A Compilation of Felix Gonzalez-Torres Not On View

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (Natural History), M, aka 21 Club, 1991 Felix Gonzalez-Torres showed “Untitled” (Natural History) for the first time in Every Week There Is Something Different, his May 1991 show at Andrea Rosen’s second floor gallery in SoHo. As the show’s title suggested, the artist changed the configuration and works on display each week. In Week 1, the twelve black and white photos of words carved into the Theodore Roosevelt monument in front of the American Museum of Natural History were in the front gallery, and the thirteenth picture, 21 Club, the bougie former speakeasy with its wrought iron balcony and staircase full of lawn jockeys, was exhibited separately, in the back room. In Week 2, only three of the twelve photos stayed up—Ranchman, Soldier, and Historian—the others, including 21 Club, came down. After that, Gonzalez-Torres decided that 21 Club should not be exhibited, although it should remain as part of “Untitled” (Natural History). Which is an…