Book Description

Carl Larsson (1853-1919), Sweden's best-loved artist, and his wife, Karin, a textile designer, revolutionized interior design in their native country and established a style that continues to attract a worldwide following. Combining period furniture and objects with modern color and design, their home was meticulously recorded by Carl in a series of beautiful water-colors that celebrated their idyllic family life. This is the first comprehensive book ever written in the English language about the couple and their long-lasting influence. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I love this book!
Aside from the fact a reader will gain new appreciation for the Larssons and their art, a reason to purchase this book is that it is gorgeous. Good paper, excellent color reproductions, a nice heft. If you admire Larsson and Scandinavian culture, this book is a "must have."

This book makes me happy.
I ordered this book sight-unseen as a gift, and thought "well, I like Carl Larsson's paintings, I'll get one for myself while I'm at it." I'm so glad I did! I realize that, before reading this delicious book, I had never really "seen" a Carl Larsson painting before. I didn't know that all those happy Swedish ninteenth-century domestic watercolor scenes actually documented Larsson's home and family, and I had no idea that his wife Karin was the creator of the fabrics, co-creator of the furniture and equal partner in what is not only a beautiful and original home environment, but one that has influenced interior design to this day, a hundred year later.

The text is written by different experts. I am not really sure that I come away from it with much sense of the Larssons' personalities in a detailed way, but the work speaks for itself and I consider this book to be more than just a valuable addition to my art library, but also as a great read and, even more -- a great "look". ... Read more

Amazon.com

Only a generation after Lewis and Clark's expedition, the artist and naturalist John James Audubon captured his contemporaries' imaginations with his illustrations in Birds of America. John James Audubon in the West celebrates a lesser-known work, Quadrupeds of North America, which is the focus of a traveling exhibition organized by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming. Audubon's Quadrupeds presented colored lithographs far superior to the outline engravings that normally illustrated encyclopedias and scientific volumes of his day. They have the same liveliness and sense of movement as the bird illustrations; background landscapes are small masterpieces in themselves; imaginative settings add a theatricality to many pictures, such as a tawny weasel at the throat of a farmyard chicken or a cougar with his kill; and details like the fur of squirrels and wolves are very fine. Audubon's research included a six-month field trip up the Missouri in 1843 that resulted in the discovery of several new species, including North America's only native ferret, the black-footed ferret--though the project was more important as art than as science. The 180 illustrations in John James Audubon in the West include the most successful of the animal pictures, preparatory sketches, and comparative material such as contemporary Western landscapes. Four essays by Audubon scholars analyze the artist's style, his Missouri journey, scientific collaborations, and the technical and commercial context for the publication of Quadrupeds. While his birds will always overshadow his work on mammals, John James Audubon in the West introduces an important pioneering study and a fascinating piece of American history. --John Stevenson ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Best book out there on Modigliani
For those who love the sensuous work of this early 20th century master, this text is the best on the market. The pictures span the entire short career (he died at age 36) of this artistic genius. There are stunning images throughout. The colour reproduction is superb, and the paper used is of the highest quality.
There are excellent, exhaustive descriptions of the artist's life, although the descriptions of many of the paintings are short. My only wish is that there were more nudes chosen for the exhibition, because no artist dead or alive painted a nude as beautiful or as provocative as Modigliani. The book is not cheap, but for those who admire this wonderful painter, the price is worth every penny and more. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

soft focus
The original focus of this book was said to be art selected from the annual Arts for the Parks contest in Jackson, Wyoming, but that idea got lost somewhere since some paintings are not from national parks and paintings from parks have no notation to tell you which park is depicted. I have been following the Arts for the Parks for a couple of years and I find some of the omissions pretty glaring. Why do we get six paintings by Jim McVicker and not one by Ronnie Barnes? Three David Tutwilers and no Shirley Cleary. Three Dempwolfs and no Lanford Munroe. There are many beautiful paintings in the book and the artists comments are interesting and informative. The picture cropping at times is brutish and the desciption of one painting is obviously of another.A good book in spite of the editing.31/2 stars for the art and 1/2 a star for the publisher.

Tantilize your eyes with this beautiful book.
What a beautiful collection of art work form the years of the Art of the Parks contests. No matter what style the paintings are, the compositions are outstanding. Nice picture reproduction with a short relevant text with each entry. ... Read more

Book Description

Written by the two men who revealed the existence of secret depositories of treasures, this book is the dramatic account of the plundering of precious objects during the last terrible days of the Reich, the buffoonish political maneuvering and corruption that kept the art hidden and neglected for years, and the bold detective work that led to its discovery. 16 pages of photos. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Visually and textually informing
What some may see as just another pretty artsy coffee table book will be missing a truly educational experience. THE ARTIST'S MODEL, though a catalogue of sorts accompanying an exhibition in England in 1999, is a fine historical documentation about the role of the live model in representational painting from the early 19th Century to the present. Logically divided into four sections - 'From Academy to Art School', 'The Studio Model', 'Models and Muses', and 'The Naked and the Nude' - the four writers deliver historical data accompanied by copious visual examples. Here are all of the well know British figurative artists as well as some lesser lights that deserve more attention. Yes, the book delivers the expected gossip of which artists did what with which models in a wonderfully British tone. But more important is the survey of how the models in the academies and schools moved from being solely male to almost exclusively female and the sociological changes that accompanied this odd transition.

This book overflows with beautiful illustrations, but it doesn't stop at images: each painting depicted is accompanied by a bit of history about the artist AND the model and the way in which this example illustrates each author's premise. This is a wise, informed, and thouroughly entertaining book that deserves greater attention.

A Muse a Day
The artists model is a subject that always causes controversy. They are always the important but forgoten subject. Yet in figurative painting and drawing, it is the artists's model that either makes or breaks an Artist. The execution of form, the visual representation: realistic or abstract tangible or symbolic are all due to the relationship the artist has with his model, whether the artist and the model have been able to build a mutal rapport. Most books on the subject of artists's model have in fact been mere glamourous biograhies of the more famous sitters, like Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Comforth, Gwen John, sister of Augustus John and an artist in her own right, expressing the model as a sexually available mistress or muse! Little was said of the diversitty of of the models's lives, and the atrocious conditions of their work which was usually arduous,mundane and poorly paid. Maybe little has been said because a lot of the models were sexually available as mistresses and some of them of them made poor muses, but most looked great nude; on canvas at least! Here is abook that gives a fantastic account of what the Artist's model life was like; from the social, economic,; and ideological conditions that underpinned perceptions of the model in Britain who worked from 1830's to the 1950's. The book holds true to the various artist's work and we really are given a "behind the picture" look, an account of what it was like to be 'an artist's model'. The opening chapters look at the debates surrounding the role of life drawing in art education, the use of he model as a subjct for painting and literature, the changing status of the nude within the context of artistic movements, and the social reaction to the morality of such depiction. Why the founding ethos of the Royal Academy in the 18th c, gave way to Victorian crusading and undermined art and its history as taught let alone as an ideal. There is an intereseting section which looks at the physics of the artist's studio, where it is all to apparent that the claas divide and the economic necessity of modelling was exploited, that the working class model was given seperate acess to tyhe studio to that as that of any of the other classes, that even the changing room was secluded so that the liasons between artist and model took place within the secrecy and innocence of the studio. Naturally, it has been maintained , that every effort was taken to make sure that no impropriety took place. Why then were so many models also mistresses? The book portray's the succcesful and not so sucessful. Those for whom modelling brought wealth and fame, those whose lives were destroyed. The book also charts the decline in the use of the model due to the rise of abstract and conceptual art styles. And paradoxically, covers the re-emergence of the model in recent years due to the ggrowing influence of modern figurative painting. Contempoary models are better educated, healthier, and will hopefully, avoid the trap of their Victorian counterparts. The Victorian model, though introduced to to High Art and Profound Ideas., show only to well how they became victims and were easily discarded. Would any of the artists like that to happen to their work? I think not. I haven't mentioned any of the Artists or their sitters here so that you can explore for youself this fasciniting but important piece of the development and chronicling of Art History.But as the title suggests, the Artists of the late Victorian Era who used models are given a new vista. 'The Artists Model' is an exciting book and provides invaluable historical insights into the experience of modelling and and aspects of the models lives.

There is an exhibition related to the book at Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, london, NW6

23rd July- 26th September 1999 Telephone 0181 348 1286 ... Read more

Book Description

The material conditions in which the production and consumption of art takes place is a topic of increasing importance in art history.Studies Art as an industry and a public practice, looking at how nations, institutions and private individuals present art to the community and how art museums are shaped by cultural, social and political determinants. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Informative and Easy to Read
Dr. Duncan's books discusses the history of art museums and focusses in on some notable, present day museums. Her approach combines the traditional art historian view with a sociological view. Art is not created in a vacuum and reflects the society it lives within. Duncan's approach gives us insight into why some artwork is accepted while other artwork is not.

This book was required reading in my undergraduate studies. It is one of the few I choose to have in my personal library as well.

Carol Duncan's book is small in size and easy to read. However, just because of its ease and size, don't mistake its value to art history. It is well researched and well edited. It is short, sweet and to the point. Too bad other art history books cannot be like that.

Informative, Easy To Read
Dr. Duncan's book was required reading in my undergraduate studies. She writes from two angles - first, being the traditional fine arts view, and second, a sociological view. Art is not created in a vacuum and is directly affected by the society it lives in. There is a value to looking at art from this combined point of view. You have a clear picture why some art is considered valuable, while some is not.

Carol Duncan's book delves into the reasons why we have art museums and then focusses in on some notable museums of today. The small book is an easy and quick read. However, its relative ease and small size does not mean it does not inform. It is well researched and well edited. It is short, sweet and to the point. Too bad more art history books are not like that.

Covering a breadth of subject matter
This book was mandatory reading for a university art history class. As far as required readings go, it was easily comprehensible to a general audience. The only flaw was that at first glance it appeals to an art-minded audience. Yet then it actually converses in the sociological jargon, which could put off some readers. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the future began. The future of fashion, that is. Of course, it wasn't quite so long ago (it was the 1970s), and it wasn't quite so far away (it was Milan, Italy). Right there and then, the world witnessed the birth of the sports coat. This one jacket spawned the beginnings of casual dress and semi-androgynous fashion. This may not seem so radical now, but think about what came before. Look back to the Vogue magazines of the mid-20th century: the clothes were spectacular and elegant with very fitted waists, skirts with crinolines, crisp lines in men's suits. It was a severe and dramatic look; the body was very contained, almost sculpted by the clothes. But the times were changing, and comfort was coming into its own, explicit in the hippie wares of the 1960s.

Along came Italian designer Giorgio Armani. He fused the softness of jeans and ponchos with more convention, and built a fashion empire from the deconstruction of the shape-shifting suits of the 1940s and '50s. Fashion publisher Patrick McCarthy explains, "His mission, a rather democratic mission at that, has been to return elegance to clothing without abandoning the ease and comfort that crept in during the 1960s." Armani, the catalog accompanying the exhibit at New York's Guggenheim Museum, showcases the designs of this now very famous fashion insider. From sportswear to glamour, the book traces the history and styles of Armani's last three decades. Chapters range from ideas about gender, world culture, and architecture to a most interesting essay on Armani's relationship with cinema (his rise to fame was very tied to the release of the film American Gigolo). The photographs range from magazine advertising and billboards to family and celebrity pictures to lineups of Armani-clothed mannequins. -- J.P. Cohen ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive Historical Reference
This is not a typical fashion tome. The authors have traced the historical influences of Mr. Armani as well as validlly documenting his contribution to history (both in terms of fashion and in sociological influence). The photographs are well chosen and show the broad scope of his work. The detailed description accompanying the photographs of the actual museum exhibts are informative and succinct. One unfortunate choice was to include blurbs by celebrities. These comments offer nothing in the way of understanding Mr. Armani's work and are unnecessary. That minor annoyance withstanding, this volume is a valuable addition to any library. ... Read more

Book Description

Vivienne Westwood is a global fashion icon whose career has spanned three decades. This book, published to accompany the first retrospective of her work, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, highlights one woman's creative journey from the early days of punk to the establishment of her own fashion house.

Westwood has been an influence on the worlds of art, music, and fashion since the early 1970s. One of the first designers to create subversive fashion-clothes that disseminated political messages-she later found inspiration in history and literature, producing clothes that are witty, original, and technically accomplished.

The book's 200 photographs-a mix of ad campaigns, fashion shoots, catwalk shots, and archival images, many rarely seen or long forgotten-chart the evolution of Westwood's work from outfits worn by the Sex Pistols to more recent creations for Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, and artist Tracy Emin. The pictures, selected by Westwood herself, together with Claire Wilcox's perceptive text, show why this fascinating designer has a cult following around the world. ... Read more

Book Description

One of fashion's great icons, Bill Blass transformed American chic into the single most important influence on contemporary fashion. Favored by First Ladies, celebrities, and women of style, his sophisticated gowns and impeccable suits embody modern sophistication.

As exquisitely tailored and visually extravagant as a Blass ensemble, this impressive volume features over 100 new photographs and a stunning array of historical images by such notables as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Horst, and Guy Bourdin, in addition to Blass's own sketches. Published to accompany a major retrospective of the designer's 50-year career, it has been created with Blass's full cooperation, and every page reflects his exceptional taste. This is the book Blass fans have been waiting for. ... Read more

Book Description

The finest museum of archaeology and anthropology in the Western hemisphere, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City owns the world's most impressive collection of pre-Columbian Mexican art, including sculpture, painting, pottery, and other works. Since it was founded in 1964, it has displayed and studied the fascinating art, artifacts, and cultures of the pre-Columbian Mexican world and its descendants, the indigenous peoples of Mexico.

Published to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the museum, this beautiful and comprehensive survey explores both its collections and its role as a national institution. The book includes 450 illustrations, many of them newly photographed masterpieces by the Mexica (Aztecs), Mayas, and other important pre-Columbian cultures, as well as sections on the archaeology and the contemporary ethnography of Mexico. Also featured are writings by foremost Mexican art historians and anthropologists. This noteworthy book serves as both an introduction to, and a complete documentation of, one of the world's great museums. AUTHOR BIO: Felipe Solís is the director of the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

One day in the late 1760s, when William Blake was a little boy enrolled in a London drawing school, a strange thing happened as he walked across Peckham Rye. He saw "a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars." These spirits, and a host of other creatures that peopled his fervent imagination, would later be immortalized in the engravings and poems he printed on his own press, which have placed him in the first rank of British artists and literary figures. And so it is surprising that this fine book--impeccable in every respect, from the detailed yet easy-to-follow notes on individual prints, drawings, and paintings to the quality and thoughtful presentation of the 250 reproductions--wasn't published sooner. It accompanies "William Blake," the largest-ever exhibition of the artist's works, which originated at the Tate Britain and is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York through May 27, 2001.

Essays by biographer and novelist Peter Ackroyd and Romantic poetry specialist Marilyn Butler set the stage for the haunting images of powerful, accursed, and spectral figures on succeeding pages. The four sections of the book address key aspects of Blake's art. The first one focuses on the influence of Gothic style and spiritualism on his style. The second deals with Blake's life during the 1790s in the South London village of Lambeth, where he harnessed his printmaking innovations to radical political views. It is intriguing to learn how even Blake's new, typically contrary method of etching in relief was a metaphor for his belief in divinely inspired innate ideas. The third section discusses the odd characters that peopled Blake's works, and the fourth surveys his major illuminated books (including Songs of Innocence and Experience), which he created, in his words, "under the direction of Messengers from Heaven, Daily & Nightly." --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful Art
The works of Blake are represented here on wonderful gloss paper with large images to fully appreciate the artistic genius of William Blake. This book is also intersperesed with essays that explain his life, his writing, and his art. through his various images you can see his complex and troubled life come into view. A must have for anyone who loves Blake and Extremely helpful for anyone who wants to know him and his work. ... Read more

Book Description

The J. Paul Getty Museum holds nearly 1,200 prints by master photographer Walker Evans, spanning four decades of his professional life.Many of them have never before been published.This catalogue brings together all of the museum's material on Evans.Included are images both familiar, such as his photographs of tenant farmers in the 1930s, and unfamiliar, such as those he made in Florida in the 1940s and his very late Polaroid studies from the 1970s. Judith Keller's lively text provides essential background on the major phases of Evans's artistic development. In the wealth of biographical and bibliographical information assembled here, even the reader well acquainted with Evans's work will find much that is new.Walker Evans: Catalogue of the Collection immediately becomes one of the essential studies of this American master's long and influential career. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Please fix the spelling of the name
The middle initial for Clare Bell is P, not ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A unique insight into a marvelous saga
This book attempts to explain Star Wars in the context of patterns found throughout the mythology and legends of various cultures. The success of the film, the book claims, is due in no small part to the fact that the film's story is a composite of all the things that make mythical stories endure as myths.

To my suprise, however, I found the book to be an excellent commentary on mythology itself - the book is almost as informative in pointing out elements that repeat themselves in mythical stories - the concept of the "hero's journey" - with Luke being our hero - mystical forests as a place of healing (Degobah), etc, as it is in relating these elements to the story of Star Wars.

This book was written to accompany an exhibit of the same name at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC, and I was fortunate enough to see the exhibit on tour in San Diego last year. While the exhibit itself was amazing, and filled with various props and spaceship models used in the film, this book is actually more informative than the exhibit and stands exceedingly well on its own.

I love the Star Wars films, though I am certainly no hard-core Star Wars buff. I feel that just about anyone who, like me, loves these films will get a lot of enjoyment from this book.

I CANNOT RECCOMEND THIS ENOUGH
If you love star wars, and would love to see it analyzed seriously, but without being to heavy and dry, this is perfect for you. It discusses the correlations between myth and Star Wars, influences from around the world, etc. Its facinating, and beautifully laid out.

THE TRUE NATURE OF THE FORCE
I saw the exhibit in Washington, DC TWICE! It was so cool to see all the real space ships near this vision of another galaxy far, far away. The book is the perfect narrative to the exhibit and it is the ANSWER to not being able to get there if you live in another part of the world.

The images, text, and layout of this book take you on a journey like none before. A MUST HAVE BOOK to complete your collection of great STAR WARS merchandise.

A Pleasure To Read
I don't wish to repeat the words of others, but want to agree that it is an incredible book; that is not only fun to read as a Star Wars fan, but it is very informative and thought provoking. I truly learned a lot about mythology and its application in our world. Read it, and you will appreciate the genius of George Lucas.

Wonderful!
This book is a must if you're making the trek to Washington for the exhibit. It gives you a better understanding of the movies and is packed with history. The colorful photos starting from the actual movies to World War II make it a spectacular piece. The book may also be better than the exhibit. (which I've seen twice.) ... Read more

Book Description

Completing the two-volume set, Souls Grown Deep, Vol. 2 takes the visual and historical presentation of the first volume to a richer level, offering an even broader array of artistic styles and media. Published in 2000, the first volume explored the diverse historical roots of the genre and introduced artists whose work recalled the South of the pre–civil rights era. This sequel brings the movement into the present, delving into the work of the current generation of artists who are creating a complex form of art that blurs the boundaries between folk and contemporary art. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Acme Novelty Datebook
I just finished reading this, and it's a real treat. Fans of Jimmy Corrigan or Acme Novelty Library will enjoy drafts of these but expect differences in style. This gives a better look at Chris Ware than his other publications that I've read. You can really feel his frustrations in this work. I reccommend this to both fans and non-fans.

An very personal glimpse at an amazing artist...
I found this book very inspiring and entertaining. To my non-trained eyes, even his rough sketches are amazing. And the journal entries are intense to read. In publishing this sketchbook, he seems unafraid to show us his most private moments of self doubt and insecurity. It was surprising to me that someone this talented could be such a harsh critic of his own work. That's probably what keeps his work so unique. There's lots to check out in this very cool book. ... Read more

Book Description

Internationally renowned South African artist William Kentridge creates animated movies from “drawings for projection,” charcoal renderings he alters during filming. Paralleling the political upheaval in his homeland, his works reflect the tenuous nature of memory, both personal andhistorical.

Published to accompany Kentridge’s first retrospective exhibition in the United States and South Africa, this fascinating book offers in-depth coverage of the artist’s animated films, drawings, and theater productions. Kentridge has also created 16 new, previously unpublished “artist’s pages” for the book.

A wealth of colorplates, essays, and an interview exploring various facets of Kentridge’s creative process, and a chronology outlining both his and his country’s milestones make this book the most comprehensive examination of Kentridge’s work to date. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Catalog of an Incredible Exhibition
William Kentridge is a white South African born in 1955. He is best known for animations, based on large charcoal paintings, which have as their subject the complexity of living a meaningful life in the warped society of South Africa.

Kentridge makes the films by working on the charcoal paintings, then clicking the film camera one frame at a time. He then walks back to the painting and works on it, before exposing another twenty-fifth of a second.

Kentridge is articulate and interesting and has established himself as a great artist in the tradition of Hogarth, Daumier and the German expressionists. His exhibition, which closed here in Los Angeles last week, was breathtaking. This book is the catalog of that exhibition.

a very interesting artist
I leave off a "star" only because viewing Kentridge's drawings can not substitute the experience of viewing his films. Indeed, looking the charcoal drawings I wonder at what stage of the sequence it is in. Is this the last step in the drawing? Looking at a drawing outside of its time base can also be a positive. I love searching the surface for smudge marks and erased hands and arms. His drawings end up being a record of movement (something that most single drawings fail to capture). For anyone who doesn't know, by the way, Kentridge animates his charcoal drawings using filmic stop motion techniques. The results are amazing. Anyone interested in drawing and painting, the birth of early film, and South African Politics: here is your artist. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Terrific
Great book for anybody interested in Penn's wor ... Read more