Reviews

William N. Copley (1919-96) is among the 20th-century outliers -- philanthropist, newspaper reporter, publisher, art dealer, writer, peripatetic lover of women, connoisseur of the high life, generous friend of artists (especially Surrealists) and eccentric folk-Pop painter. All of this is captured in William N. Copley, a lavish catalog for a retrospective at the Prada Foundation in Milan and seen at the Menil Collection in Houston earlier this year. Most seductive are the ribald, cartoonish, exquisitely colored paintings depicting shenanigans that frequently include women in bloomers, or less.--Roberta Smith "The New York Times"