Positive I.D - Letters - Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

It was amazing to receive my new issue of Artforum and find on page 149 a photo of Stanley Goodman by Stephen Shore [Portfolio, May 2003]. It was more amazing that Mr. Goodman's name was not even mentioned. Stanley Goodman was a modern-day Medici. He was chairman of the May Company in Saint Louis, president of the Saint Louis Symphony Society, the player of a Guarnius violin, and a recipient of the French Legion of Honor (visible in the photo) for all the work he did in promoting French fashion in the United States. I was fortunate to work for him as merchandise manager of women's fashions from 1961 to 1967, when he was president of Famous-Barr in Saint Louis (a division of May Co.). In fact, he gave me the courage to become an artist later in life.

Stephen Shore knew what he was doing when he photographed Goodman. I imagine the title Saint Louis, Missouri, 5/31/75 was Shore's way of saying that Stanley Goodman represented Saint Louis, Missouri. I do hope so.

Stephen Shore responds:

This photograph is indeed of Stanley Goodman. He commissioned me to make a portrait of him. When I went to title it for the Artforum portfolio, I found that my notes from the period were incomplete. I had the date of the photograph and remembered that it was in Saint Louis, but couldn't recall Goodman's name. I thank Mr. Krakower for refreshing my memory.

--Arthur J. Krakower Atherton, CA

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