Rubin, William 1927–2006

(William Stanley Rubin)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 11, 1927, in New York, NY; died January 22, 2006, in Pound Ridge, NY. Art historian, museum curator, educator, and author. Rubin was an influential curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art. His interest in art stretched back to his time as a teenager at the Fieldstone School in New York City, where he was influenced by Victor D'Amico. D'Amico was director of education at the Museum of Modern Art at the time, and Rubin helped him on some projects at the museum. Rubin then enrolled at Columbia University. His education was interrupted by military service in Europe, but then he returned to complete an A.B. in 1949. This was followed by a master's degree in 1952 and a doctorate in 1959. His bachelor's degree was in Italian literature and language, but he contemplated a music career for a while, studying the subject at the University of Paris for a year. Next, he returned to Columbia for graduate studies in history before a class in medieval art persuaded him to return to his original passion. During the 1950s and much of the 1960s, Rubin taught art history at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as being a professor at the graduate school at the City University of New York from 1960 to 1968. It was at Sarah Lawrence that he became friends with Alfred Barr, director at the Museum of Modern Art at the time. Barr got Rubin involved with organizing small exhibitions, which eventually led to his taking the job as chief curator of painting and sculpture in 1968. The department Rubin led was the most prominent at the museum, and he soon became a dominant figure there. In 1973 he was made director of painting and sculpture, a post he held until 1988. During this time, he did much to acquire new modern works of art, including those by such prominent painters as Picasso, Miró, Cézanne, Matisse, and others, while removing some works he felt were less important. He also defined his division's emphasis on the historical narrative of modernism. While he was sometimes criticized for his evident ego, Rubin was also recognized for doing much to improve the museum's collection, especially after the Museum was expanded in 1984. In his last years, however, he was also chastised for some of his exhibitions, such as one featuring Oceanic and African art that critics felt did not adequately relate the pieces within their cultural context. In his final years at the Museum, Rubin became more and more critical of what he felt was a lack of the museum's interest in acquiring new works. He resigned in 1988. Afterwards, though, he continued to organize exhibitions on occasion; he was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 1979, and an Officer in 1991, for his services to the art world. As a scholar, Rubin was also noted for his many books on art and art history. Among these are Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage (1968), Anthony Caro (1975), and Picasso and Braque: A Symposium (1992), as well as a number of edited and coauthored titles.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, January 27, 2006, section 3, p. 7.

Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2006, p. B11.

New York Times, January 24, 2006, p. A19.

Times (London, England), January 27, 2006, p. 68.

Washington Post, January 25, 2006, p. B5.