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Tim Hawkinson’s art is the sort of intense, highly personal and often self-referential work that manages through humor and sheer obsessive force to be both accessible and awe-inspiring. It’s often at least a little bit grotesque, but his sculptures and works on paper and canvas flirt with the sublime often enough that it really is worthy of multiple viewings, even though at first it often appears to be a cheap joke. In all of these senses, Hawkinson’s stuff is comparable to the works of Charles Ray, Tom Friedman and Mike Kelley. The companion catalogue to the Whitney Museum-mounted large-scale retrospective finally gives Hawkinson his due. Lawrence Rinder’s essay gives plenty of clearly-written art historical context to Hawkinson’s strange contraptions, while Howard N. Fox speaks of Hawkinson’s near monk-like "sacramental energy." The design is crisp and unobtrusive; the only quibble at all is the use of the Courier font and the fact that the book’s covers are made of a porous material, so be careful to wash your hands before you hold the thing. Inside you’ll find a functioning organ made out of plastic the size of a football field, a bird skeleton made out of nail clippings, a ball made of spoons, a functioning extension cord worn into a knot, a human skeleton fashioned from dog bones, and much more. Hawkinson really turns the world inside out.--Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (2)

With the artist's own commentary
Painter, sculpture, photographer, printmaker, and multi-media artist Tim Hawkinson is primarily known for his large-scale kinetic and sound-producing works. He has also created such eccentric art as a bird skeleton utilizing his own fingernail parings, a latex cast of his body inflated with air, and clocks fashioned from a Coke can, a manila envelope, and a toothpaste tube. Now for the first time, modern art enthusiasts can explore the art of this exceptional and versatile American artist in Tim Hawkinson by Lawrence Rinder (Adjunct Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art). Assisted by Howard N. Fox (Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Doug Harvey (art critic and writer for LA Weekly), Rinder has compiled this accompaniment to the display of Hawkinson's art and artistry showcased in an exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The 250 color illustrations are enhanced with three informed and informative essays, along with the artist's own commentary on more than 150 of his diverse, often ground-breaking work. Tim Hawkinson is an impressive contribution to both academic and community library Contemporary American Art History collections.

tim hawkinson is f'n awesome
I saw the show at the Whitney.It was one of the best I have seen in my whole life.This artist is working at an extremely high level.He's gonna be a giant for our generation.He uses some found materials and reworks things cleverly and beautifully.Conceptual, material, fresh. ... Read more

Book Description

Among the most important private art collections ever created were those of Imperial Russia. Catherine the Great, guided by Voltaire, amassed treasures on a Herculean scale, laying the basis for what is today the Russian State Hermitage. Favorite courtiers built palaces of unprecedented magnificence in St. Petersburg and Moscow for their vast collections of paintings, antiquities, and decorative arts. In a lively and anecdotal text, Oleg Neverov reassembles these now-legendary private collections-which, after the 1917 Revolution, were dispersed among the Hermitage, Pushkin, and Tretiakov museums, sold to foreign museums, or spirited abroad.

Represented here are works that once belonged to such famed aristocratic families as the Stroganovs and Yussupovs; to the merchant princes Mamontov and Tenischeva; and to the legendary Morozov and Schukin families, the largest purchasers of the early works of Picasso, Matisse, and Braque. Here, portraits of the collectors, period photography, and architectural drawings and watercolors, along with beautiful reproductions of the artworks and texts drawn from the latest research in Russian archives, bring this long-gone era and its treasures back to life. AUTHOR BIO: Oleg Neverov, a Russian art historian, is the keeper of the department of antiquities, Russian State Hermitage. He is the author of catalogues, monographs, and nearly 200 articles. Mikhail Piotrovsky is director of the Russian State Hermitage. Nicholas Romanov is head of the former imperial family. ... Read more

Book Description

Reproducing Tim Biskup's "100 Paintings" series in a compact, hardcover book, is this 5" x 5" volume of one hundred crisp, colorful paintings. The hardcover volume presents Biskup's work in its actual size, with an introduction by critically acclaimed illustrator and Emmy winner, Gary Baseman. Inspired by his Italian sketchbook, Biskup tied his illustrations together with numbers and set a goal of completing one hundred detailed paintings. The ensuing book, "100 Paintings," was immediately popular among fans appreciating its compact size. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An absolute steal at this price!
You've got to be kidding that this book sells for as little as it does. No doubt the diminutive size of each reproduction figures into the low price, but the quality is first rate throughout. Tim's imaginative renderings (at actual size in the reproduction) are bright and crisp and colorful and energetic and...and..and.... If your house, like mine, is filled with coffee table art books, this bite size morsel is just perfect to fill in the little crack left in a wall of books. Not only do you get spectacular images, Tim has included information in the back about when and where each picture was shown. Each image is placed on a black matte background which launches the image toward you. The binding in the book is first rate and will last well into the future when it becomes that hard to find collectors' item in 3004. And if you're reading this review you know you don't even have to get up and go out the door to get it, so get it! ... Read more

Book Description

The Rena Andreadis icon collection is one of the best known private collections of its kind. It contains Greek icons ranging from the 14th to the 18th century, covering a wide geographical area from Constantinople and mainland Greece to Crete and the Ionian islands. Among them are celebrated works which have frequently been on display to specialists and the general public in exhibitions both in Greece and abroad, and others which are still unknown. The subject matter of the works is particularly varied, combining the most widespread and popular subjects of portable icon painting with others, more unusual, which were dominant in particular regions and periods.

From every point of view the Andreadis collection offers a panorama of Greek portable icons and an opportunity to discover the elements they have in common and the multiformity of expression which distinguishes them. It is a challenge which can only be met by linking the works to the equally confused and complex historical path of Hellenism throughout the same centuries.
... Read more

Book Description

Grenville L. Winthrop (1864–1943) was a lawyer and banker by profession, but his true passion was collecting art. He had the resources, the intuition, and talented advisers to help him create a collection that is distinct not only in its depth and breadth, but also in its quality. The Winthrop Collection of French, British, and American art includes the best group of Delacroix and Ingres drawings outside of France, the most significant group of pre-Raphaelite paintings outside of Britain, and a world-renowned collection of Sargent watercolors.

Some seventy paintings and twice as many drawings and watercolors by more than fifty French, British, and American artists will be featured in this selection from the legendary Winthrop Collection, bequeathed in 1943 to the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. Masterpieces by David, Ingres, Gericault, Chassériau, and Moreau will be seen alongside great works by Blake, Rossetti, and Burne-Jones, as well as Homer, Sargent, and Whistler. They are discussed in the catalogue by more than sixty authors, all of whom are among the leading authorities in their various fields ... Read more

Book Description

Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright was an avid and important collector and dealer of Asian art. His personal collection included thousands of Japanese color woodblock prints, and it was his discerning eye that helped build the foremost private holdings in the United States, which in turn became the cornerstones of the important collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This lavish bookówhich accompanies an exhibition at Japan Society Gallery in New Yorkóexamines Wright’s passion for Japanese art and illuminates the profound impact it had on his personal and professional life.

Author Julia Meech has devoted years to researching this aspect of Wright’s life and work. Her fascinating studyówhich spans Wright’s entire career and is lavishly illustrated with color reproductions of works of art and scores of archival photographsóadds a rich new chapter to the body of scholarship on the great American architect. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Another passion...
To anyone familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural designs, the fact that love of Japanese art, design and print work should come as no surprise. The book 'Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art of Japan: The Artist's Other Passion' by Julia Melch gives clear details of the influence of the Japanese on his thinking and creativity, both in narrative and in glorious photography and print.

Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright was born in Wisconsin shortly after the American Civil War. He studied in the late nineteenth century with noted architect Louis Sullivan, with whom he had continuing and occasionally strained relationship. Wright is probably best known in America for the design of the Guggenheim Museum of Art In New York City; more generally, though, he is known for a particular style of low-built prairie-style houses and institutional buildings, that utilised open-space planning, and often had an element of interaction with elements such as water (in fact, a perennial complaint of Wright buildings is that they leak!). Wright was an innovator in incorporating engineering principles into the design of his buildings to provide sturdiness and creative forms of support and room design. In Japan, Wright was well-known for his design of the Imperial Hotel in Japan, as well as other buildings, including private residences of many prominent Japanese citizens. His work in Japan did not extend much beyond the early 1920s, however, and even the Imperial Hotel was demolished in 1968. Wright himself passed away in 1959 at the age of 91.

Wright and the Art of Japan
This book was produced for the Japan Society Gallery of New York by Julia Melch. It traces early affinities and influences of Japanese art on Wright and his work, continuing interest including Wright's almost voracious collecting habits, and the final selling and distribution of his collection late in Wright's life.

'When Wright died at the age of almost ninety-two, he owed money to several Asian art dealers in New York, and there were six thousand Japanese colour woodblock prints in his personal collection, not to mention some three hundred Chinese and Japanese ceramics, bronzes, sculptures, textiles, stencils, and carpets, and about twenty Japanese and Chinese folding screens.'

Some of this collection remains as part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, but much had to be sold to pay debts, including tax bills.

Japanese art probably first came into Wright's sphere of creative influences with the World's Fair of 1893 in Chicago. Louis Sullivan had many books of Japanese design and art in his offices when Wright first joined the firm of Adler and Sullivan. This probably represents the earliest introduction. However, Japanese art was becoming widely available in American and Europe by this time, and Japanese principles were beginning to be introduced in novel ways to various buildings. Wright's first trip to Japan came in 1905, the first of many.

Wright became well-known in Japan, and entered a period he sometimes referred to as his 'Oriental Symphony'. During the time of his work on the Imperial Hotel, he gave an interview which showed his standing and mis-understanding in the Japanese architectural community:

Wright was not only a collector, but was himself a dealer of some standing. Particularly in Oak Park and the Chicago area, his designs for buildings would often include artistic recommendations that he would provide as dealer.

This lead to a major scandal, which Melch recounts in some (sometimes juicy) detail. Wright's egocentric way of viewing the world and attempt to 'get away' with various controversial practices of manufacture and transfer of art work.

'Wright was an immodest foreigner operating outside the guidelines of the closed community of Tokyo print dealers. He flaunted his money and exuded the thinly veiled bravado of the ace dealer. Prince were escalating, the stakes were high, and h is jealous rivals were no doubt pleased to take him out of the game. Revamping was a new technique, totally unexpected. Greed and anticipation of huge profits had made him careless.'

Wright left Japan in 1922, before completion of the Imperial Hotel. He never returned. In fact, he had few international dealings in art or architecture after this period. He longed for greater international acclaim and exposure, but save a few unfinished projects in Hungary and Baghdad, he had few foreign assignments, and none of note.

Disposing of the collection, both before his death and by his widow after his death, is a tale in-and-of itself recounted in the book. Trading with friends and other art dealers, auctioning off pieces individually and as collections, and giving gifts away reduced the collection somewhat, but Wright continued to add pieces throughout his life.

Julia Melch
The author, Julia Melch, has had a career devoted to Asian art. Educated at Smith College and Harvard University, she has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art organising exhibitions of Asian art. She is currently a senior consultant to Christie's, the famous auction house, specialising in Japanese art works.

This book is produced by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., which has a strong reputation, well deserved, for producing outstanding volumes of art. The colours are vibrant and attractive; the pages are firm and well-suited to the art represented. This is a reference volume, a great coffee-table book, and an interesting narrative read. Giving a perspective on both Frank Lloyd Wright and Japanese art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through the lens of each other is a unique perspective, well executed.

The Passion of Frank Lloyd Wright
It's almost unimaginable that anyone could find something new to say about this protean figure of the 20th Century. And, in fact, another author, Kevin Nute, has also written in recent years about the architect's lifelong fascination with things Japanese. Yet where Nute concentrates on the Orientalist ideas and design concepts that Wright so readily and brilliantly adapted in his own work, Julia Meech turns her attention to a different--and darker--side of the architect's personality: his passion for Japanese prints and art collecting. As she tells it, this obsession (his print purchases often exceeded the money that he took in on architectural commissions) not only drove Wright into bankruptcy, but ensnared him in a debilitating scandal over the resale of "revamped" artworks to several of his wealthy patrons.

Wright, the driven, self-absorbed genius, is everywhere apparent in this fascinating, well-researched saga. But so is the conflicted man behind the famous persona. (This isn't to say that he emerges as a particularly sympathetic figure: Meech relates, for instance, how Wright helped organize a memorial exhibition following the untimely death of his Japanese mentor, the young and talented printmaker Hashiguchi Goyo. She adds, however, that no evidence exists to show that Wright ever owned one of Goyo's prints--a bit ironic given the high regard in which Goyo's work is held today.)

Equal to Meech's riveting account, I would have to say that this is one of the most beautifully-designed catalogs (it accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Japan Society Gallery in New York City) that I have ever encountered. It is both lavish and tasteful, if that's possible, with gorgeous color plates and scads of rare photographs of the architect and his cronies, his places of refuge (including hotel suites and other temporary dwellings chock-a-block full of art treasures), and persons and places relevant to the story. For Frank Lloyd Wright fans already burdened by a surfeit of wonderful books, make room on your shelf for a fine new acquisition. ... Read more

Book Description

Western admiration of China's silk textiles dates back at least to the days of the Roman empire. The establishment of the Chinese republic caused a large number of imperial costumes, no longer needed for court ritual, to enter collectors' hands. Textiles curators have studied these in depth, yet American museums are just recently beginning to explore the broader topic of Chinese textiles, and to present splendid examples of the art along with porcelains, bronzes, enamels, and other decorative art traditions of China.

Weaving China's Past examines an extraordinary private collection of Chinese textiles of diverse styles, functions, and techniques. The collection is remarkable for its chronological expanse, with works ranging in date from the Song (960-1279) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties through the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The book examines the relationship of these textiles to the greater fabric of Chinese art. Pieces in the collection have been subjected to microscopic examination and radiocarbon dating as well as full examination by a textiles conservator, and the results of these studies are included. The yarn type, thread count, weave, and supplementary materials are identified. Several of the brocades feature gold fibers, and these have been analyzed to identify specific techniques. A remarkable discovery was the use of peacock feathers twisted with silk fibers in a kesi woven during the Qing dynasty.

The study of Chinese silk textiles, like the study of Chinese ceramics and metalwork, offers a glimpse into a complex tradition in which both organized industry and individual creativity played a role. Traditional China viewed spinning, weaving, and embroidery as divinely inspired arts to be practiced dutifully in the home. Concurrently, however, luxury textiles were commissioned for religious, state, and private use. Silk was essential in China's foreign policy, used along with gifts of tea and silver to pacify borderlands. Together with porcelain, silk became a major commodity for export to Europe. Elaborate techniques were developed for producing complex designs in both brocade and embroidery. During China's later dynasties, textile arts were pursued as fine arts, appreciated on equal footing with painting and calligraphy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS! CATALOG of rooms, objets, history....
This is the lavishly produced catalog for the impressive one-time, one-venue 1998 show of the same name at the Mississippi Arts Pavilion, at Jackson. This 225-page 9x12 inch format heavy card-cover tome shows outside and inside views of the major rooms of Versailles, mostly full-page size, then focuses on shots of the 120+ artifacts and installations of this ambitious show.

The Mississippi Commission or International Cultural Exchange did a 1996 one-venue show on Russian Imperial Style that broke U.S. exhibition attendance records -- these people do great work, and this catalog reflects it. Printed on heavy gloss paper in superb color, it includes well-selected paintings, tapestries, porcelains, the king's bedchamber installation, and the controversial 10-ton equestrian statue by Bernini.

This is a superb coffee table book, especially for the remarkably low aftermarket price. I'm not familiar with the other extant Versailles books, but this one looks like a must-add to any Versailles enthusiast's collection. It would be in much more demand -- and fetch higher prices -- if it weren't a show catalog, and hence not as well known as it might be. A royal sleeper! ... Read more

Book Description

For four and a half decades, Etta and Claribel Cone roamed artists’ studios and art galleries in Europe, building one of the largest, most important art collections in the world. At one time, these two independently wealthy Jewish women from Baltimore received offers from virtually every prominent art museum in the world, all anxious to house their hitherto private assemblage of modern art. In 1949, they awarded all their holdings to the Baltimore Museum of Art. In 2002, that collection was valued at nearly $1 billion, making them two of the most philanthropic art collectors of our age.

Yet, for complex reasons, the story of the Cone sisters has never been fully or accurately told. Gertrude Stein suggested in her writings that the mousy Etta and the regal Claribel had little artistic sense of their own, buying only what she and Leo Stein advised them to buy. For most of those 45 years, though, the savvy Cone sisters knew exactly what they were doing, and why. But they thought it undignified in life or death to call much attention to themselves, always emphasizing that the art, not its collecting, mattered most.

Mary Gabriel, an art-minded journalist and women’s historian, has, at long last, brought the little-known sisters to life, and shone the spotlight on their remarkable achievements.

That these two upright, Victorian women led the way in purchasing the scandalous, erotic art of Matisse, Picasso, and others, is itself one of the most fascinating yet incongruous aspects of their story. Etta and Claribel Cone supported the 20th century's revolutionary artists from their impoverished beginnings -- when Henri Matisse, for example, was reviled by critics as a "wild beast," and Pablo Picasso scratched out a living in a hovel. By contributing to the livelihood of avant-garde artists in whom they deeply believed, the sisters helped coax out, then preserved some of the greatest art of the modern era.

Though it intimately portrays two powerful, influential, ahead-of-their-time women, The Art of Acquiring is more than a tale of two sisters, more than an important addition to art history, and more than a major contribution to the study of women's history. Because it reproduces some of the more famous and important art of Matisse, Picasso, Cézanne, Dégas, and others, The Art of Acquiring enables readers to practically step through the canvas and live in the shocking paintings these two unsung sisters purchased, then gave to the world-at-large.

Finally, a lovely, absorbing biography of the neglected Cone sisters! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A work of art!
Pay no attention to the ho-hum title -- this is one delightful read. The book illuminates two sisters who had been virtually written out of art history. The author richly embroiders the travels of Claribel and Etta Cone and details how they came to amass one of the world's more comprehsive collections of 20th century art. This painstakingly and lovingly researched book is a masterpiece! ... Read more

Book Description

At Home with Art is about art lovers, their passion for art, and their seemingly unquenchable desire to bring home the works that have captured their hearts. Whether the artworks are Picassos or posters, these people want to acquire and live with the art they love. "I wake up in the morning and exercise where I can look at it," says John Robson about one of the paintings in his San Francisco townhouse. How these art lovers integrate their finds
into their living spaces, juxtaposing their paintings and sculpture with the artifacts of everyday life -- furniture, rugs, books, lamps, objets d'art -- is vividly illustrated here in more than fifty homes inhabited by people for whom living with art is as essential as breathing.

These homes are not mini-museums with art to be admired from a respectful distance. Nor have they been designed by interior decorators whose goal is to harmonize the upholstery with the pictures. Each home has been chosen for its very personal and inspired expression of art and decor, revealing a deep, even spiritual, relationship between the pictures on the walls and the people who place them there. From airy lofts and old farmhouses to sleek city apartments and cozy traditional houses, all are made special by the paintings and sculptures within.

A wide variety of people appear in these pages, from the president of MoMA to a young man in love with poster art, to the writer who has artist friends, to the young woman who inherited pieces from her mother, to the actress whose art travels with her wherever she goes. The kinds of art that speak to them and that they are impelled to acquire range from old masters to outsider art, from folk art to contemporary art, to prints, drawings, photographs, and sculpture. We learn about what sparked their interest in a particular genre, how they make their selections, how they meld them into their homes, and what living with their art means to them.

Though looking at these interiors proves there are no fixed rules about displaying a work of art, special sections on framing, hanging, lighting, and caring for art, from oil paintings to delicate works on paper, provide technical assistance. A directory includes framers, dealers, auction houses, and restorers in major American cities and in London.

Above all, At Home with Art shows that there are all kinds of art to be loved and cherished, however grand or simple, and that living surrounded by art's beauty can bring boundless personal satisfaction. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An invitation into the homes of collectors.
This book is inspiring because it shows us the homes of many collectors of paintings.It is well written, but there are not enough new ideas that can be incorporated by the reader. Some of the collectors have little idea on how to display their paintings in a way that is pleasing and justifies the works. Many of the dispalys are cluttered and clautrophobic. Yet, there are some splendid homes that incorporate paintings spectacularly. The article on Dorothy and Herbert Vogel is very moving. These extra-ordinary people deserve a book just on them.

A unique and personal view of collecting
This is an extraordinary book. Clearly not intended as a scholarly exercise, the authors take us up close and personal with outstanding collectors and their art. These are people I would be unlikely ever to meet, and their personal views and how they are expressed through the works they surround themselves with provide a glimpse into the collecting mind. Many of the homes are wealthy, though some are artists who have accumulated works from their friends. The photos are spectacular, and give many ideas of how art can be integrated into one's home.

At Home With Art Not Your Home
Diving into this book, as an avid art collector, one might expect to learn how different people work with the art they possess. This book though is really for those who are stricly ardent and almost excessive collectors who like to jam pack their residences with works galore. What is missing from this text is a careful presentation of how many different types of people display their art. There is too much focus on furniture, collecting passions and interest, and not enough focus on ideas. Overall, I found this book to be somewhat mono-dimensional in the concepts portrayed of how others live with their art. More a picture of what the authors had preconceived than a search for the spectrum of ideas. ... Read more

Book Description

Ellsworth Kelly's oeuvre can perhaps best be summed up by a phrase from Gottfried Boehm: "In between: this is the shortest formula of his aesthetics." With abstract expressionism at its peak, and based on the traditions of the abstract avant-garde in dialogue with color field painting, Kelly developed a vocabulary that left panel painting behind. In a conscious questioning of the conditions that underlie perception, he not only explores the relationships of painting and wall, sculpture and space, but also, and in particular, the relationship between viewer and work. A selection of more than 40 pieces of art from the past five decades, most of them from the collection of the artist, this book offers an expert investigation into the artistic development of one of the leading exponents of international postwar art.

Essays by Gottfried Boehm and Viola Weigel.

Hardcover, 11 x 12.5 in.168 pages, 70 color & 10 b/w illustrations ... Read more

Book Description

Speaking powerfully and directly to a growing audience, African-American vernacular art is making its mark in the art world. In this outstanding collection of contemporary art, works by 27 self-taught artists bear eloquent testimony to the social, cultural, and spiritual experiences of Southern African Americans.

Thornton Dial Sr., Ronald Lockett, Bessie Harvey, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young head a roster of leading artists in this genre. Five scholars explore the significance of these emotionally charged, culturally complex artworks and their context in the larger art world; brief biographies and the artists' own statements are included.

Testimony accompanies a traveling exhibition organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Exhibitions International.
171 illustrations, 101 in full color, 192 pages, 91/4 x 101/4" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Valuable information - insightful essays
Not your everyday book on Outsider Art. While most art books on this subject just showcase collectors' investments, Testimony includes critical studies on the ways collections have been organized and new historical information about the relationship between African American vernacular art and the Outsider movement. All of the essays address hard questions and give you something to think about. In a field noted for its ugly politics, collectors Ronald and June Shelp have been brave and responsible in supporting this kind of writing.

Nothing Special
This is a weak survey of African-American "vernacular art". There are a few pieces of artwork shown for the various artists covered and a short bio. Nothing in depth in terms of the artwork shown or the information given. This is basically your standard collection of the usual suspects in folk art today. A little bit of Dial, Tolliver, Young, Burnside, Light, etc. And the pieces shown aren't that special. It's great they've got a couple of Mose Tolliver's, but they aren't that special in the overall spectrum of Mose's work. Since nothing is in-depth, I'm not really sure what the point of this book is as it adds nothing new to the field. It's great Ronald and June Shelp own all these pieces, but so what? Good for them, but the book adds nothing for the reader. A much better survey is Souls Grown Deep. Much more expensive, but well worth it. ... Read more

Book Description

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collecion is, along with the Getty Museum, one of the most important private collections in western art, including 800 works from medieval times to the present day. Amassed over two generations by the Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his son, Hans-Heinrich, this knockout collection was permanently installed in Madrid in 1992 and has since enjoyed great success and critical acclaim. So comprehensive is the collection that it provides an encyclopedic overview of western painting from the 13th century through the 1970s.

The Baron and his son certainly had excellent taste. Did someone say Picasso? Yes, and Bellini, van Eyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Delacroix, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Schiele, Rauschenberg, Hockney, Pollack, and de Kooning as well - just to name a few.

Presented chronologically and categorized by schools, more than 300 artists and over 400 works are featured in this new volume. The pictures are accompanied by short descriptive texts, with a portrait of each artist and biographical information. Highlights of Art provides a summary of the most important art movements of the past eight centuries, highlighted by some of the most treasured paintings of all time. An absolutely stunning collection! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

good subject, poor writing
The only real greatness in this book is the choice of subject. Beyond that, the writing is barely adequate. Simply because he got there first, the author will get far more credit than is deserved. Dull writing doesn't completely diminish the fascinating story, but it's just not as good a book as it could have been. ... Read more

Book Description

A detailed and generously illustrated study of the intricate art of mosaics, as seen through examples from this comprehensive collection. The range of objects is enormous - from jewelry and snuffboxes to large pictures and tabletops. Based on the leading collection founded by Sir Arthur Gilbert and donated to the UK.
... Read more

Reviews (3)

Finally - a Fabulous Book on Micromosaics!!
Finally! Finally, there is a book on Micromosaics, and what a wonderful book! Prior to the publication of Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel's masterful research job, there have been no books available to the collector of Micromosaics or for anyone who wants to read about a little-mentioned, and fading art. And who better to write the book then Ms. Gabriel who has been Sir Arthur Gilbert's Private Curator since 1994. Sir Arthur Gilbert's collection which now resides at Somerset House in London can only be equaled by the collections of The Vatican Museum in Rome and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

There are a number of books that cover the vast and impressive Gilbert Collection: "Gold Boxes", "Monumental Silver", "Portrait Miniatures in Enamel," "Gold and Silver," "Hardstones" and now "Micromosaics." As I happily have the other books in my library - I can honestly say that the micromosaic book must have been the most difficult and yet it is extremely comprehensive. Ms. Hanisee's scholarly work on "The Gilbert Collection: Hardstones", must have been a bit easier to write as there is so much information on the art of Pietra Dura and Hardstone. Micromosaics is another ball of wax as so little was written - and I'm sure if it was to be had - Ms. Gabriel uncovered the information.

The Appendix has a fascinating section written by Professor Massimo Alfieri "New Notes on Giacomo Raffaelli and Michelangelo Barberi" two of the leading Master Mosaicists of the 18th and early 19th century ---- fascinating. It takes you to the time of the workshops, with letters, sales receipts, drawings and the like. Not only revealing, but just plain fun for devotees of the period. One can also find a section on techniques and materials used in the making of these compelling masterful and minutely executed works of art.

Seeing the fabulous color plates on almost every page, the items in the collection, one finds themselves rubbing their eyes in bewilderment over the artistry of these rare and intricate pieces. The footnotes are so interesting and well-written that they are a book within themselves, and my only wish was for a third hand to mark the place as I turned from text to illustration to footnote and back to text. In many books one tends to skip a lot of the footnotes, unless they pertain to a particular interest -- but Ms. Gabriel has added fascinating information and I told myself it was worth the digital exercise to read each and every one.

Lastly - Jeanette Gabriel has masterfully included very detailed Biographies of the known artists of the time and the literature connected with these artists; a Glossary - with full descriptions; a seven page Bibliography; Exhibition Histories, and an extremely well-written Index.

"The Gilbert Collection: Micromosaics" may look like a sumptuous coffee table book of 310 pages (which it is:), but it is definitely not fluff and mirrors -- it is a serious and fascinating work which should included in any library of Decorative Arts.

Obviously - I think it's just great, I thank Ms. Gabriel, and I give it 5 stars.

Margot Conte

Author Responds
Thanks to all of you who have sent me such lovely comments about this book and the Gilbert Micromosaics. Since the Gilbert Collection museum in London was formally opened by the Queen Mother in May, 2000, it has been deluged with inquiries. Thus, I have decided to take questions regarding expertise from my office in California. There will soon be a website with a link to this Amazon.com site for those wishing to purchase the book, and a link to me: gilbertcurator@aol.com.

Thanks again. Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, Private Curator to Arthur Gilbert and the Gilbert Collection.

The Gilbert Collection: Micromosaics
This is a beautiful and informative book with insights into historic and technical aspects of micromosaic provided by the leading authority on this art form. Beautiful close up photographs reveal the intricate details of these little treasures. This book is a must have for micromosaic and decorative arts enthusiasts and a beautiful addition to any library. ... Read more

Book Description

During his lifetime, Francis Bacon maintained that he painted directly onto canvas without the benefit of preparatory studies. Since his death in 1992, however, several groups of works on paper have come to light, offering amazing new insights into Bacon's working methods and personal obsessions. "Bacon's Eye" showcases a unique collectiion of works on paper that were bundled up and given by the artist to his friend Barry Joule just prior to his death. This collection includes a remarkable album of 70 oil sketches that relate to his work from the '50s and '60s, as well as over 900 "working documents": images torn from books, magazines and newspapers that have been painted and sketched over, revealing an artist's-eye-view of some of the most important people and events of the 20th century. As of yet, these works have not been officially recognized as being by Bacon. Permission to to show these works alongside finished paintings was denied by the Bacon Estate. The gallery, 21 Publishing, and a host of Bacon experts firmly believe in the authenticity of these works. Thisbook, along with an exhibition at the Barbican Gallery in London, are a means of allowing the public to judge for itself.

Edited by Georgia Mazower. Foreword by John Hoole. Introductionby Mark Sladen. Essay by Mark Sladen.

116 color and 6 b&w.
9.25 x 12 in. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Bacon's Eye-the closest focal point through his instincts
This soft cover book is the best collection to date of Bacon's instinct's on photo's as "a record" for motion and emotion, which led, as far as I am concerned, to his "violent colours and form's" that produce an "incredible, emotional charge which is "an impressive sort of violence".People often speak of Bacon's work's as violent, but Bacon said himself that he never saw any violence(in terms of a negative, painful meaning) in his work's.Bacon did see a violent execution in Picasso's work's through colour and form.
Bacon did state his work's were positively charged with incredible emotion's through his colours and forms which might be veiwed as violent ,but in the positive.I also feel, as Bacon did, that word's diminish an artist's work's, so that is why I am qouting him so often from the book "Francis Bacon In conversation with Michel Archimbaud".Bacon's Eye is full of photo's, some of his early unseen work's, and his use of colour and form after veiwing the photo's in the book.There is also an interview with Barry Joule, a close friend of Bacon, at the end of the book.
Bacon gave Joule a thousand never seen work's on paper before his death.This book has only some of them, and I would love to see the remainder if ever published some day, but you will get a much indepth look at Bacon's work from the one's supplied.This book is not to be passed by if you want something rare and intimate of the artist.If you were to compare this book to the one other book featuring Bacon's drawing's, which name I can not recall right now, Bacon's Eye is ten times better.It also has different textured paper for the plates and the interview section. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A masterpiece!
This is no mere exhibition catalogue. It is a superb book- thoroughly researched, well-written and beautifully photographed- really a one-volume encyclopedia of Native North American art. The inclusion of provenance is essential and an important ethical model that others in Native American studies should follow.

A major achievement.

Most disappointing collection catalog in years
Over the years I've been an avid collector of every museum or exhibition catalogs on North American Indian Art -- but this one is the biggest disappointment. While provenience histories can be of importance for the reader, here it provides little meaning and appears to primarily satisfy the collectors/dealers' vanities. Oftentimes provenience entries are incomplete. The lengthy caption reveal very little new or interesting information and for the most part contain meaningless blah-blah just to pad the space around the pictures.

Layout and design is pedestrian, and for that price one would have expected to find all items in color.

A missed opportunity, too bad! ... Read more

Book Description

BACK IN PRINT WITH 37 ADDITIONAL IMAGES NOW IN COLOR “This mammoth repository of images and essays redefines mid-century modernism. A stunning showcase.” —Publishers Weekly “Comprehensive, well-written, engaging.”—ARTnews

Design 1935–1965: What Modern Was presents a definitive and distinct perspective on the decorative arts of the mid-20th century—a period that has only grown in popularity since the book was first published in 1991. Now back in print with 37 new full-color plates of formerly black-and-white images, it is certain to be reaffirmed as a classic of design literature.

The encyclopedic, stunningly illustrated volume spotlights seminal objects from the period’s most significant innovators, including the Eames’s iconic chairs; Noguchi’s sculptural lamps; Sottsass’s early, rebellious furniture; as well as jewelry, ceramics, and textiles by a range of contemporary masters. Renowned historian Paul Johnson’s thought-provoking essay provides a sociopolitical context for the works, and noted experts in various design fields offer a wealth of information. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Modern in the Past Tense
A comprehensive survey of the decorative arts from 1935 through 1965 but unfortunately I was disappointed by the editorial arrangement of this book. It is basically encyclopaedic in nature but the editors decided to split it into the following chapters, Streamline Modern, Biomorphic modern, Modern historicism, Postwar modernism, Modern pattern and ornament, Expressionist modern and finally Beyond Modern. Many of the artists mentioned, of course, easily drop into one or more of these periods. For example, Finnish designer Timo Sarpaneva's work is featured three times, vases from 1950 and 1953 and a 1955 glass decanter, each is pictured and described in detail with additional related information and at the back of the book is his biography. I really feel it would have been more appropriate to have each artist's work and bio in one place and the essays, defining the various styles, together at the front of the book.

I was impressed by the range of the artists and designers covered in this survey, not just the fine arts of Miro and Dali but also the graphics of Herbert Matter and Milton Glaser and even the creative contributions of companies like Herman Miller and Polaroid. The authors have rightly considered all aspects of mid-century creativity.

The scope of the book is North American and Europe but if you want to concentrate on America have a look at the two volume, 'The American Century: Art and Culture' (1900-1950 ISBN 0393047237 and 1950-2000 ISBN 0393048152) by Barbara Haskell and Lisa Phillips. I found these two books very comprehensive in their coverage and also visually quite stunning to look at with their hundreds of illustrations. ... Read more