The Private Eye in Public Art

Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz is a curator and public art consultant specializing in public art policy, contemporary art commissions for architecture and landscape projects, implementation of arts master plans, and integration of public art into the broader concepts of urban revitalization and cultural planning.

Artists listed:
Vito Acconci, Lita Albuquerque, Stephen Antonakos, Alice Aycock, Romare Bearden, Jonathan Borofsky, Daniel Buren, Alexander Calder, Mel Chin, Christo & Jeanne Claude, Agnes Denes, Niki De Saint Phalle, Mark Di Suvero, John Dowell, Jean Dubuffet, Lauren Ewing, Jackie Ferrara, R.M. Fischer, Charles Gaines, Andrew Ginzel and Kristin Jones, Maren Hassinger, Al Held, Jene Highstein, Doug Hollis, Nancy Holt, Robert Irwin, Jane Kaufman, Andre Kertesz, Joyce Kozloff, Robert Kushner, Fernand Leger, Sol LeWitt, Maya Lin, Donald Lipski, Winifred Lutz, Loren Madsen, Ray Metzker, Michaelangelo, Robert Morris, Michael Morrill, Mary Miss, Matt Mullican, Manuel Neri, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Tom Otterness, Giuseppe Penone, Jody Pinto, Jaume Plensa, Anne + Patrick Poirier, Martin Puryear, Man Ray, Charles Ross, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Lucas Samaras, Alan Saret, David Saunders, Judith Shea, Alexis Smith, David Smith, Kiki Smith, Tony Smith, Robert Smithson, Ned Smyth, Nancy Spero, Michelle Stuart, George Sugarman, Lenore Tawney, Jean Tinguely, Brian Tolle, Bernar Venet, David Von Schlegell, William Wegman, James Wines and Jack Youngerman.

The Private Eye in Public Art Artist feature: Mary Miss

19 Art Books That Spoke Volumes in 2023 including The Private Eye in Public Art

The Private Eye in Public Art is featured in Three Art Books for Your Winter Reading Pleasure—Art & Object

Rizzoli Hosts The Private Eye in Public Art Event with Author Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz

Book Trailer

BOOK BLURBS
Few people know more about public art in the United States, and fewer have done more than Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz to ensure great artists were given important opportunities to create around the nation.
– Anne Pasternak, Director, Brooklyn Museum

Joyce’s first completed public art project was my first completed public art project, for the San Francisco Airport – and there’s nothing like first love! What a great pleasure it was, working together back in 1983, figuring out the moves and cast of characters in challenging situations that were new to us. I was truly fortunate to embark on this adventure with the other Joyce, who shepherded me through, from beginning to end.
– Joyce Kozloff

The indefatigable Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, working as the Pace Gallery’s Director of Commissions, saw through from inception to conclusion some of the largest art commissions in the most expansive period of public sculpture.
– Arne Glimcher, Founder, Pace Gallery

The Godmother of Public Art, visionary arts consultant Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has been charting its course for more than seven decades. From her first foray into the field as Director of Public Commissions at Pace in the 1970s, to her monumental success with Brian Tolle’s Irish Hunger Memorial in 2002, Schwartz has been the vanguard, leading public art into the 21st Century. The Private Eye in Public Art offers valuable insight into the world of public art and is a must-read for arts administrators and artists who contemplate entering the public realm and for all aficionados of public art going forward. Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz doesn’t just give us a glimpse of her role in shaping the course of public art, she throws the door wide open and lets us understand what she did and why.
– Sandra Bloodworth, Director, MTA Arts & Design

Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has written an extensive and highly laudable book about public art – a book long missing from the field, a book for artists and workers and all interested. It covers the perils, challenges and successes she and others have dealt with for many years.
– Mary Beebe, Director, UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection

Looking backward and forward, Joyce P. Schwartz’s extraordinarily comprehensive and sumptuously produced account of public art and her substantial role in its creation and placement is a revelation. Her relentless energy and vision has enhanced public space and given an opportunity for sculpture to reach its broadest public.
– Patterson Sims, President of the Board, Independent Curators International

ADVANCE PRAISE
Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz has been a committed proponent of public art for decades, observing and engaging the field with deep insight and discerning judgment. There is no person who has a better overview of the most important and critically important works in this period and how public art has continuously evolved over the past 50 years.
– Gary Garrels, Curator and Art Historian

This book is a fine addition to the study of private initiative in favor of public art. Art lovers will enjoy this vibrant exploration of creativity in all kinds of public space.
– Dr. Guiliano Gori, The Gori Collection

Public art is not new. It is as old as art itself. But with the 20th-century dominance of museums and the commercial gallery market, it had been sleeping as a major pursuit for artists. Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz is one of the guiding lights of the generation that woke the field up and energized artists to get back into direct contact with audiences in public space. I cannot wait to read her account of this important contribution to our cities.
– Tom Finkelpearl, Former Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for New York City

The Private Eye in Public Art is an excellent survey of public art with detailed discussion of the aesthetic and intellectual impact of these public commissions. This survey is written from the viewpoint and extraordinary experience of one of the leading art consultants. This volume is an indispensable addition to any art library for reference or just the joy of looking at the beautiful photographs in a splendid overview. This book is highly recommended for all interested in our built environment and the art which makes it extraordinary.
– David Hanks, Art Advisor

Joyce’s passion for public art starts with her heart and head in the clouds but she brings the results to celebrate artists, people & art strongly on Mother Earth!
– Tsipi Ben Haim, Founder, Executive & Creative Director of CITYarts, Inc

I have known Joyce for a long time — since 1972, when there was a glass ceiling for working women — but not for Joyce. She joined the Pace Gallery as Director of Commissions, helping artists realize their works of public art — and cracked her way through that ceiling. When I founded ArtTable, the leadership organization for professional women in the visual arts, Joyce came aboard, and to this day she is a member of that team.
– Lila Harnett, Founder, ArtTable

Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz’s Resume

SKU: #91055
ISBN: 978-1-957183-15-2
Binding: Hardbound
Pages: 260pp
Publication Date: Spring 2023
Size: 9″ x 11″ portrait