Reading the Art World

• Megan Fontanella

  In the 40th episode of our "Reading the Art World" podcast, Megan Fox Kelly speaks with the Guggenheim's Megan Fontanella, Curator of Modern Art and Provenance, about her beautifully researched book "Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World," published by Guggenheim Museum Publications, distributed by Artbook DAP.Our conversation reveals the life and art of Gabriele Münter, a pioneering German Expressionist whose bold use of color and form helped define early modernism—yet whose place in art history has long been understated. Fontanella traces Münter's path from her early photographic work during travels in the United States (1898-1900) to her vibrant paintings that reimagined landscape, still life, and portraiture through radical simplification and expressive color.We discuss Münter's role as cofounder of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), the influential collective that included Vasily Kandinsky and other progressive artists who pushed the expressive potential of color and symbolic form. Fontanella shows how Münter developed her distinctive visual language—one that sought to "convey an essence" rather than imitate reality—offering a lyrical alternative to the pure abstraction that dominated much of early Modernism.One of the most compelling parts of our conversation addresses Münter's actions during World War II, when she hid major works by herself and other Blue Rider artists in the basement of her home in Murnau, Germany, protecting them from Nazi confiscation. This act of quiet courage preserved a vital chapter of modern art history. Fontanella reflects on how women artists of Münter's generation have been systematically undervalued, and how recent scholarship is finally restoring Münter to her place in the modernist canon.For anyone interested in German Expressionism, the recovery of women artists' legacies, or the collaborative networks that shaped the early 20th-century avant-garde, this episode offers essential insights into an artist whose vision continues to inspire—and whose work deserves far greater recognition.ABOUT THE AUTHORMegan Fontanella is Curator of Modern Art and Provenance at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She is recognized as an expert in provenance research with a focus on World War II spoliation issues. Fontanella graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in art history and received her MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, where she specialized in late 19th-century French art.ABOUT THE EXHIBITION"Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World" is on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, from November 7, 2025 through April 26, 2026. The exhibition presents over fifty paintings across three Tower galleries, alongside nineteen photographs Münter captured during her extended stay in the United States. Learn more here: https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/gabriele-munterPURCHASE THE BOOKhttps://www.guggenheimstore.org/gabriele-munter-contours-of-a-worldSUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWS:For more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market. They are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications.Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

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• Susan Davidson

  For the 39th episode of "Reading the Art World," host Megan Fox Kelly speaks with Susan Davidson, curator and art historian, about her landmark book "Tom Wesselmann: The Great American Nude," published by Gagosian and Almine Rech, in collaboration with the Estate of Tom Wesselmann. Distributed by Rizzoli International Publications, New York.This conversation reveals the unexpected story behind one of Pop Art's most iconic series. Wesselmann arrived in New York with no art training and couldn't paint like his heroes—a limitation that forced him to invent something entirely new. Davidson traces how he built his visual language from found materials: candy wrappers, magazine clippings, working radios, even a leaf from his soup at Trader Vic's. "The Great American Nude" series (1961-73) emerged from a dream of red, white, and blue and evolved across one hundred works that blur high and low culture, representation and real objects, art history and American consumerism. Davidson discusses Wesselmann's strategic placement of Matisse and Modigliani reproductions within his compositions—asserting his place in their lineage—while revealing the personal dimension often missed: these paintings were his sustained tribute to Claire, his wife and inspiration. Drawing on Wesselmann's pseudonymous memoir and extensive estate archives, she shows how an artist with limited natural facility built both a distinctive body of work and a lasting position in art history.Whether you're interested in Pop Art's origins, the 1960s cultural moment, or how limitation can drive innovation, this episode offers a fresh perspective on an artist who turned constraint into creative freedom.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Susan Davidson is an independent curator and scholar specializing in Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art, with particular expertise in Robert Rauschenberg's work. She served as Senior Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2002-2017), where she organized exhibitions including "Jackson Pollock: Exploring Alchemy" and "Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective." Previously, she was Collections Curator at The Menil Collection, Houston (1985-2002). Davidson holds advanced degrees in art history from the Courtauld Institute, London, and George Washington University.PURCHASE THE BOOK https://gagosianshop.com/products/tom-wesselmann-the-great-american-nude-monograph SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWS:For more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

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• Summer's Great Art Books

  Summer invites a different kind of attention — the kind that lets you sit with something longer, look more closely, and linger on a page. In this special episode of Reading the Art World, art advisor Megan Fox Kelly shares seven books that offer exactly that opportunity.From the extraordinary untold story of Rose Valland’s resistance during WWII to the vivid experimentation of David Hockney, these titles span photography, memoir, biography, painting, and art history. Several are also linked to museum exhibitions currently on view in New York, Paris, and San Sebastián — offering a chance to pair reading with looking if you’re traveling this season.This isn’t a list of books to toss in a beach bag — it’s a selection for the quieter moments of summer, when you can spend time with ideas that stay with you.EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:40 - My Must-Read List01:43 - “The Art Spy”02:24 - “David Hockney”03:02 - “Tina Barney: Family Ties”03:49 - “Vermeer’s Love Letters” 04:31 - “Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of '70s New York”05:05 - “The Slip”05:44 - “Irascible”PURCHASE THESE BOOKS“The Art Spy” by Michelle Young - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-art-spy-michelle-young?variant=43046200836130“David Hockney” by Norman Rosenthal - https://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/david-hockney-hardcover“Tina Barney: Family Ties” by Quentin Bajac, James Welling, Sarah Meister - https://aperture.org/books/tina-barney-family-ties/ “Vermeer’s Love Letters” by Robert Fucci - https://shop.frick.org/vermeers-love-letters “Do Something” by Guy Trebay - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550904/do-something-by-guy-trebay/ “The Slip” by Prudence Peiffer - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-slip-prudence-peiffer?variant=40991813337122 “Irascible” by Adrian Clark & Richard Calvocoressi - https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300282696/irascible/ SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWSFor more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

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• Ian Wardropper

  For the 37th episode of “Reading the Art World,” host Megan Fox Kelly speaks with Ian Wardropper, author and former director of The Frick Collection, about his illuminating new book “The Fricks Collect: An American Family and the Evolution of Taste in the Gilded Age,” published by The Frick Collection in association with Rizzoli Electa.Wardropper shares the fascinating story of Henry Clay Frick's evolution from a rough Pittsburgh businessman to one of America's most discerning collectors. Through careful research into the Frick archives, Wardropper shows how Frick spent his first twenty years collecting contemporary American art — learning to develop his eye and work with dealers — before making the leap to Old Master paintings at the highest level of the market.Our conversation reveals Frick's distinctive approach to collecting: his relentless focus on quality over quantity, his willingness to edit and refine his holdings, and his vision for creating harmonious environments where great paintings lived alongside exceptional decorative arts. Wardropper also brings to light the crucial role of Helen Clay Frick, whose strong opinions and different tastes shaped the collection's growth after her father's death, including her establishment of the world-renowned Frick Art Research Library.This episode provides essential insights for collectors, museum professionals, and anyone interested in how great collections are built and sustained across generations. Wardropper's deep understanding of both the Frick family's story and the institution's transformation offers a compelling look at American collecting at its finest.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ian Wardropper served as the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director of The Frick Collection for 14 years, leading the institution through its most transformative period, including the first comprehensive renovation in nearly 90 years and the innovative Frick Madison project. Previously, he held curatorial positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Chairman of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and at the Art Institute of Chicago for twenty years. A specialist in European decorative arts and sculpture, Wardropper oversaw ambitious exhibitions, a major capital campaign that raised $242 million, and pioneering digital initiatives including the acclaimed "Cocktails with a Curator" series. He holds a Ph.D. in art history from NYU and was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Minister of Culture.PURCHASE THE BOOK https://shop.frick.org/the-fricks-collect-an-american-family-and-the-evolution-of-taste-the-gilded-age-softcoverSUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWS:For more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

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• Sarah Roberts

  For the 36th episode of "Reading the Art World," host Megan Fox Kelly speaks with Sarah Roberts, curator of the landmark exhibition "Amy Sherald: American Sublime," and editor of the accompanying catalog published by Yale University Press in association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Roberts discusses Sherald's revolutionary portraiture approach — from her distinctive gray-scale skin tones that shift focus to her subjects' interior lives, to her deliberate use of clothing and settings as narrative devices. She shares insights on the "American sublime" concept in Sherald's work and her curatorial decisions integrating the iconic Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor portraits within the larger context of the artist's practice.This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in contemporary portraiture, the evolution of American figurative painting, and how art can challenge conventional narratives about representation and identity. Roberts' insights reveal why Sherald's quiet yet radical artistic vision offers a powerful reimagining of who deserves to be seen and celebrated in American art history.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sarah Roberts is Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Joan Mitchell Foundation where she oversees the Foundation's Artwork and Archival Collections and the Joan Mitchell Catalogue Raisonné project. Since 2004, she has served in progressive leadership roles in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the SFMOMA, and since 2020 as Andrew W. Mellon Curator and Head of Painting and Sculpture. A specialist in post-war American art, Roberts has organized significant exhibitions including major presentations of Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Frank Bowling, and co-curated the Joan Mitchell retrospective that traveled internationally. Roberts holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Brown University, and has contributed to numerous publications on contemporary art.ABOUT THE EXHIBITION"Amy Sherald: American Sublime" is now on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York through August 3, 2025, following its run at SFMOMA. The exhibition will travel to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. (September 19, 2025 – February 22, 2026).PURCHASE THE BOOK https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300279382/amy-sherald/ SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWS:For more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

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