2026.09.29
from irrelevant to irreverent, Philadelphia
Thomas Girst's 'Philadelphia' entry within The Duchamp Dictionary (2014) is, for the most part, highly irrelevant. Rather than starting with and further concentrating on Sylvester Stallone and his movie exploits, 'Philadelphia' should commence with, and remain on the topic of, Fiske Kimball and his exploits as Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1925-55). It was the tireless and dogged efforts of Kimball (along with his wife Marie who got along quite well with Louise Arensberg) that ultimately got Walter Arensberg to donate the Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It was then only after the Arensberg donation was official (December 27, 1950) that Marcel Duchamp became actively involved with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, even posthumously.
Among a great many other things, Kimball communicated with Duchamp in French, and personally accompanied Duchamp on the long and slow truck ride delivering The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even from Milford, Connecticut to the Philadelphia Museum of Art--Road Trip Too, Oddly, the movie. I wish.
Chapter 18 of Triumph on Fairmount: Fiske Kimball and The Philadelphia Museum of Art (1959) is entitled "The Arensbergs" and comprises a series of letters by Kimball that describe each of his visits with the Arensbergs in LA.
Entertaining anecdote from Triumph on Fairmount, p. 299:
The next day, Ingersoll was in the Arensberg galleries when Fiske came in with Perry Rathbone, the new director of the Boston Museum.
"This is the 'big glass,'" he said, pointing to a large shattered pane of glass decorated with oil paint and lead wire in abstract patterns, which was mounted on a stand in front of the window looking out on the courtyard. "Duchamp called it The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even." He laughed and went on in a loud voice to make several vulgar remarks.
"Fiske, you cannot talk like that here. Remember you are in a public place." "I'll talk as I please," said Fiske. "You aren't my boss any more."
Rathbone did not know what to make of this passage, for it was not until the following Tuesday, January 25, 1955 that Fiske's resignation was published.
Museum Studies 6.2: on any given January 19 go stand in front of The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even and laugh and make several vulgar remarks.
And speaking of vulgarities, perhaps The Duchamp Dictionary's greatest fault is its omission of an entry on 'irreverence'. And, again perhaps, I'll write that entry myself, but I'll cleverly disguise it as 'the elephant in the room'.
2025.09.29
at home
2024.09.29
reenacting the largest painting in the world
2018.09.29
a negative
2016.09.29
How to paint an architect 1983/1985
2001.09.29
New York City
Stephen Lauf Taken Literally 1993.03.16
1965.09.29
1965. Wednesday, Hanover
During their very short stay in the city, which Duchamp had visited so many years before [8.5.1929], Dr Schmied takes his guests for a tour in his Volkswagen, stopping to see the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, the Wilhelm Busch Museum, and the famous Herrenhäusen Gardens.
Before boarding the train to return to Paris, Duchamp also accords a televised interview to the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in the setting of the exhibition. When the interview is finished, Duchamp nonchalantly wanders across the room and suddenly stumbles: to everybody's amusement it is the Trebucbet [6.8.1960], which Schmied has fixed to the floor, that Duchamp has pretended to trip over.
Ephemerides
1952.09.29
1952. Monday, New York City
Duchamp dines with Monique Fong.
Ephemerides
1951.09.29
1951. Saturday, New York City
Duchamp receives a visit from Claudine and her friend from Washington, Monique Fong.
Ephemerides
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