Masterpieces of American Modernism: From the Vilcek Collection May 2013

This magnificent book presents the works of the Vilcek Collection, an unparalleled private collection of American Modernist art. Jan and Marica Vilcek acquired their first American Modernist work in 2001, and have since assembled an amazing collection of masterworks representative of a crucial moment in the history of American art. Art historian Lewis Kachur explores almost 100 rarely seen paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by more than 20 leading artists active during the first half of the last century, while William C. Agee contributes an authoritative introduction. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Masterpieces of American Modernism offers an outstanding overview of the radical shift in art that this movement represents. The book includes an essay by William C. Agee, entries on each work by Lewis Kachur, and an illustrated timeline that explores the connections between New York and New Mexico.

One of the most admirable (and unusual) aspects of the Vilcek Collection is that the Vilceks assembled it with little outside assistance or professional help. They felt able to do so not only because of Marica Vilcek’s training as an art historian, but also because of her work at the Metropolitan Museum, where she had spent many years researching works of art on her own. I feel privileged, however, to have played a role in the choice of quite a few of the more important objects in Jan and Marica’s collection; as a fellow art historian, i found working with them a great pleasure, even in our most challenging moments. The Vilceks insist upon giving me full credit, for example, for persuading them to reunite three important Stuart Davis still lifes from 1922 (pages 182-87). Shortly after they had acquired Davis’s Still Life with Dial, an iconic work, I discovered two other Davis still lifes from the same year and of the same size. At first, the Vilceks were reluctant to purchase them, doubting the merits of owning three such closely related paintings. But with a good deal of argument I managed to persuade them otherwise, and today they agree that the three paintings are not only highly complimentary, but also very fine when hung together as related works.