From the New York Times: “’That’s my first sculpture,’ Alessandro, who became an artist, told Maia. Father and son created this elaborate sand castle in 1963 on the beach in Sperlonga, which has been a resort in southern Italy since the time of the emperor Tiberius.”
News of a previously undocumented sculptural collaboration between Allesandro and Cy Twombly would normally be the lead story. But, of course, it was documented, and it is the documentation that here deserves attention.
Tatiana Franchetti Twombly, Cy’s wife, took thousands of photos over sixty years, including this one, on a beach in Sperlonga in 1963. Alessandro’s daughter Maia found the negatives in the house where Tatiana died in 2010. She is putting on a show in Rome in June, and has published just a hundred in a book, Stella Honey, Cy’s pet name for Tatiana. There are 18 in the Times.
It’s early to tell, but we might want to prepare for another, “Wife of the Master Mural Painter Gleefully Dabbles in Art” situation our art historical future as more photos are released.
Cy Twombly, From Intimate Angles [nyt]
Stella Honey, photos by Tatiana Franchetti Twombly, edited by Maia Twombly, is also available in a slipcased special edition with a numbered print [reference-point.uk]