How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York

Marius de Zayas (1880-1961), a Mexican artist and writer whose witty caricatures ofNew York's theater, dance, and social elite brought him to the attention of Alfred Stieglitz and hiscircle at "291," was among the most dedicated and effective propagandists of modern art during theearly years of this century. How, When, and Why Modern Art Came to New York, originally written inthe late 1940s, is a fascinating chronicle assembled from de Zayas's personal archive of photographsand from newspaper reviews of the exhibitions he discusses, beginning with those held at theStieglitz gallery and including important shows mounted in his own galleries.An appendix added bythe editor provides detailed information on the various exhibitions. Additional appendixes containtranscriptions of the de Zayas and Stieglitz correspondence, as well as an account of de Zayas'sunique relationship with Picasso, a Spaniard with whom he felt a special kinship and whose work hewould be among the first in America to promote and defend.