Rodman, Selden, 1909-2002

Selden Rodman was born February 19, 1909, in New York City. He graduated from Yale College in 1931. In the 1930s, he helped found the journal Common Sense (1932-1946) with Alfred Bingham. During World War II, he served in the foreign nationalities section of the Office of Strategic Services. In 1944, the Haitian government produced his play, The Revolutionists, which lead to a later career as co-director for the Haitian Centre d'Art (1949-1951), promoting Haitian folk art internationally and initiating the famous mural painting movement. In the 1950s, Rodman served as president of the Haitian Art Center in New York City, wrote numerous books on contemporary American art, and befriended emerging artists and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Andrew Wyeth. He became an important champion of folk and figural art, writing a critique of American modernism in his book The Insiders (1960). Rodman toured Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, writing numerous travel guides and meeting important artists and writers like Pablo Neruda and Octavio Paz. He spent time in Haiti during the 1980s, continuing his role as informal ambassador for Haitian art and culture and returned to permanent residence in Oakland, New Jersey to live out his remaining years. Rodman published nearly forty books during his lifetime, including his own poetry and prose, art criticism, travel guides, memoirs, anthologies, and collections of interviews. He married Eunice Clark in 1933, Hilda Clausen in 1938, Maia Wojciechowska in 1950, and Carole Cleaver in 1962. Selden Rodman died November 2, 2002.

From the description of Selden Rodman papers, 1938-2000 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702166711

...