at the Archives of American Art, and Allyn Shepard was helpful during my time researching the clippings files there. The staff at the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art libraries were very accommodating. At the Archives of American Art, I’m grateful to Marisa Bourgoin who was very patient with my many requests for materials over iv the course of the three weeks I was there. I’d also like to extend a special thanks to my friend Arpi Kovacs who introduced me to the rich collections at the National Gallery of Art while I was in Washington D.C. I received several sources of funding that enabled me to finish this dissertation in a timely manner. In the early stages of my PhD, my research was generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada with a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. A Fieldwork Cost Fund grant from York University provided much needed funding to do research in New York and Washington D.C. I am also indebted to the Graduate Program in Art History for a W. Lawrence Heisey Award in Fine Arts. Lastly these remarks wouldn’t be complete without the acknowledgment of my family. Their unconditional support for my work has gotten me through the most difficult times of this degree. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction: Biography Versus Formalism in David Smith Criticism, 1938-1971 ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER TWO: The Artist as Labourer: David Smith and the Biographical Paradigm 26 David Smith’s Biography: 1906 - 1950s .......................................................................... 28 The Reviews ...................................................................................................................... 36 The Early Focus on Smith’s Working Methods ................................................... 37 William Valentiner and Cultural Nationalism ...................................................... 48 Smith’s Reception and Modern Technology ........................................................ 55 Biography and the Frontier Myth ......................................................................... 58 The Biographical Paradigm and the Popular Press ............................................... 61 The Fields of David Smith .................................................................................... 64 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 66 CHAPTER THREE: “Drawings-in-Air”: David Smith and the Formalist Impulse ........... 68 David Smith’s Biography: 1950s - 1965 .......................................................................... 70 Formalist Criticism in the Twentieth Century .................................................................. 72 The Formalist Paradigm ................................................................................................... 77 CHAPTER FOUR: The Irascibles: David Smith and Abstract Expressionism ................. 108 David Smith and Abstract Expressionism ...................................................................... 112 The Critical Reception of Painting and Sculpture in Mid-Century America .................. 121 Understanding and Categorizing the New American Painting ........................... 122 Establishing an American Avant-Garde ............................................................. 130 Mythologizing the Movement ............................................................................. 138 Consolidating the Movement (of Painters) ......................................................... 144 CHAPTER FIVE: Biomorphism and Baroque Excesses: David Smith and Abstract Expressionist Sculpture ........................................................................................................... 150 Overview of American Modern Sculpture, c. 1930-1960 ............................................... 151 The Erasure of Post-war Abstract Expressionist Sculpture ............................................ 166 Reassessment .................................................................................................................. 181 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 184 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 187 vi Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 200 Appendix A: Figures ................................................................................................................... 213 vii List of Figures Fig. 1. David Smith, 1962. Photograph by Ugo Mulas. Fig. 2. David Smith at his studio in Terminal Iron Works, Brooklyn, New York, c. 1937. Photographer unknown. Fig. 3. Smith welding Torso, 1936,
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