Acknowledgments

I thank Scott Mahler for his good will and his commitment to this book at every stage of its preparation and Ira Livingston for his critical suggestions. I'm grateful to Hilton Kramer for publishing my first essay on art, "Morandi of Bologna," and several subsequent essays; he has been generous, open-minded, and patient. Wendy Lesser has been supportive, and her editorial judgment has helped me to refine some of the material in the book. Over the years, in letters and conversation, I've discussed most of the questions raised in these essays with Richard Pevear. Our friendship has given shape to what I say here.

The following essays appeared in The New Criterion: "Modern Instances: The Macchiaioli," "Morandi of Bologna," "Killing Moonlight: The Futurists," "Out of Eden: On Alberto Giacometti," "Notes on Photography," and "Matisse's Broken Circle." The following essays first appeared in Threepenny Review: "The Americans," "Miscellany II," and the sections in "Other Americans" devoted to Julian Schnabel and the Starns. "Miscellany I" and the section on Gregory Gillespie in "Other Americans" first appeared in Epoch; that on Jerome Witkin first appeared in Arts . "Francis Bacon and the Fortunes of Poetry" was first published in Pequod . "Not a Beautiful Picture: On Robert Frank" first appeared in Tri-Quarterly, a publication of Northwestern University.