Morris Hirshfield at Stanford
/Before the holidays, I saw the fascinating exhibit Morris Hirshfield Rediscovered at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford. Hirshfield (b.1872, d. 1946) immigrated from Russian Poland to New York and made a living in the garment trade. He took up painting at 65 and was included in the landmark 1942 surrealist exhibit First Papers of Surrealism.
Richard Meyer, the Robert and Ruth Helprin Professor of Art History at Stanford did an amazing job reconstructing the life and career of this long-forgotten artist. The exhibit includes early fashion (shoes and patterns), animals, nudes, religious paintings, and surrealist masters. One gallery is devoted to work originally shown in the First Papers of Surrealism exhibit. Another large display uses photos and string to show elements in Hirshfield’s secular nudes echoing themes and layouts in Jewish religious art.
