Frank OHara and MoMA: New York Poet, Global Curator
Matthew Holman
Aug 2025 · Bloomsbury Publishing
Ebook
240
Pages
About this ebook
This is the first book to closely examine the curatorial work that the celebrated poet Frank O'Hara (1926-1966) undertook for the Museum of Modern Art in New York and abroad.
Upon his premature death, the New York Times obituary ran with the headline: 'Frank O'Hara, 40, Museum Curator / Exhibitions Aide at Modern Art Dies Also a Poet'. However, in the half a century since, O'Hara's fascinating career as a curator, where he oversaw exhibitions of the likes of Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, David Smith, and Larry Rivers, among others, has been eclipsed by the critical attention given over to his poetry. Drawing on a broad range of unpublished archival material, the book reveals the impact O'Hara's curatorial work had both on the reception of American modern art abroad and on the curatorial profession itself.
It focuses on his travelling exhibitions for MoMA's International Program, a vehicle for soft power during the fraught years of the cultural Cold War, exposing him to new art, artists, and cities, while developing important transnational networks far from New York, from Madrid to Venice, Zagreb to Otterlo.
Bringing together close readings of O'Hara's poems and unpublished letters with a selection of archival illustrations, Holman argues for O'Hara's sense of exuberant continuity between life as a writer and a curator, an American and a cosmopolitan revealing that he was so much more besides the quintessential New York poet. It is perfect reading for anyone interested in American art in the mid-20th century, curatorial and museum studies, or simply this lesser known but fascinating aspect of the legendary poet's career.
Upon his premature death, the New York Times obituary ran with the headline: 'Frank O'Hara, 40, Museum Curator / Exhibitions Aide at Modern Art Dies Also a Poet'. However, in the half a century since, O'Hara's fascinating career as a curator, where he oversaw exhibitions of the likes of Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, David Smith, and Larry Rivers, among others, has been eclipsed by the critical attention given over to his poetry. Drawing on a broad range of unpublished archival material, the book reveals the impact O'Hara's curatorial work had both on the reception of American modern art abroad and on the curatorial profession itself.
It focuses on his travelling exhibitions for MoMA's International Program, a vehicle for soft power during the fraught years of the cultural Cold War, exposing him to new art, artists, and cities, while developing important transnational networks far from New York, from Madrid to Venice, Zagreb to Otterlo.
Bringing together close readings of O'Hara's poems and unpublished letters with a selection of archival illustrations, Holman argues for O'Hara's sense of exuberant continuity between life as a writer and a curator, an American and a cosmopolitan revealing that he was so much more besides the quintessential New York poet. It is perfect reading for anyone interested in American art in the mid-20th century, curatorial and museum studies, or simply this lesser known but fascinating aspect of the legendary poet's career.
This is the first book to closely examine the curatorial work that the celebrated poet Frank O'Hara (1926-1966) undertook for the Museum of Modern Art in New York and abroad.
Upon his premature death, the New York Times obituary ran with the headline: 'Frank O'Hara, 40, Museum Curator / Exhibiti...
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About the author
Matthew James Holman is Lecturer in English and Fine Arts at The University of Hertfordshire, UK. He has held research fellowships at The Courtauld, UK, Yale University, USA, the Smithsonian, USA, and the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies in Berlin, Germany.
Matthew James Holman is Lecturer in English and Fine Arts at The University of Hertfordshire, UK. He has held research fellowships at The Courtauld, UK, Yale University, USA, the Smithsonian, USA, and the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies in Berlin, Germany.
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