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2.

her promises about the paintings she had bought, both by word of mouth and by hanging them, suggesting to the world that I was associated with her gallery, whereas on several occasions I had emphasized and she had accepted the terms that these things would not be done.

Well, Adolph Reinhardt made it easy for me that night.  He had just inaugurated his effort to haul me into the arena of the public brawl via an assault in print.  He learns fast from his colleague Newman, that the way to notoriety is to climb on a better man's back or, failing that, initiate a public brawl with a man who could not be touched without incurring contempt in rely.  So I mentioned to Betty that one of her stable had begun a public assault on me and my work "clean, you understand, a very clean assault" and, since she knew about it from Goldwater who told her a few days prior to this, just what were her views on the matter?  She replied that she "could not be bothered with such things", that she felt she was "above all that."  I replied that it seemed to me that if she felt that way she did not have the slightest idea of what the profounder issues in my work were about.  The problems of talent and the exhibition of cute aberrations and trivia had no interest for me.  But when the sterile academic Bauhaus characters made gimmicks and eye-shocker parodies from works that they then denied, and worked with the whole academic machine to banish those with the creative faculty, an issue was present in her gallery whether she saw it or not.  And it had been my purpose to state the issue and not let my forces be used by the sadistic little herd-men to kill me.  I had been refused positions in universities for just this matter alone.  That was why I was asking about this little SS Corporal.  I did not want what I stood for to be confused an compounded with others in her attitude as far as the pictures were concerned.  I asked her if she now understood "why I did not want the paintings to be displayed nor my name to be used in any way in her gallery?"  If she could have kept them separate, by act and understanding there would have been no problem.  As it is I have no choice; she just did "not know what the whole business was about," and that was why she had "been a great liability to me and why I had left years ago.  I did not want to be used by mu most ruthless enemies ----."

She left with me, to sit through a dull movie, and then I took her home almost without exchanging a further word.  Also she had a bit of a cold.

Well, more pondering, and another conversation with Janis which followed receipt of my letter caused me to wipe out the whole Parsons matter.  You recall I spoke with you and Eddie about it.  But when I thought of the last talk with her I began to get angry