Robert Seydel, photographer, artist and poet was a beloved professor of art at Hampshire College, who inspired students and colleagues alike. His syllabi, works of art in themselves, are a window into his extraordinary intellect and provide a guide for developing our best artistic thinking and work.
Over 4500 volumes of his book collection are in the Robert Seydel Reading Room in the Harold F. Johnson Library at Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Proceeds from the purchase of this book help maintain his collection for future generations of students.
“What do we mean by that phrase ‘a variety of generosities?’ Simply, that artists respond to, love and are sometimes in argument or certainly, to say the least, in dialogue, with other artists, which will likewise be part and parcel of, that is to say, the central endeavor of our activity…” — Robert Seydel from On the Subject(s) of Art
“Reading through this astonishing and generous gathering, you can feel an entire world adjusting and reforming around you; an essential world filled with loving and disciplined vision, encyclopedic multidisciplinary joy, and devotional orders. Just like everything Robert Seydel gave us, it is transformational. By giving us a curriculum of the whole art, poetry, visual-culture, philosophy, natural histories, and fiction, he has left us with a curriculum for the soul.”
— Peter Gizzi
