Riva Castleman (August 15, 1930 – September 4, 2014) was an American

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, art

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, and author who is credited with promoting the mediums of

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

and illustrated books as serious forms of fine art. From 1976–95 she was Director of the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Life and career

Born Esther Riva Castleman in Chicago, Castleman was the daughter of William Castleman and Ann Castleman (née Steinberg). Her father was a printer and progressive activist who shared his love for printing and art with his daughter; passions which informed Castleman's career. After studying art and art history at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and the New York University Institute of Fine Arts, she joined the staff at the

(MoMa) in New York as a cataloger. She later became the director of MoMa's department of prints and illustrated books in 1976, a post she held until her retirement in 1995. During Castleman's tenure at MoMa, she acquired many works by the world's leading printmakers, including Helen Frankenthaler,

Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. Indiana is mostly known for his iconic image LOVE which was first created in 1964 in the form of a card. India ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

, Larry Rivers,

Edward Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the anti- pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. He is also noted for creating s ...

, and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

among others. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that she "built the world’s pre-eminent collection of modern and contemporary prints". She also penned several books in relation to printmaking, including ''Contemporary Prints'' (1973), ''Prints of the 20th Century: A History'' (1976), ''American Impressions: Prints Since Pollock'' (1985), ''Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective'' (1987), and ''Tatyana Grosman: A Scrapbook'' (2008). The patronage schemes Castleman initiated for the print department were equally innovative. She founded Print Associates in 1975, a collectors’ group charged with helping to fund acquisitions and organize programmes for MoMA’s print department. Riva instituted endowments allocated to print acquisitions for MoMA, an initiative not previously undertaken by any curatorial department at the Museum. Both of these systems of support established by Castleman for MoMA’s print department have been adopted by other major museums. She died at the age of 84 in Bridgewater, Connecticut on September 4, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleman, Riva 1930 births 2014 deaths American art historians American art curators New York University Institute of Fine Arts alumni University of Iowa alumni American women art historians 21st-century American women American women curators