Obituaries

Pietro Consagra, 85, Italian sculptor, died in his sleep July 16 in Milan. A prominent figure in the postwar Italian art scene, Consagra was a co-founder, along with Piero Dorazio, Carla Accardi and others, of the Forma group; their 1947 manifesto insisted that "the terms Marxism and formalism are not irreconcilable." Working initially in welded bronze, iron and steel, and later in marble and wood, Consagra created thin abstract reliefs (many of them meant to be viewed from two sides) that involve eroded planes and glyphlike forms. In recent decades, he became interested in public art and executed numerous large-scale commissions around Europe. He was awarded the sculpture prize at the 1960 Venice Biennale and was given a retrospective by Italy's National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome in 1989. Among the museums that own his work are New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.--R.R.

Jesse Reichek, 89, painter, died July 25 in Petaluma, Calif. He became known in the 1950s for his boldly colored geometric abstractions, which he continued to produce throughout his career. But beginning in the '70s, his works were inspired by his study of such sources as the I Ching, the "Song of Songs," and the Kabbalah, which sometimes prompted a painting for each line of text. His "I Ching" series contains 64 9-by-6-foot paintings. More recently, he was also intrigued by various myths about creation, mortality and death. Though not trained as an architect, Reichek was hired to teach in the department of architecture and city and regional planning in the college of environmental design at UC Berkeley from 1953 to 1986. In 1982, he and artist James Prestini established the Creators Equity Foundation in Berkeley, which awards grants to struggling young artists. From the '50s until 1970, he showed regularly with Betty Parsons in New York. He had a solo show at the L.A. County Museum in 1971, and a year-long retrospective of his work, comprising some 2,000 paintings displayed on a rotating basis, is now on view at the Marin French Cheese Factory in Petaluma [through Aug. 16, 2006].

John Montias, 76, Vermeer scholar, died on July 26 from complications of melanoma in Branford, Conn. Born in Paris and trained as an economist, he was part of the Annales school of economics and history, which incorporated the social sciences into historical study. Beginning in the mid-'70s, he applied this method to his study of Vermeer, using common documents such as notes, letters, receipts and legal papers to investigate the artist's life. His pioneering method changed the field of art history. His research was an important source for Tracy Chevalier's novel Girl With a Pearl Earring. In 1989, he published Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, in which he revealed new information, such as that Vermeer fathered 13 children and died destitute at 43. Other publications include Artists, Dealers, Consumers: On the Social World of Art (1994), Public and Private Spaces: Works of Art in 17th-Century Dutch Houses (with John Loughman, 2000), and Art at Auction in 17th-Century Amsterdam (2003).

Brett Kebble, a flamboyant South African mining magnate, philanthropist and patron of the visual arts, was shot dead in his Mercedes-Benz as he drove alone through an upscale Johannesburg neighborhood the night of Sept. 27. The murder is under investigation as of press time. Kebble supported charitable food programs and "black empowerment" initiatives. He was an active member of the ruling African National Congress party, which was sometimes accused of protecting his interests. He had recently resigned under fire as executive officer of three interlinked mining companies.

He was, at the same time, a vital force in the South African art world. A collector of contemporary works, Kebble was one of a very few wealthy South Africans helping to keep the country's cash-strapped art market afloat. In 2003, he established the annual Brett Kebble Art Awards, offering to South African winners a purse of around $90,000. The third round of awards is scheduled to proceed as planned. An exhibition is slated for February 2006 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, with artist Jeff Koons selecting the winners.--F.H.

William Bartman, 58, founder and executive director of Art Resources Transfer (A.R.T.), died on Sept. 15 in New York. A memorial service will be held on Nov. 5 at Friends Meeting House, 15 Rutherford Place (Stuyvesant Square), N.Y.C., at 2 P.M. A full obituary will appear in the December issue.

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