Jeffrey K. Smith - Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists

Jeffrey K. Smith, PhD , is professor and dean of the College of Education at the University of Otago in New Zealand. From 1976 to 2005, he was a professor at Rutgers University. He has also served as head of the Office of Research and Evaluation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1987 to 2005. He received the Rudolph Arnheim Award from the American Psychological Association and the Gustav Fechner Award from the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics for his research on the psychology of aesthetics. He received his AB from Princeton University and his PhD from the University of Chicago.

Published by Rowman & Littlefield
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com

6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom

Copyright 2020 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Smith, Jeffrey K., author.

Title: Scoundrels, cads, and other great artists / Jeffrey K. Smith.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists introduces people to great art by showing the more salacious side of the personal lives of great artists. The book not only tells the stories of nine artists, but explores how to look at art and the separation between art and artist. This lively narrative is enhanced by over 100 full-color imagesProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020011083 (print) | LCCN 2020011084 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538126776 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538126783 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ArtistsBiographyAnecdotes. | Deviant behaviorAnecdotes. | Art appreciation.

Classification: LCC N7460 .S647 2020 (print) | LCC N7460 (ebook) | DDC 700.92/2 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011083

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011084

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Scoundrels, Cads and Other Great Artists is dedicated to my brothers, Timothy D. Smith, Gregory P. Smith, and Kevin H. Smith.

I am immensely proud of all youve accomplished in your lives and of your wonderful families. To Tim and Greg, I forgive you for tying me to my play pen along with my stuffed bears when I was two, and to Kevin, I apologize for throwing that hose nozzle through your lower lip when we were six and four. Sorry about that.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists , and the people I acknoweldge here are responsible for a major portion of that enjoyment. First, Rowman & Littlefield is a great publisher to work with. Charles Harmon has been immensely supportive and encouraging throughout this project, and I truly appreciate his efforts. He is a great editor and supporter of art and cultural institutions. Thank you, Charles. Erinn Slanina was a pleasure to work with, and the look of the book is testament to her creativity, skill, and attention to detail. I wrote Scoundrels while on sabbatical leave from the University of Otago; I greatly appreciate the support given to me by the University, particularly Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tony Ballantyne.

My wonderful research assistant, Fiona Stuart, helped with editing, reference checking, permissions finding, and reminding me of things that Id forgotten. She remained a consistent source of good cheer even during the sixth time I rearranged the chapters. Eveyone needs a Fiona, and I am most fortunate to have her assistance. David Bell is my comrade-in-arms at Otago on all things aesthetic, and it was he who put me on to Tsukioka Yoshitoshi () as a scoundrel worthy of inclusion here. His advice is always sage, and he provided ample amounts of it graciously. My colleague and dear friend, Ana Lipnevich, read every chapter and provided great feedback and encouragement. She also lent me some of her amazing enthusiasm when mine occasionally waned. My collaborator on aesthetic research, Pablo Tinio, was an excellent sounding board for ideas and provided feedback on individual chapters. His positivity is always infectious. Thank you to Fiona, David, Ana, and Pablo.

My family has supported me in all my endeavors. They read drafts, ask me how the work is going, and are sincerely happy for me when a work is published. To my son, Benjamin Smith and his wife, Andrea; daughter Leah Smith; step-daughter Kaitlin Bishop and her husband, Ben; I hope you enjoy the final version of Scoundrels . Lord knows youve been hearing about it for long enough. And to my wonderful granddaughters, Daria, Olenna, Gwendolyn, and Elodie, I smile just thinking of you, and I hope that when you are old enough to read this, you will enjoy it as well.

I thank all of my friends at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I spent eighteen wonderful years researching how people used the museum and how they looked at art. I also thank my museum friends at other institutions and my colleagues in the field of the psychology of aesthetics, in particular, Professor Paul Locher. Thank you to great teachers who taught me about writing, the arts, and life: Dr. Beth Newman, Norman Linton, Richard Hart, and Larry Bowers.

As this book is intended for a wide audience, I asked for help in responding to drafts of chapters from a number of my friends both inside and out of academe who were not specialists in art or aesthetics. Their assistance was absolutely invaluable. I thank Judy and Ian Tucker, Laura Link, Brian Brownell, Jeff Sisco, Tom Berg, C. John Tarter, Danelle Radel, Tom Guskey, Kristin Nielsen, Nicola Beatson, Jonathan Plucker, Loic Tallon, Larry Sorensen, Franklin Turner, David Berg, Linda and Clive Doubleday, and Betty and Bob Melville. And I particularly would like to acknowledge Paula Mullins, who not only provided incredibly helpful feedback on the book but farm fresh eggs as well. I thank her and the chickens. I truly hope I havent forgotten anyone.

I go through life with the best partner imaginable, my wife, Lisa. She is always willing to tell me, You are the most wonderful person in the world, and this is really good. But that isnt. Every chapter in this book is better because Lisa read it first. And every aspect of my life is better because she is in it.

Have you ever stood next to a couple in an art museum who were speaking in hushed tones with arched eyebrows and wondered if they were discussing the deepest of meanings of the work of art under consideration while you were contemplaing how the artist made that water look so wet? If so, Ive written a book for you.

Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists portrays the lives of nine great artistseight of whom were also reprehensible human beingsexploring their amazing artistic creations simultaneously with their often appalling personal behavior. This book is for people who are nervous that they arent doing art right. It is for everyone who has felt inadequate, inexperienced, or incompetent when looking at what they understood to be a masterpiece. Scoundrels blends art history and connoisseurship with exposs of lewd, lascivious, and frankly, outrageous behavior. And, even if you are not afflicted with a sense of aesthetic inadequacy, you might still enjoy learning about the nefarious activities and artistic achievements of a group of fascinating artists.