Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 2020–2021

The Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin publishes original scholarship on works in the museum’s collection, contributed by curators, conservators, and fellows, as well as art historians and specialists. This special double issue of the Bulletin celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Société Anonyme, Inc., with new research and a special focus on female artists and others who, in the past, have received less attention than some of their amply studied colleagues. Founded in 1920 by Katherine S. Dreier (1877–1952), Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), and Man Ray (1890–1976), the Société Anonyme set out to introduce modern art to the United States by amassing an important collection of objects that was shown across the country through a variety of innovative programs, exhibitions, and publications. Gifted to Yale University and entrusted to the care of the Gallery in two settlements, in 1941 and in 1953, much of the collection—which features works by some of the 20th century’s most renowned artists—now belongs to the museum. Spanning styles as varied as abstraction, Constructivism, Cubism, Dada, De Stijl, Expressionism, Futurism, Neoplasticism, and Surrealism, the Société Anonyme Collection is a distinctive testimony to artistic production in the first half of the 20th century due to both its depth and the variety of artists represented. The 12 articles in this issue showcase the exciting research that the collection continues to inspire, uniting both emerging and established scholars, from the United States and Europe, who vividly illustrate through their articles on movements, artists, and artworks the need to critically question and rewrite the discourse around modern art.