James Robert Mellow (February 28, 1926 — November 22, 1997) was an American art critic and biographer. After starting his art career in the mid 1950s, Mellow primarily worked in editorial positions for ''

Arts Magazine ''Arts Magazine'' was a prominent monthly magazine devoted to fine art. It was established in 1926 and last published in 1992. History Early years Launched in 1926 and originally titled ''The Art Digest,'' it was printed semi-monthly from Octobe ...

'' and ''Industrial Design'' during the 1960s. As an art critic from the mid 1960s to mid 1970s, Mellow worked for ''

The New Leader ''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine. History ''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was ...

'', ''

Art International ''Art International'' known as ''Art International Magazine'', was an art journal based in Switzerland and issued 10 times per year. James A. Fitzsimmons was the magazine's chief editor and publisher. History and profile ''Art International'' ma ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Apart from art, Mellow became a biographer in 1974 when he released a biography on

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

. From 1980 to 1992, Mellow released further biographies on

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

and

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

, and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

. For his completed works, Mellow received a

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

nomination for ''Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein & Company''. When the National Book Award was replaced with the American Book Award, Mellow won the 1983 paperback autobiography/biography category for ''Nathaniel Hawthorne In His Times''. That year, Mellow also received a Guggenheim Fellowship. For his final publication, Mellow's biography on

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

was posthumously released in 1999 after Mellow died during the writing process.

Early life and education

Mellow was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on February 28, 1926. During the mid 1940s, Mellow was a member of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. For his post-secondary education, Mellow received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in 1950 from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Career

In 1955, Mellow began working at ''

'' in charge of their assembly process before being named

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

for the magazine in 1961. As an editor, Mellow worked for ''Industrial Design'' from 1965 to 1969. Outside of editing, Mellow was an art critic from 1965 to 1974. During this time period, he criticized for ''

'', ''

'', and ''

''. During his criticism career, Mellow received requests to pen a biography on

following an article he wrote for ''The New York Times''. In 1974, Mellow released his Stein biography titled ''Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein and Company''. In 1980, Mellow continued to write biographies with the publication of ''Nathaniel Hawthorne: In His Times''. Following his

book, Mellow focused on

and

for his 1984 publication ''Invented Lives: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald''. In 1992, Mellow released a biography on

titled ''Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences''. With his 1992 biography on Hemingway, Mellow finished his books about the

Lost Generation The Lost Generation was the social generational cohort in the Western world that was in early adulthood during World War I. "Lost" in this context refers to the "disoriented, wandering, directionless" spirit of many of the war's survivors in th ...

following his biographies on Stein and the Fitzgeralds. After his Hemingway biography, Mellow began writing a biography on

during the early 1990s. Before his death in 1997, Mellow wrote about Evans's life from 1903 to 1956 and planned out the end of his biography. When ''Walker Evans'' was posthumously published in 1999, it included Mellow's writings and a summary of Evans's lifetime from 1957 to 1975. Apart from biographies, Mellow was an editor on ''The Best in Arts'' in 1962 and ''New York: The Art World'' in 1964. He also released

monographs A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograp ...

Jim Dine Jim Dine (born June 16, 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American artist whose œuvre extends over sixty years. Dine’s work includes painting, drawing, printmaking (in many forms including lithographs, etchings, gravure, intaglio, woodcuts, l ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

during the early 1980s.

Writing style

Mellow opened each of his biographies with a turning point that happened in his subject's life. With his selected turning points, Mellow also linked the events to his subjects social surroundings. Throughout his works, Mellow incorporated various information about his biographical subjects including previous biographies and personal correspondence.

Awards and honors

In 1975, Mellow was nominated for the

in the biography category with ''Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein & Company''. While the National Book Award was replaced with the American Book Award during the 1980s, Mellow was nominated for the 1981 American Book Award in the hardcover autobiography/biography category for ''Nathaniel Hawthorne In His Times''. Years later, ''Nathaniel Hawthorne In His Times'' earned Mellow the 1983 American Book Award in the paperback autobiography/biography category. Mellow received a Guggenheim Fellowship in biography in 1983.

Death

On November 22, 1997, Mellow died in Rockport, Massachusetts from a heart attack and was survived by his partner, Augustin (Augie) Capaccio, his companion of 46 years.

References

External links

* James R. Mellow Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellow, James R. 1926 births 1997 deaths American magazine editors American art critics American biographers National Book Award winners Northwestern University alumni