But that thought is too depressing. The euphoric occasion for such melancholy reflection is “Jack Whitten: The Messenger,” a Museum of Modern Art retrospective opening Sunday (through Aug. 2).

In more than three dozen instances throughout her 174-page dissertation, Pamela S. Whitten appeared to borrow language without using quotation marks from at least 15 other research papers and books.

Can a painting also be a sculpture? Find out in “Jack Whitten: The Messenger,” the retrospective of the American abstractionist on view through Aug. 2 at the Museum of Modern Art. Following ...

This Jack Whitten masterpiece reflects his respect for the insights of writer Édouard Glissant A previous version of this article misstated the last name of the woman Jack Whitten would marry.

By M.H. Miller Photographs by Nicholas Calcott FEW ARTISTS ARE as closely associated with Lower Manhattan as Jack Whitten, the subject of a major retrospective opening this month at New York’s ...