Art historian David Anfam, Abstract Expressionism scholar, dies at 69

David Anfam, the prominent art historian known for his expertise in Abstract Expressionism, has died. He authored the 1990 book 'Abstract Expressionism' for Thames and Hudson and produced the 1998 Jackson Pollock catalogue raisonné. Anfam served as senior consulting curator at Denver's Clyfford Still Museum and co-curated the 2016 Royal Academy of Arts Abstract Expressionism survey in London. His exhibition work included Bill Viola's 'Ocean Without a Shore' at the 2007 Venice Biennale in the Church of San Gallo and 'Jackson Pollock's Mural: Energy Made Visible' at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in 2015. During the 2016 Knoedler Fraud Trial, he testified that forged paperwork falsely claimed he authenticated a Pollock painting he had never seen. In 2022, Anfam strongly criticized the National Gallery Washington's postponement of a Philip Guston exhibition, telling Artlyst that museums should 'be bold' and 'stick to your guns' rather than back down. He argued that museums face greater peril than ever and sometimes require speaking out rather than restraint. Anfam's scholarship included monographs on Joan Mitchell, Edward Hopper, and Franz Kline.