Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Now published in English for the first time, Weill’s fast-paced and punchy account of her gallery’s first 25 years of exhibitions is a who’s who of emerging artists in early-twentieth century Paris, the collectors who bought their work, and how much they paid. . . .She paints a clear portrait of how modern masters like Metzinger and Matisse, alongside lesser known painters like Émilie Charmy, shook up modern art and modern culture even before there was a market for their work." -- Maggie Taft * Booklist *
"The overall message of
Pow! is one of resistance in the face of an elitist, male-dominated art world." -- Alex Greenberger * ARTnews *
"This welcome publication, handily digestible in its trim size, includes a number of useful sections and contextual aids to shepherd the reader through the colourful and subjective reality of Weill’s Paris. . . . Written in French punny slang, and admirably translated by Rodarmor . . . one is reminded that translators have an important, and under-explored, role to play in current art market studies, introducing narratives and historical characters to wider, critical audiences, and thereby enabling an enriched pan-European and trans-Atlantic narrative. . . . What Weill was good at was making history, and
Pow! admirably demonstrates how." * Modernist Review *
"This is a charming, lovingly produced book that makes it clear that
despite the 'aesthetic revolution of eye-catching splendor' that defied
the ordinary, the fickleness of art, 'too subject to the whims of
speculation,' took years to make a dent in." * Enchanted Prose *
“
Pow! Right in the Eye! reveals the visionary trajectory of Berthe Weill’s life and work. Incredibly open to taking risks, Weill exhibited many of the twentieth century’s greatest artists while they were still early in their careers. This wonderful book is an urgent protest against forgetting this great gallerist and her journey of endless experimentation.” -- Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Galleries, London
“Berthe Weill changed the course of art history. With her memoir, a fantastically idiosyncratic and idiomatic adventure that is part confession and part invective, she rewrites that hallowed history as a telling corrective that anyone who cares about art, then and now, needs to read. Every twist and turn here reveals far more than simply an in-the-trenches account of the difficulties of presenting the young and new to an indifferent world—it is a stunningly humble self-portrait of the extreme disadvantages faced by an underprivileged Jewish woman confronting the issues of class, anti-Semitism, and sexism, as elegant and sturdy as Picasso’s famous portrait of her." -- Carlo McCormick, critic and curator
“Berthe Weill’s compelling memoir is a raucous and often humorous saga of a courageous champion of avant-garde art in Paris during the early twentieth century. The story of the first gallery dedicated to contemporary emerging artists—founded by a woman amidst a market-driven, all male art world—continues to resonate strongly to this day.” -- Paula Cooper, Paula Cooper Gallery
Table of ContentsForeword by Julie Saul and Lynn Gumpert
Translator’s Note: “Wrestling with Weill” by William Rodarmor
Introduction: “The Marvel of Montmartre” by Marianne Le Morvan
Pow! Right in the Eye! Thirty Years behind the Scenes of Modern French Painting
Appendix A: “Preface: First a Few Words . . .” by Paul Reboux
Appendix B: “Avant-propos” by Berthe Weill
Appendix C: “Dolikhos’s Beginnings” by Berthe Weill
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Glossary of Names
Notes
List of Contributors
Index
