Art: American in Venice

The biggest international art show in the world is held every other year on a quarter-mile stretch that was once Venice’s marine arsenal. This year the 29th Biennale exhibited 446 artists from 37 countries, needed 115 halls to hold 3,533 works. For the first time since Whistler won with his Little White Girl in 1895, the jury crowned an American painter. Winner of the international painting award ($2,400): Wisconsin-born Seattle Painter Mark Tobey, 67 (TiME, July 22), whose sensitive oils of squirming lines of light had already attracted critical applause. Top international prize for sculpture ($2,400) went to Spain’s Eduardo Chillida, 34, whose spiky forgings were among the most avant-garde entries.