A creative legacy : a history of the National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artists' Fellowship Program, 1966-1995

264 Pages·2001·18.8 MB·English

by  Princenthal, Nancy

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"While no government can call a great artist or scholar into existence, it is neces-
sary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain not
only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination and inquiry, but also
the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent." The National
Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1 965, Section 951 (7)
Nothing exists in a vacuum. This is as true of art as of any other human activity.
From 1966 to 1995, artists, critics, museum and gallery directors, visual arts
enthusiasts, politicians, and a growing multitude of citizens from all walks of life
expressed their opinions-sometimes vociferously-concerning the pros and
cons of the Visual Artists' Fellowship Program administered by The National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
how
This book offers a fascinating history of that program told from the inside: it
began, how was structured, how evolved, and-above all-how those con-
it it
nected with the program strove for almost thirty years to fulfill their obligation to
provide the means for American artists of differing styles and forms of expression
to create art.
Here the reader will find not only a detailed account and chronology of the Visual
who
Artists' Fellowship Program, but also a specific mention of each individual
served on the staff, as well as the names and affiliations of all selection and policy
panelists. Finally, there is a complete listing of every artist who received a Visual
Fellowship from 1966 through 1995, with his or her geographical loca-
Artists'
tion at the time of the award, followed by the date, category, and amount of
each grant.
6,500 fellowships were awarded to some 5,000 artists in the disciplines
In total,
of painting, sculpture, crafts, works on paper, photography, printmaking, video,
performance art, installation work, artists books, and other visual art forms. The
100 colorplates and193 black-and-white illustrations offer a broad sampling of
work by a number of the artists who received these grants-including Jennifer
Bartlett, Dale Chihuly, Chuck Close, Mark di Suvero, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd,
Maya Bruce Nauman, Alice Neel, Nam June Paik, Susan Rothenberg,
Lin,
Edward Ruscha, Joel Shapiro, and H. C. Westermann, among others-but it is
the contribution made by the NEA's Visual Artists' Fellowship Program to the
work of the artists whose lives touched that resonates most eloquently as a
it
tribute to its ultimate goal.
293 illustrations, including 100 plates in full color

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
listory of
Visual Artists' Fellowship Program 1 966 - 1 995
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2012 with funding from
in
Member
Boston Library Consortium Libraries
http://archive.org/details/creativelegacyhi2001prin
A CREATIVE LEGACY
A THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
History of
Visual Artists' Fellowship Program 1 966 - 1 995
Introduction by BILL IVEY
NANCY PRINCENTHAL
Essayby
JENNIFER DOWLEY
Essayby
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers
in association with
«9
NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS
.
Editor: Adele Westbrook
Art Director: Eric Baker
Designer: Pooja Bakri, Eric Baker Design Associates
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Princenthal, Nancy.
A creative legacy: a history ofthe National EndowmentfortheArts
Visual Artists' Fellowship Program/introduction byWilliam Ivey; essay by
Nancy Princenthal, essay byJennifer Dowley.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-8109-4170-8
1 National Endowmentforthe Arts. Visual Artists' Fellowship Program-History.
2. Art-Scholarships, fellowships, etc.-United States. 3. Government aid to
the arts-United States. I. Dowley, Jennifer. II. Title.
N8838.P75 2001
707' .9'73-dc21
2001001355
Essaycopyright ©2001 Nancy Princenthal
Copyright ©2001 Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Published in 2001 by Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, New York
All rights reserved. No part ofthe contents ofthis bookmay
be reproduced withoutthewritten permission ofthe publisher
Printed and bound in Japan
1098 765432
1
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
100 Fifth Avenue
NewYork, N.Y. 10011
www.abramsbooks.com
Contents
Acknowledgments 6
Introduction by Bill Ivey 7
Essay by Nancy Princenthal 10
Color Plates 21
Essay by Jennifer Dowley 128
Chronology 133
Visual Arts Policy/Overview Panelists 152
NEA Chairmen, Visual Arts Directors, and Visual Arts Staff 156
Black-and-White Plates 159
National Recipients 208
Regional Recipients 240
Index 252
Acknowledgments
Work on this'book began in 1 996 after the U.S. Congress the significance of this effort and gave it its initial boost.
terminated Visual Artists Fellowships. With the approval of Jane Alexander, our Chairman at the time of its initiation, was
the National Council on the Arts, we began the long process of fully committed to its undertaking. In subsequent years,
assembling all the materials to create this document. In Scott Shanklin-Peterson, Senior Deputy Chairman and Karen
selecting the artists whose work was to be included in this book, Christensen, Deputy Chairman for Grants and Awards,
a review process that mirrored the Endowment's grant review provided me with the time and encouragement to see it through.
process took place. I sent out the complete list of 4,500 national Bill Ivey, NEA Chairman at the time of publication, supported the
fellowship recipients to fourteen museum curators/directors project through it's completion. Michael Faubion, Council
around the country and asked them to select one hundred artists Coordinator, was invaluable in researching the history of the pro-
whose work was significant in the development of American art. gram and assembling much of the data for this project. He had
We are most grateful to them for accepting this challenge. They been with the Visual Arts Program since 1 977 and participated
are: Amada Cruz (Bard College), Jim Demetrion (Hirshhorn in implementing the Fellowship Program in later years.
Museum and Sculpture Garden), Suzanne Ghez (Renaissance Each Director of the Visual Arts Program (Henry Geldzahler,
Society), Thelma Golden (Norton Family Foundation), Stephen Brian O'Doherty, James Melchert, Benny Andrews,
Gong (University Art Museum, Berkeley), Kathy Halbreich Richard Andrews, Susan Talbot, and Rosalyn Alter) is to be
(Walker Art Center), John Hanhardt (Guggenheim Museum), commended for his or her stewardship of the Fellowships
Peter Hassrick (independent), Karin Higa (Japanese American through many turbulent moments. Each maintained the priority
Historical Museum), Ruth Kohler (Kohler Art Center), Andrea of the fellowships within the Arts Endowment's overall agenda.
Miller-Keller (independent), Kenneth Trapp (Renwick Gallery), Arts Resources International, under the able direction of
Adam Weinberg (Addison Gallery), and Debra Willis-Kennedy Don Russell, performed heroically in assembling much of the
(Smithsonian). Their nominations were in turn reviewed and nar- material for this book. Don's dedication to the details of this proj-
rowed further by: Arthur Danto (arts writer), Hugh Davies ect stems from his extraordinary understanding of and commit-
(Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego), Merry Forresta ment to contemporary artists. My thanks go to Michael Brenson
(National Museum of American Art), and Ned Rifkin ( The Menil for developing an essay for this book that was subsequently
We
Collection). found this process of narrowing to be extremely expanded and published separately as a book entitled
difficult. This was a case of the quality of the whole being far Visionaries and Outcasts: The NEA, Congress, and the Place of
greater than the individual examples we were able to accommo- the Artist in America. His thoughtfulness and integrity inspired
date in our publication. Fortunately, the National Museum of my own commitment to this project long after left the Arts
I
American Art's archive, which we commissioned as a companion Endowment. Nancy Princenthal has written a most intelligent and
project to this one, is able to carry far more information than can fair minded essay that provides a coherent and lucid reading of
be contained in this book. the many-layered art world represented by the Fellowships
Program context in the development of American art within which
There are a number of people whose encouragement and sup- the Visual Artists, Fellows sit. Finally, I am grateful to M. Stroud
port were critical in the implementation of this publication. First, for providing me with time in a beautiful environment where was
I
there is Paul Gottlieb, former President, Publisher, and Editor-in- able to think, write, and assemble much of this project.
Chief, of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. He believed in this project as an
important contribution to American cultural life and out of
his respect for the work of the Visual Artists' Fellowship Program Jennifer Dowley
undertook its publication. Two of Abrams' editors worked with Director, Museums and VisualArts
me in sequence over the years to see that the book was shaped National Endowment for the Arts
properly: Margaret Kaplan and Adele Westbrook. At the Arts September 1994-June 1999
Endowment, several people saw to it that this project evolved March 2001
thoughtfully and with full support. Susan Clampitt, former Deputy
Chairman for Programs at the Arts Endowment, first recognized