Spellbound by Marcel: Duchamp, Love, and Art

In 1913, Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase exploded through the American art world. Two years later, he followed the painting to New York, enchanting the Arensberg salon and changing art forever. The apartment at 33 West 67th Street was a hub of artistic activity, with artists and poets meeting nightly to discuss their work. Duchamp, Henri-Pierre Roché, and Beatrice Wood were all in love with each other, and their diaries provide an intimate picture of the events of those years. Roché became the author of Jules and Jim, and Beatrice became a celebrated ceramicist. Duchamp fell into chess-playing obscurity until his Fountain was elected the twentieth century's most influential artwork.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 18 August 2022
Publisher: Pegasus Books

Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, painted in 1913, shook up the American art scene. Two years later, he brought the painting to New York, enchanting the Arensberg salon and forever changing art. In 1915, a group of French artists fled Europe for New York, pushing the boundaries of art and life. The Arensberg apartment at 33 West 67th Street became a hub for artists and poets, with Marcel Duchamp at the center. His exhibit of a urinal, Fountain, briefly shocked the art world before falling into obscurity. Many people, including Henri-Pierre Roché and Beatrice Wood, were in love with Duchamp. Both kept daily diaries, offering contrasting views of their love affair and the events of the time. Spellbound by Marcel follows Duchamp, Roché, and Beatrice as they navigate the twentieth century. Roché became the author of Jules and Jim, a classic film by François Truffaut. Beatrice became a celebrated ceramicist. Duchamp fell into chess-playing obscurity until his second fame as Fountain was elected the twentieth century's masterpiece.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 161 x 239 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781643138619