Mr. Modern Art: Colorful life of Peter Selz

By Marlene Rissman

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Marlene Rissman
Marlene Rissman

LA JOLLA, California — The large room at the Lawrence Family JCC was filled to capacity with eager listeners Thursday morning, Nov. 13,  when Gabrielle Selz stepped in front of the audience. Her warmth and charm were evident from the outset, and the tapestry of her story rich with texture and color.

Unstill Life comes from the depths of Gabrielle Selz’ heart and memories, as she shares her struggles and joys growing up in the outrageous, almost frenzied life of the art world that flourished in the mid 20th century. A world where there was little room and even less time for children.

Her book paints an honest and very colorful picture of the life of her father Peter, art critic and historian, and passionate chief curator of New York’s Museum of Modern Art from the late 1950’s to the mid 60’s. He was dubbed Mr. Modern Art by the New York Times.

The talk opened with an 8-minute film made by the author and her father three years ago. In it Peter Selz spoke of memorable moments in his past, commented on the state of the art world today, and expressed his belief that art deals with the human condition. The author read sections of the book, sharing words and phrases that flowed smoothly and well, words that painted a vibrant picture of her life and family.

Peter Selz embodied change and movement, both in his professional and personal lives. An enthusiastic supporter of modern art and new artists, he wrote about and exhibited their work. But in his personal life, this love of change and movement took him into five marriages, even though the love affair with Gabrielle’s mother never ended.

The narrative follows Peter from pre WW II Munich, where his passion for art emerged, to New York where he came to remake his life after German law forbade Jews from going to school or work, and where Peter finished high school.

The New York art world of the 1950’s and 1960’s was ablaze with life and open to taking risks, which suited Peter well. Gabrielle’s mother also fell in love with New York. It was, however, not so welcoming a place for young children. Both Gabriella and her sister Tanya lacked a close family life, woven together by attentive parents. Gabrielle says that for her father, art left no room in his life for children. Peter came alive when coming face to face with a piece of art, in a way he didn’t when connecting to people. So she strove to connect to her father through art.

The morning talk closed with a short Q and A in which Selz was open and welcoming, sharing some personal details of her current life.

Selz was moved to write this memoir after finding old tapes in a trunk belonging to her mother. What her next book will be about is still a mystery, but it will most probably have art at is core.

She has written for several publications including the New York Times and the New Yorker, and she currently writes on art for the Huffington Post. Her father Peter is now 95 years old and lives in San Francisco.  Unstill Life: A Daughter’s Memoir of Art and Love in the Age of Abstraction was published by W. W. Norton & Co.

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Rissman is a freelance writer with strong interests in Judaism and the arts.