There's no way to box in his art

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American tradition, which genially welcomes the garrulous and self-advertising artist, also saves a few places of honour for distinguished loners who work in silence, see little of the world, look inward for meaning and go into history wrapped in the word "enigma." Witty, reclusive Emily Dickinson, writing volumes of brilliant poetry without leaving her room, fit that category 150 years ago, and so do two impressive figures of recent times, Thelonius Monk and J.D. Salinger. In that company we can also place Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), who spent 40 years making beautiful glass-fronted boxes that transformed borrowed images and objects into fresh realities. Cornell didn't enjoy exhibitions of his work (he thought curators chose the wrong pieces) and hated any mention of his personality (he was angry if someone referred to his intense shyness in print).

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