1ayCb4S

unfairly be called the administrative aspect of
art, and she was undersecretary of a group
called the Giotto Circle. In mid-1955 she
managed things so that Clara, already admitted
as a member, was elected to the group's new
board of directors. This apparently trivial fact
deserves some comment. Marta had supported
her friend, yet the unquestionable if mysterious
truth is that the person who be-stows a favor is
somehow superior to the person who receives it.
Then, in 1960 or thereabout, two "worldrenowned
artists" (if we may be pardoned the
cliché) were competing for a single first prize.
One of the candidates, the older of the two, had
filled solemn canvases with portraits of blood
curdling gauchos as tall as Norsemen; his rival,
the merest youngster, had earned applause and
scandal through studied and unwavering
incoherence. The jurors, all past the half
century mark, feared being thought to be oldfashioned,
and so they were inclined to vote for
the younger man, whose work, in their heart of
hearts, they disliked. After stubborn debate
(carried on at first out of courtesy and toward