Carl Zigrosser

{{Short description|American art dealer and art historian}} {{Use American English|date=December 2018}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}} {{Infobox artist | name = Carl Zigrosser | image = Photo of Carl Zigrosser.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | other_names = | birth_date = {{birth date|1892|9|28|mf=y}} | birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana | death_date = {{death date and age|1975|11|26|1892|9|28|mf=y}} | death_place = Montagnola, Switzerland | education = Columbia University | field = Art historian | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | awards = | spouse = | partner = | website = }} '''Carl Zigrosser''' (1891–1975) was an American art dealer known for founding and running the New York [[Weyhe Gallery]] in the 1920s and 1930s,<ref>{{Cite book|title=American lithographers 1900-1960|last=Adams|first=Clinton|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|year=1983|isbn=0826306608|location=Albuquerque|pages=36}}</ref> and as Curator of Prints and Drawings at the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]] between 1940 and 1963. In the 1910s, he was active in New York's anarchist movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Antliff |first1=Allan |title=Carl Zigrosser and the Modern School: Nietzsche, Art, and Anarchism |journal=Archives of American Art Journal |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=16–23 |date=1994 |issn=0003-9853 |jstor=1557542 |df=mdy-all |doi=10.1086/aaa.34.4.1557542 |s2cid=194490043 }}</ref>

== Biography == Zigrosser was born in 1891 in [[Indianapolis]]. His father, Hugo Zigrosser emigrated from [[Austria-Hungary|Austria]] and worked as an architect. Carl Zigrosser graduated from [[Newark Academy]] in 1908 and earned a scholarship to [[Columbia University]], from which he graduated in 1911, [[Phi Beta Kappa]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Carl Zigrosser papers, circa 1891-1971|url=http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/ead/ead.html?q=zigrosser%20papers&id=EAD_upenn_rbml_MsColl6&|access-date=2021-10-10|website=dla.library.upenn.edu}}</ref>

In 1915, he began writing for ''The Modern School Magazine,'' a publication concerning key issues in libertarian education, and took over as editor in 1917.

He began his art career working for [[Frederick Keppel (art dealer)|Frederick Keppel]], a New York print dealer. "There he learned the art trade and met many famous collectors, literati, artists (most notably Rockwell Kent) and curators."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sorensen |first=Lee |last2=Crockett` |first2=Emily |title=Carl Zigrosser |url=https://arthistorians.info/zigrosserc |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=Dictionary of Art Historians}}</ref>

Zigrosser founded and ran the [[Weyhe Gallery]] in 1919, which he directed until 1940, and was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1939 and 1940.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation {{!}} Carl Zigrosser|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/carl-zigrosser/|access-date=2021-10-10|language=en-US}}</ref> The Dictionary of Art Historians notes that during his years with the Weyhe Gallery, he "helped establish many American artists. . . .He published ''Six Centuries of Prints'' in 1937 as a primer on graphics collecting to educate novices in the field. The book was a monumental success and raised Zigrosser's reputation as a print authority."<ref name="Sorensen">{{Cite web |last=Sorensen |first=Lee |last2=Crockett |first2=Emily |title=Carl Zigrosser |url=https://arthistorians.info/zigrosserc |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=Dictionary of Art Historians}}</ref> In 1969, he issued the catalogue raisonné of [[John Marin]] prints, ''The Complete Etchings of John Marin'', as the exhibition catalog for a show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is still considered the best study on Marin's prints.<ref name="Sorensen"/>

In 1940, Zigrosser was approached by [[Fiske Kimball]], who sought to hire him as curator of prints at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He accepted the position and moved to [[Philadelphia]]. During his curatorship, he was made vice director of the museum in 1955,<ref>{{Cite news|date=1975-11-27|title=Carl Zigrosser, Prints Curator At Philadelphia Museum, Dies|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/27/archives/carl-zigrosser-prints-curator-at-philadelphia-museum-dies.html|access-date=2021-10-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> served as vice-director of the [[Print Council of America]] and vice president of the Print Club of Philadelphia. In 1961, he received an honorary degree from [[Temple University]]. He was elected a trustee of the [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]].<ref name=":0" />

During his tenure, the museum's print department grew from about 15,000 objects to more than 100,000 works of art.

After retiring from the museum in 1963, he continued as Curator Emeritus at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After his retirement Zigrosser remained active in the artworld, serving as associate of the [[Whitney Museum of Art]] and exhibition organizer for the [[Museum of Modern Art]].

== Personal life == Zigrosser was married twice, first to Florence King, and second time to Laura Canadé, daughter of artist [[Vincent Canadé]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Portrait of Laura Canadé Zigrosser (1907-1997)|url=https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/74676|access-date=2021-10-10|website=philamuseum.org|language=en}}</ref>

On 26 November 1975, Zigrosser died in [[Montagnola|Montagnola, Switzerland]], where he had lived for the last three years of his life.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="The New York Times">{{cite web |title=Carl Zigrosser, Prints Curator At Philadelphia Museum, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/27/archives/carl-zigrosser-prints-curator-at-philadelphia-museum-dies.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=10 February 2023 |date=27 November 1975}}</ref>

== Works == * ''Rockwellkentiana'' (1933), with [[Rockwell Kent]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McMahon |first1=A. Philip |title=Review of Rockwellkentiana |journal=Parnassus |volume=5 |issue=5 |page=28 |date=1933 |doi=10.2307/771034 |issn=1543-6314 |jstor=771034 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> * ''Six Centuries of Fine Prints'' (1937)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McMahon |first1=A. Philip |title=Review of Six Centuries of Fine Prints |journal=Parnassus |volume=9 |issue=7 |pages=31–32 |date=1937 |doi=10.2307/771905 |issn=1543-6314 |jstor=771905 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=L. |first1=J. |title=Review of Six Centuries of Fine Prints |journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs |volume=73 |issue=427 |page=188 |date=1938 |issn=0951-0788 |jstor=867508 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> * ''Kaethe Kollwitz'' (1949), introduction<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Edith |title=Review of Kaethe Kollwitz |journal=The Burlington Magazine |volume=91 |issue=552 |pages=88–89 |date=1949 |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=870123 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> * ''The Expressionists: A Survey of Their Graphic Art'' (1957)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Selz |first1=Peter |title=Review of The Expressionists: A Survey of Their Graphic Art |journal=College Art Journal |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=436–437 |date=1958 |doi=10.2307/774166 |issn=1543-6322 |jstor=774166 |df=mdy-all |hdl=2027/mdp.39015006737541 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> * ''The Appeal of Prints'' (1970)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Jo |title=Review of The Appeal of Prints |journal=The Print Collector's Newsletter |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=18–19 |date=1971 |issn=0032-8537 |jstor=44130088 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> * ''American Prints in the [[Library of Congress]]: A Catalog of the Collection'', foreword (1970)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hitchings |first1=Sinclair H. |title=Review of American Prints in the Library of Congress |journal=The Print Collector's Newsletter |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=90–92 |date=1970 |issn=0032-8537 |jstor=44129159 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

== References == <references></references>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zigrosser, Carl}} [[Category:1891 births]] [[Category:1975 deaths]] [[Category:People from New York City]] [[Category:American art dealers]] [[Category:Ferrer Center and Colony]] [[Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni]] [[Category:People from Indianapolis]] [[Category:Newark Academy alumni]] [[Category:People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art]] [[Category:American curators]] [[Category:20th-century American people]]