Broom: An International Magazine of the Arts

Cover from the third issue of Broom, January 1922; woodcut by Fernand Léger

Broom: An International Magazine of the Arts was a little magazine founded by Harold Loeb and Alfred Kreymborg and published from November 1921 to January 1924. Initially, the magazine was printed in Europe, first in Rome[1] and then in Berlin, with the intention of bringing new, avant-garde art back to the U.S.

Loeb later claimed he no longer remembered why he choose the name Broom, but they had gone through a list of one-syllable words and "broom" was the only one left.[2] Ostensibly, the title of the magazine coalesced with the stated focus in the first issue, publishing "the unknown, path-breaking artist", allowing the new artist the opportunity to sweep away the old.[3]

  1. ^ Michael North. "Transatlantic Transfer: Little Magazines and Euro-American Modernism" (PDF). Mod Mags. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  2. ^ Harold Loeb: "Broom: Beginning and Revival." In: Connecticut Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1970, p. 6.
  3. ^ Harold Loeb: Broom. New York 1921 [Kraus Reprint], p. 97.