THE GREATEST ARTISTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: AN INVITATION TO YET ANOTHER SURVEY (July 6, 2000)
Who are the greatest artists of the Twentieth Century? I deplore such simplistic questions, which often pop up in the media in the last few years, but I still find the answers quite delightful and thought-provoking. The last such list I discovered came with the Tate Modern’s promotional literature, which boasts of the major artists in their collection: Dalí, Duchamp, Giacometti, Hepworth, Long, Matisse, Mondrian, Picasso, Pollock, Riley, Rothko, Warhol, and Whiteread. By implication, these are among the greatest artists of the century. Provoked by the Tate’s political lineup, I decided to make my own list. I was really eager to know what will come out of the exercise. To bolster my recollection, I opened one of the hefty encyclopedias of the Twentieth Century art and came up with the following artists: Beuys, Brancusi, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Malevich, Matisse, Mondrian, Picasso, Rodin, Turrell, and Warhol. Predictably, my next impulse was to conduct a survey among friends who receive my postcards, but I ultimately decided against it. Listing the greatest artists of the century is silly, I thought. Until today. I must admit that I am dying to know what my friends will come up with. And I hope they will let me know soon.