David Anfam (1955–2024), author of the catalogue raisonné Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas and former Senior Consulting Curator of the Clyfford Still Museum, was universally recognized as one of the preeminent scholars and curators of Abstract Expressionism. I first met him in 2014 during his preparation of Pollock’s Mural: Energy Made Visible. Our conversation turned to the work of Frederick Sommer, whose photographs were widely celebrated, though his paintings, drawings, collages, and musical scores had remained comparatively overlooked. That discussion prompted the inclusion of a Sommer painting in the exhibition and marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between us.

 

In 2016, Anfam and his co-curator, Edith Devaney, foregrounded the significance of photography within the Abstract Expressionist canon through their selections for the Royal Academy’s landmark exhibition Abstract Expressionism, to which I was honored to contribute several works. The exhibition received exceptional critical acclaim; the Financial Times described it as “the most pleasurable, provocative exhibition of American art in Britain this century.” Aaron Siskind, the sole photographer fully integrated into the Abstract Expressionist circle, occupied a central place in the presentation, alongside Frederick Sommer, Harry Callahan, Barbara Morgan, Herbert Matter, Hans Namuth, Gjon Mili, and Minor White, collectively affirming photography’s essential role in the movement’s visual and historical development.

 

Following the Royal Academy exhibition, David and I began outlining a project devoted specifically to Abstract Expressionist photography, reflecting his conviction that these artists offered indispensable, yet insufficiently examined, perspectives on the emergence of postwar abstraction. Although the exhibition remained unrealized due to competing obligations and his untimely passing, this focused yet abridged presentation at Art Basel Miami 2025, Pioneers of AbEx Photography, seeks to honor that original intent and to illuminate the foundational contributions of photography to the Abstract Expressionist movement.

 

This presentation serves as a tribute to David Anfam’s intellectual rigor, generosity of spirit, and unwavering commitment to expanding the understanding of Abstract Expressionism. His insights continue to shape the field, and his loss is deeply felt.

 

Bruce Silverstein, 2025