David Anthony Neil Anfam (12 May 1955 – 21 August 2024) was an English art historian, author and curator, best known for his voluminous writings onabstract expressionism.[1] He was the senior consulting curator forThe Clyfford Still Museum inDenver, Colorado, and the director of its research center.[2][3]
David Anthony Neil Anfam was born in London on 12 May 1955, one of seven siblings.[4] His father was a major fan ofAmerican culture, so Anfam was "brought up on a diet ofFrank Sinatra,jazz,film noir,Hemingway, silk suits,Betty Crocker cake mix andbig-finned cars" during his childhood. According to Anfam, this led to his interest inabstract expressionism.[5]
Anfam attended theCourtauld Institute of Art in London, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Art History and then earned his PhD in 1984 for his dissertation aboutClyfford Still, which was written under the mentorship ofJohn Golding.[6][7]
His first book,Abstract Expressionism, was published in 1990 byThames & Hudson.[5][6]
Anfam was the author of the 1998catalogue raisonné on the work ofMark Rothko,Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas, which was published byYale University Press.[8] It featured over 830 known paintings by Rothko, 400 of which were previously unrecognized or rarely recognized, as well as a 100-page introduction. His publication won the Mitchell Prize for the History of Art in 2000 and contextualized Rothko's work, life, and influences.[6] CriticJohn Russell called the volume, which took ten years to research and compile, as "a book for all seasons".[9] In 2009, Anfam contributed a catalogue raisonné forAnish Kapoor that was published byPhaidon Press. Anfam worked for the company as Commissioning Editor from 2004 to 2012.[6]
Anfam also contributed numerous articles to theArt Newspaper and reviewed books and exhibitions for that publication.[10]
Anfam wrote catalogue essays for many artists, includingWayne Thiebaud,Willem de Kooning,Arshile Gorky,Philip Guston,Edward Hopper,Franz Kline,Lee Krasner,Joan Mitchell,Jackson Pollock,Larry Poons,Richard Pousette-Dart,Robert Rauschenberg andAd Reinhardt.[6]
Anfam held a position at theRoyal Academy of Arts. Anfam's scholarly contributions molded the understanding and appreciation of theNew York School.[9]
Anfam curatedBill Viola'sOcean Without a Shore at the52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, in theChurch of San Gallo,[11] and at the56th Venice Biennale in 2015Jackson Pollock'sMural: Energy Made Visible at thePeggy Guggenheim Collection at thePalazzo Venier dei Leoni.[12] In 2016 he co-curated (with Edith Devaney) the survey exhibitionAbstract Expressionism at theRoyal Academy of Arts in London.[13] TheFinancial Times called it "The most pleasurable, provocative exhibition of American art in Britain this century."[9] Between 2019 and 2020, he curated the exhibitionLynda Benglis: In the Realm of the Senses inAthens.[6]
Anfam was in a relationship with Frederick Bearman until the latter man's death in 2016.[4] Anfam died in London on 21 August 2024, at the age of 69.[4][7]
