top of page

Just Passing Through: A Seven-Decade Roman Holiday: The Diaries and Photographs of Milton Gendel 

Hardcover – Nov. 8 2022

by Milton Gendel 

 

"Milton Gendel had the good fortune to have lived a wildly-entertaining life in Rome--a charmed, romantic period he captured in diaries and photos. Milton had the further good fortune to have Cullen Murphy bring this vanished dolce vita to life." --Graydon Carter, coeditor of Air Mail

A never-before-seen treasure trove of photos and diary entries from celebrated photographer Milton Gendel that bring Rome's midcentury heyday life.

"I'm just passing through," Milton Gendel liked to say whenever anybody asked him what he was doing in Rome. Even after seven decades in the Eternal City, from his arrival as a Fulbright Scholar in 1949 until his death in 2018 at the age of ninety-nine, he refused to be pigeonholed. He was always an American--never an "expat," never an émigré--but he also couldn't leave, so deep were his ties, and this dual bond left an indelible imprint on his life and art.

Born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents, Gendel first made his way to Meyer Schapiro's classroom at Columbia University, and from there to Greenwich Village, where he and his friend Robert Motherwell joined the circle of surrealists around Peggy Guggenheim and André Breton. But it was Rome that earned his enduring fascination--the city supplied him with endless outlets for his curiosity, a series of dazzling apartments in palazzi, the great loves of his life, and the scores of friendships that made his story inextricably part of the city's own, from its postwar impoverishment through the years of il boom, and well into the twenty-first century.

Gendel did much more than just pass through, instead becoming one of Rome's foremost documentarians. He spoke Italian fluently, worked for the industrialist Adriano Olivetti, and sampled the latest currents of Italian art as a correspondent for ARTnews. And he was an artist in his own right, capturing the lives of Sicilian peasants and British royals alike on film and showing his photographs at the Roman outpost of the Marlborough Gallery. Then there were his diaries, a casement window thrown open onto a who's who of artists, writers, and socialites sojourning in the city that remained, for Gendel, the Caput Mundi: Mark Rothko, Princess Margaret, Alexander Calder, Anaïs Nin, Gore Vidal, Martha Gellhorn, Muriel Spark. His longtime home on the Isola Tiberina was the nerve center of the dolce vita generation, whose comings and goings and doings he immortalized in both words and images.

Here, for the first time in print, are the diaries and photographs of Gendel, selected and edited by Cullen Murphy. Just Passing Through brings together the most striking artifacts of one of the past century's richest and most expansive lives, salted with wit and insight into the figures who defined an era.

Includes black-and-white photographs

Just Passing Through: A Seven-Decade Roman Holiday: The Diaries and Photographs

SKU: 9780374298593RAIN
C$47.00 Regular Price
C$39.99Sale Price

    Related Books

    Build Your Own Tiny House / Cabin Retreat: MareGold Centre's Workshop for Beginners in Nova Scotia

    I

    Ready to Build Your Dream Cabin? Let Us Guide You Every Step of the Way!

    Embark on your cabin-building journey with confidence through our private consultations and expert instruction. Whether you have an existing project or are starting from scratch, we are here to help you achieve your vision.

    What We Offer:

    • Personalized Consultations: Tailored guidance to align with your unique project ideas or help you initiate new ones.

    • Step-by-Step Instruction: We break down the entire process, making it straightforward and manageable.

    • Exclusive Cabin Tours: Gain inspiration and practical insights by touring existing cabins. Learn from what works and avoid common mistakes through our hands-on experience.

    • Overnight Stays: Experience the comfort and functionality of our cabins firsthand. Spend a night and discover the space that’s perfect for your build.

    Why Choose Us?

    • Save Time: Efficient and effective planning to streamline your project.

    • Build Confidence: Acquire the skills and knowledge to tackle your build with assurance.

    • Eliminate Uncertainty: No more wondering where to start. We provide clear direction and support.

    Get Started Today!

    Contact us to book your private tour, overnight stay, and beginner cabin building experience. Let’s turn your cabin dream into reality.  info@maregold.com. www.maregold.com

    bottom of page