Ezio Martinelli - The Most Important Mid-Century Sculptor - "At Large"
No artistic time-line pertaining to the “New York School of art” a seminal artistic movement synonymous with Abstract Expressionist painting would be complete without the inclusion of the (Marion) Willard Gallery. The contemporary Research Scholar, Dr. Maurice Berger in his recently published “Cultural Timeline” widely illustrates the many monumental contributions the Willard Gallery made to the art world throughout his definitive pictorial chronology. The other landmark galleries in the timeline include: The Samuel M. Kootz gallery; The Betty Parsons Gallery; Peggy Guggenheim’s, Art of This Century Gallery; The Sidney Janis Gallery; The Pierre Matisse Gallery; The Tibor de Nagy Gallery; The Leo Castelli Gallery; and the Karl Nierendorf Gallery – a veritable Who was Who of American Gallerist’s. During the apex of the mid-century modern art movement the Willard Gallery - along with the other galleries mentioned above - were amongst the most influential in the world.
The New York Times Wrote that Marian Willard “…was among the first Manhattan galleries to champion modern art and its roster of artists is a historical list, including Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, David Smith, Mark Tobey and Morris Graves.” Additionally, Dorothy C. Miller, former curator of collections at the Museum of Modern Art, stated that Marion Willard “just showed the work of artists she liked, and those she liked turned out to be important.''
Norman Lewis, a pivotal African-American Abstract Expressionist of the New York School who was represented by Willard once stated: “I have known him [Mark Tobey] about 20 years and this was a rich environment. I knew Richard Lippold, David Smith, a very talented guy who accidentally was killed in an automobile accident, and there is Ezio Martinelli. The artists were almost like a stable of horses, the artists that Marion [Willard] had…” Excerpt from the ORAL HISTORY Interview with the artist Norman Wilfred Lewis, INTERVIEWER: HENRI GHENT – Smithsonian Archives of American Art
According to the Willard Gallery records in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art there is a great deal of “correspondence documenting Marian Willard's founding in 1936 of the East River Gallery, later (1938) the Neumann-Willard Gallery; her introduction of rental art, an innovation in the American art trade, and gallery exhibitions of various artists. Considerable exhibition and critical material for artists regularly shown by the Gallery is included: Lyonel Feininger, David Smith, Loren MacIver, David Hayes, Mark Tobey, Ezio Martinelli and Louis Schanker.”
Additional artists attracted to the impressive Willard Gallery “stable” include Alexander Calder, Norman Lewis, Mark Rothko, Perle Fine, Richard Pousette-Dart, and others.
This law of attraction can be seen in the enduring relationship Willard Gallery had with the great American sculptor David Smith. In 1938 Marian Willard offered Smith his first solo exhibition at her East River Gallery. Subsequently, Willard went on to represent Smith for the next eighteen years. Clement Greenberg, one of the “most vocal, powerful, passionate, and influential art critics” of all time championed David Smith as "the greatest sculptor of the 20th century.” Today, Smith’s Sculptural works sell for tens of millions of dollars and hold the record for an American Sculptor selling at auction.
Like Smith, Ezio Martinelli was also offered his first solo exhibition at Marian Willard’s East River Gallery. Martinelli, a close friend and co-worker of David Smith’s (they worked at Sarah Lawrence College) was the only other sculptor on the venerable roster of artists represented by Willard Gallery to have a longer tenure than Smith’s. Ezio Martinelli was represented by Willard for over twenty years starting in 1946. Martinelli, along with the likes of other modernist luminaries such as Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, David Smith, Mark Tobey, and Norman Lewis, was among the very short list of the workhorse artists making up the “stable” of supreme talent “regularly shown by the Gallery.”
Of all the modern masters the Marion Willard Gallery championed on a regular, enduring basis, Ezio Martinelli is the only one from Willard’s core group of artists not to have undergone serious contemporary scholarly review.
Fortunately today, many of the forgotten avant-garde modern masters of American Art are experiencing a renaissance of favorable scholarly review, and widespread public appreciation. It has been said that the test of time reveals “the true measure of the worth of all creative people.” It is only fitting then that the time has come for the recognition of artists like Ezio Martinelli who paved the way to the milieu that Abstract Expressionism was to thrive in – a time in American art history having no precedent or sequel. Ezio Martinelli passed away in 1981 at the age of 68.
Submitted by: BENTON GALLERY