Painting Gender, Constructing Theory: The Alfred Stieglitz Circle and American Formalist Aesthetics

Description

pp. xi, (2), 369, b/w and color illustrations, “This is perhaps the breakthrough gender studies book in the arena of American art history. While initially off-putting and puzzling, with its amorphous critique of early theoretical formalism, Brennan’s text coalesces into a powerful study. Topics include special gender-based investigations of the aesthetics of intimacy, humorous and playfully intended sexuality, and the “sexually unsettled” aspects of paintings. The artists discussed include Stieglitz himself, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, and Thomas Hart Benton, as well as several critics. Whether one agrees with her conclusions, Brennan (formerly art history, Brown Univ. and the Coll. of the Holy Cross) speaks with authority, and the reader will find insights throughout the text. The volume requires close reading and draws on the most recent publications on a given artist.”