After pondering his paintings and ephemeral works for years, I thought I knew about all there was to know about Marcel Duchamp. Evidently not. The American artist-writer-curator Donald Shambroom has written a breezy but minutely detailed book, published by David Zwirner on the 50th anniversary of Duchamp's death, entitled Duchamp's Last Day. It provides insightful supplementary information by focusing on the last day and death of arguably the most influential artist of the 20th century.
On October 1, 1968, Duchamp died at age 81, quietly and unexpectedly — as if by chance. A half-century after altering art forever with his subversive urinal readymade “Fountain” (1917), he passed away in the company of bathroom fixtures in his salle de bains at the Neuilly-sur-Seine home he shared with Teeny (Alexina Sattler), his wife since 1954. After moving Marcel to the bedroom with the help of Duchamp's nephew, a doctor, Teeny called Man Ray and asked him to come right over. He did so with his elaborate camera equipment and the very last, long-lost photograph of Duchamp, “Marcel Duchamp on His Deathbed” (1968) was taken. Reproduced for the first time here with the permission of The Getty Research Institute, it is a highlight of the book.
Read Full Article »