Book Description

Martha Sigall worked with all the classic cartoon characters---Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tom & Jerry, Droopy, Beany & Cecil, Tweety, Porky Pig, et al.---and the madcap artists who created them, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin, Friz Freleng, William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, Bill Melendez, and Ben (Bugs) Hardaway.

As a teenager Sigall became an apprentice painter working in the golden age of Hollywood at the Leon Schlesinger studio, making $12.75 per week coloring animation cels that would introduce Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd to the world. She recounts her wild and wonderful experiences with the Warner Bros. cartoon crew, working and laughing all day with the animators, partying all night with the Looney Tunes gang on the bowling and baseball teams, and participating in weekend scavenger hunts. She was made president of the in-house "Looney Tunes Club," co-wrote the company gossip column, and performed in the company's theatrical troupe.

After World War II, Martha joined MGM Animation (Tom & Jerry, Tex Avery) in Culver City as an assistant in the camera room and later freelanced her ink and paint services, creating art for many classic features, shorts, commercials, and TV series---including Garfield, Peanuts, and The Pink Panther.

Written with warmth, humor, and a touch of nostalgia, this is a rarely told story, from one of the day-to-day workers, of what it was like to be a part of a team of artists who were creating masterpieces of animation. Martha recalls her lifelong personal relationships with writer Michael Maltese, animators Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Herman Cohen, Paul Smith, Bob Matz, and many others. She writes of her experiences of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, particularly during the war years when she was one of the first women camera operators in the industry. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Delightful History
I love reading stories from animations golden age and this book is especially charming.
Most people don't know it, but the ink and paint departments in all the major and minor studios were the real unsung heroes of the cartoon business-many ladies being accomplished artists in their own right and having the ability to take well drawn line drawings and just adding the right touch to each cel that the scenes would really shine. Water effects being one of the areas of animation that without great inkers and painters could tend to look "hokey".
I give this book 5 stars, but I wish it had more pictures!!

Want to know the way it really was?It's right here.
Martha Sigall was there when Bugs Bunny was created.She was there when the reigning geniuses of Looney Tunes Cartoons -- Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin and Bob Clampett -- and such legendary artists and story men as Bob McKimson, Virgil Ross, Michael Maltese and Ben Haradway, were redefining the seven minute cartoon.And that's only the beginning of her story."Living Life Inside the Lines" is an absolute must for anyone interested in the animated cartoon, from fan to student to historian. Martha Sigall's book is perhaps the ultimate source for what the Golden Age of Cartoons was really like, and is a mandatory read for anyone interested in animation.

An inside look at the animation business from 1936-1989
I am the author's son and encouraged her to write this book. Martha Sigall worked in the animation business from 1936 until 1989 and was there when Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Roadrunner, Daffy Duck, and many other characters were created.

When I visited, she always had great stories about these cartoon characters, the animators, and the practical jokes they played on each other. I, and many others, finally convinced her that the public would love to hear them.

"Living Life Inside the Lines" contains many fascinating stories such as:
- How Bugs Bunny got his name.
- How Tweety was originally flesh colored and censors made them "put feathers on him because he looked naked."
- How Mel Blanc was able to break into the business.

Many historians have written books on animation without ever having worked in the business.  Martha Sigall was there to witness first-hand the creation of cartoon characters such as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, and many others. 

She was also there to witness the creative talents of Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Mike Maltese, Bill Melendez, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbara, and many others. Her book will interest anyone who grew up with these cartoons.

The title, "Living Life Inside the Lines," refers to the fact that animators draw the character's outline in black and the inkers and painters paint the colors inside. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Matisse was born in 1869 in northern France and grew up in Bohain-en-Vermandois, near the Belgian border, on the drab, cold, wet beet fields of French Flanders. The same area, culturally and geographically speaking, had produced Vincent van Gogh sixteen years before." Thus begins the first full biography of an artist who, more than any other, is associated with Mediterranean heat, brilliant color and light, and languid, luxurious interiors. As author Hilary Spurling points out, an open window is one of Matisse's frequent motifs. Given the climate of his youth, that image speaks more of escape than of the sea air of the French Riviera.

If all biographers wrote with Spurling's warmth, empathy, and intelligence, no one would likely want to read any other kind of book. The Unknown Matisse is thoroughly researched, with pages devoted to minutiae that Spurling imparts with wit and style, making every nuance of Matisse's early development fascinating. She tells too the story of Matisse's family life (Mme. Matisse risked her respectable reputation by adopting Henri's first, illegitimate daughter), his brilliant ideas about art, and the years it took for his paintings to find their rightful audience. It was her intention finally to give as much weight to Matisse's life as has been given to his work, but in the process of examining the man she sheds new light on the art as well. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Meet Matisse and Enter His Landscape for Reading Pleasure
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) came from the somber northern region of France.The landscape of his youth was sketched in the somber colors of a provinical childhood.His family were seed merchants, sober and no nonsense in their approach to the realities of life.As Matisse grew his art expanded as he journeyed to Paris and to the South of France where he discovered the glories of coloration in his art.Matisse was the greatest of the Fauvist painters; the chief rival of Picasso and the grand old man of French painting.
In this first volume of her life of Matisse, Hilary Spurling the British born biographer draws France in the dawn of the 20th
century as we see Matisse struggle from poverty to stability. He was supported by a loving wife, good friends and a genius which
burst forth in all its glory as the great master continue to grow in his art.
The book is well illustrated, detailed in its description of Matisse's families, friends and opponents and well worth the reader's time.
With the current exhibition of Matisse-Picasso at the Metropolitan Museum of Mordern Art it is a pleasure to turn to Spurling's fine volume on Matisse to gain further insights into this giant of modern art.I recommend this book to everyone from art expert to the educated general reader seeking further insights into the evolution of a painter of genius.

Matisse's Colors
This is a genuinely inspiring biography, clearly written and deeply felt, powerfully communicating the revolutionary ideas of what painting could and should be that drove, and were driven by, Henri Matisse. Spurling vividly describes Matisse's struggles to balance his need to paint with financial reality and his society's disdain, often using the artist's own letters and recollections to depict his growing obsession with color and impatience with representation.

Although I eagerly await the second volume, the true measure of Spurling's success is my anticipation in revisiting Matisse's paintings -- my enjoyment of his work has been increased immeasurably by reading this book.

A wonderful artist biography
I read this book last year and have been anxiously awaiting the next volume.A marvelous examination of Matisse's start, the development of his passion for art and the complex personal life that made the journey extraordinary and, at the same time, ordinary.The images of his parents, their scandalous employers, his wife, his children, and his remarkable artistic peers remain very vivid for me, as each are really intriguing in and of themselves. Spurling is enormously engaging as a writer, and this book takes you to France at the turn of the 20th century and present time and place in a way that stays with the reader.It's a fantastic work.

Length is not necessarily Depth
The narrative quality, even of a historical biography, is what keeps us reading. Only so many details can be digested before the reader bloats and stalls out in his efforts to follow the story the writer is trying to tell us. Ms. Spurling, from her style, apparently comes from an academic background, for this book is written seemingly in the fear some expert will come along and point out an omitted detail. To her credit, I found none. But neither did I find a tremendous critical faculty for weeding out the mundane from the significant. I am generally opposed to abridgements, but the tedium in this book would greatly benefit from that process. Much as I love Matisse, I am not that interested in what he had for breakfast.

Best art biography I've read
What a book. Spurling writes a complete biography of Matisse, looking not just at his art and artisitc influences but at his entire life. Unlike Richardson in his biographies of Picasso, Spurling never stoops tocheerleading or excuse-making. (However, seeing as Spurling's book waswritten years after Richardson's first two Picasso volumes, I can't helpbut wonder how the two writers portray the Steins so differently. I wishSpurling had been willing to take on Richardson a bit more directly.)Instead she explains and enlightens. The pace of the text is perfect. Ofparticular fascination is Spurling's accounts of Matisse's artisticbreakthrough, starting in the Fauve summer in 1905. This book is exciting,breath-taking, insightful and I can't wait for volume two. Quite possiblythe best book I read in 1999. ... Read more

Book Description

Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971) is a legend among graphic designers. A Russian who fled the Bolshevik Revolution and eventually settled in Paris and then New York, Brodovitch was one of the pioneers of graphic design in the twentieth century. He was the art director of Harper's Bazaar for two decades (1934-58); designed and produced several exquisite and highly collectable books with collaborators such as Richard Avedon and AndrÈ KertÈsz; was a talented photographer himself; and, through an informal class called the Design Lab in New York, trained a younger generation of photographers and designers who went on to become famous artists and art directors in their own right.This book is a comprehensive monograph on Brodovitch's life and work, drawing from interviews with a wide range of colleagues and collaborators, and never-before-published archival material to offer an analysis and appreciation of Brodovitch's unique and lasting contribution to the visual arts. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

In Need of Inspiration? Brodovitch is THE Fix
Alexy Brodovitch is one of the best art directors of the 20th Century. This book is worth every penny because it really allows you to see his work in the same scale that he created it at. Thus when you are looking at a magazine spread from the master, you are seeing it full size - and not as a little pretty icon that decorates too many design annuals. In addition there are examples of his raw layouts, which really let you see a genius at work. This book is a must for any fan of graphic design, photography and fashion.

Master of American Advertising Design
This book represents one of the very few studies of one of the masters of American advertising and graphic design. Brodovitch served as mentor to such photographic luminaries as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, and his distinctive and very modernistic style of layout and use of the grid are exemplary. He was integral to magazine design in the middle of this century, and yet has fallen into relative unknown. Unreasonably so. Any student of graphic design, its design or current practice, would do well to own this book. In this age of busy, frantic graphic pages, Brodovitch's work reflects a serene, yet knife-edged clarity. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A beautiful but often fictional account of a great life
I've recently read the "autobiography" "West With The Night" for a Hight School history class. While I found Markham's book to be a beautifuly spun story of growing up in colonial Kenya and life inthe early 1900s, this book left me with more questions than answers.Ondigging deeper, I found that this book was written by her third husband,Raoul Schumacher. Also, I found that many interesting and scandalous partsof her life had been omitted from this historical tale.However, thesethings do not change the fact the "West With the Night" is acompletly enrapturing tale of a very strong, determined woman.I onlyadvise that you take this story with a grain of salt; and then go read thebook "The lives of Beryl Markham" by Errol Trzebinski to get thereal deal.

A life-changing read-Even better than Out of Africa!
Beryl Markam's controversial "West with the Night" gives a vivid, personal view of life in colonial Kenya.A geat aviator and race horse trainer, Beryl Markham gives new life to women everywhere. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Historian Desmond Seward has written an indispensable book on Caravaggio--equally balanced and historically double-checked. But even with all its references, dates, names, quotes, and careful scholarship, this biography reads like a novel that is impossible to put down. Caravaggio, of course, with his "wild, wild spirit" and "very strange temper," according to contemporary accounts, is a natural subject for a galloping narrative.Caravaggio's religious and social status as a Knight of Malta, his protection by a famous cardinal, his street fighting, his fine silk clothes worn until they rotted away, his prostitute models and lowlife friends, his repeated failure to win a commission for St. Peter's, and his bitterness at the rise of mediocre rivals are just some of the ingredients of this good read.

What Seward does, to riveting perfection, is convey 16th-century life to the reader. He takes Caravaggio's renowned naturalism and shows us where it came from. He transports readers to Rome in the 1590s, where they explore the old stones of the ancient empire, step over the human excrement in the streets, and witness the pageantry of luxurious horse-drawn carriages promenading through the mud. Readers lurk with Seward in the darkness, light lamps and candles, and feel the damp as the Tiber rises, leaving behind more than a thousand corpses when it finally recedes after a terrible flood. They stand in the crowd and watch as the heads and bodies of decapitated criminals are quartered and hoisted on spears and ramparts for display. Gradually readers get the feeling that Caravaggio's predilection for severed heads was less the product of a tormented imagination than it was simply all in a day's observation for an unwavering realist. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Caravaggio is Caravaggio
Any biography of Caravaggio is bound to be immensely interesting because he was far from ordinary, someone who will never fail to shock and amuse modern readers. While several reviews I have read complain about the brevity of the book, I found its length appropriate-it did the artist justice without bogging the reader down with too much analysis and irrelevant details. It assumes some familiarity with Italy and European history, but it has several chapters devoted solely to discussing the time period, while always making a connection to Caravaggio's life. I found it particularly nice that nearly all of Caravaggio's paintings were discussed and analyzed within the biography. The book has several copies of paintings inserted in its middle, but lacks the majority. Therefore, I found it incredibly helpful to have my Caravaggio anthology nearby so that I could follow the author's discussions. Undoubtedly, anyone that is not a Caravaggio fan would find these sections tremendously boring, but I loved the opportunity to pore over his paintings with a new understanding of their significance and context.

you'll love it.
This may be the best of the new Caravaggio books. As a painter and a student of art history, I found this book by Seward to be absolutely absorbing. Seward not only gives insight about Caravaggio's life, but also delves into the events that may have inspired his paintings. Please read this exciting book!

Disappointing biography
I decided to write a review of this book because I was mistakenly encouraged to acquire it from the above positive reviews. I found this volume entirely lacking. In terms of discussions of Caravaggio's paintings, you can find more erudite reading elsewhere, including from the hand of Sister Wendy (I'm not kidding!). Regarding the artist's life, in this account Caravaggio is but a pale specter lost in the obscurity of what little information Desmond Seward could accumulate. Where there was no information, the author was bereft of anything to say. This was also the case in describing the colorful world of the Italian baroque, a larger subject that should have resulted in better evocation.

What was particularly lamentable about this book was that Seward had taken upon himself to prove that Caravaggio was heterosexual. It is a leitmotif that hammers through the entire text with a persistent, numbing thud. Instead of taking on over two decades worth of scholarly debate on the epistemology of the closet and why so many people think Caravaggio was gay, Seward only draws upon Derek Jarman's fantasy movie about Caravaggio. When analyzing the preponderance of anecdotal evidence that Caravaggio was probably gay, or at least bisexual (which is in itself illuminating as there is already so little information about his life), Seward summarily dismisses the stories as mere hearsay. Because he gives so little information on Caravaggio's life, we are left with the paintings, which speak volumes. However, when the author is faced by the image of St. Francis in ecstasy while laying in the lap of a beautiful, male angel, or when examining the multitude of fair boy beauties, Seward declares that these images are a result of Caravaggio's bowing to his patrons' neo-Platonist tastes. Strangely, Seward later discusses Caravaggio's naturalistic realism, which is the complete antithesis of neo-Platonism. Seward tries to have it all ways and ends up looking like a fool. The last straw is when confronted with the handsome male youth holding a bowl of fruit, his shirt saucily pulled down revealing a naked shoulder and sensual neck, Seward says only that the meaning of this image is unknowable. That may very well be so... for a short-sighted, heterosexual male.

Given the remarkably vibrant hero of the story, as well as the fascinating times, this book's greatest crime is it's cold, graceless prose. Seward has said that he was inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo in writing this biography, but Seward's book has none of the sweep, beauty, nor heart-pounding sense of life that you find in Dumas' work. The only redeeming virtue in Caravaggio: A Passionate Life is its brevity. If you want the Cliff Notes version of Caravaggio's life and times, this can be an adequate place to start, as long as you're prepared for the author's shortcomings. For more insightful writing on Caravaggio's life and works, I suggest you search elsewhere.

Interesting Account of Caravaggio and his works
Firstly an admission, I had no prior knowledge of Caravaggio or his paintings. My main area of interest is military history but after seeing the beautiful cover on this book I picked it up and browsed through the wonderful colour plates. I had to have the book to read and after ordering it from Amazon.com and sat and waited. It was worth the wait! I enjoyed the story of this most interesting man, yes its a bit short (200 odd pages) but to a person like me who had no prior knowledge or interest in this subject it filled a gap in my education. This was an interesting book to read and I just loved the colour plates of the artists work (16 colour pictures). The book has sparked an interest to learn more of this man, his times and his art. For that alone the book was worth it and the author has done his job. I would recommend this book for those who want to learn a little bit more about this man and his art.

A shallow look at a complex painter
Desmond Seward's look at the life of Caravaggio, a genius with a problematic personality, is well enough written as a string of facts, if far from passionate in its prose or its insights. But beyond the ABCs of the life, Seward offers virtually nothing. His major motivation seems to be "rescuing" Caravaggio from his reputation as a homosexual, which reputation he attributes ludicrously to Derek Jarman's recent film rather than the stark sexuality of Caravaggio's male nudes. Mr. Seward is of the opinion that the painter could not have been homosexual, because he was devoutly religious, in fact a quotidian exemplar of counter-Reformation Catholicism. Apparently it has not occurred to Mr. Seward that Caravaggio could have been *both* homosexual and devoutly Christian, or that his difficulties as a person--his numerous duels, brawls, conflicts, assaults--may have arisen from the conflict between his sexuality and his faith, or between his sexuality and the dictates of his Inquisition-period church. But other than repeating his assertion endlessly, Seward offers no particular evidence one way or the other as to Caravaggio's sexuality, and no meaningful explanation of his own for the painter's repeated confrontations with his peers. In fact, the author's take on the pictures is as superficial as his understanding of human sexuality. He repeats fairly ludicrous proto-Christian interpretations of the paintings, then dismisses contrary interpretations out of hand. Seward pooh-poohs post-Freudian analysis of the pictures without, apparently, stopping to consider the psychosexuality of the paintings themselves. Of course, Seward is himself a post-Freudian, if not a psychological critic, and he seems himself to be obsessed with the notion that Caravaggio was obsessed with decapitation. (Could Caravaggio possibly have been obsessed with the idea that he himself could be decapitated if his homosexuality were known?) All in all, the book is useful only as a recitation of the facts of the painter's life. It absolutely fails the promise of its subtitle: "A Passionate Life." ... Read more

Book Description

Continuing to put great classic and contemporary design within everyone’s grasp, Chronicle Books proudly delivers the next four installments of the popular Compact Design Portfolio. Written by top design critics, these books cover modern masters whose work ranges from the cozily domestic to the aggressively avant-garde: Eva Zeisel, whose elegantly democratic housewares span a 70-year career; Ingo Maurer, who raises lamp and lighting design to a high art form; Gaetano Pesce, whose rejection of traditional good taste brought about revolutionary furniture design; and George Nelson, the impresario behind the Marshmallow sofa and other Herman Miller classics. Follow-ing the introductory essay, a visual gallery exhibits selections of the designers’ best work in photographs and sketches. Presented in an irresistible small format, this series encapsulates the life, work, and influence of the great designers of our time. ... Read more

Book Description

Here is an intimate glimpse into the lives and work of thirty-four self-taught artists, two folk art environments, and one museum, which tells the tale of a region's fast-disappearing way of life. Kathy Moses' thoughtful, insightful portraits introduce us to these men and women, some of whom are well known and some not so well known, but who all are driven by a compelling need to create. Their stories are told with warmth, affection, and respect. For many of these artists, this is the first time they have been presented to a wider audience. With 375-plus photographs, the book beautifully illustrates the range of each artist's work, with more examples per artist than has been shown before. The book is also an invaluable reference guide, with a source section that lists museums and galleries where the art may be seen and purchased, a retail price guide, abibliography, and many organizations, publications, shows, and auctions devoted to Southern folk, outsider, and visionary art. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good cross reference guide book
Each book can only feature so many great artists. Inevitably, many get left out. Here is a decent sampling. Interesting interviews. Wonderful photographs.I disagree with a price guide found in the back. We should encourage involvement in outsider art for its historical, social and emotional value, and not based on what a piece can fetch at auction, or how collectable an artist may be. The worth of a piece and/or artist is, or should be, a subjective decision. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (8)

"The of it all"
A long time fan of Edward Gorey, I was given this book as a birthday present by my sister. Having never read anything about his life, I found this book insightful but also a little redundant. This isn't necessarily a book to read straight through, but might work better read over time in order to dispel the similarities in questions/answers.

This is not a biography, but rather a collection of interviews the confirmed "recluse" gave over the span of his life. Gorey talks passionately about his loves (ballet, cats, reading) as well as his hates (Henry James - and who could argue?). Each interview paints a picture of the artist that lives up to the weird and wondrous works he creates. Gorey's works are bizarre and although not intentionally macabre, they are oddly disconcerting, if not downright unsetlling. Sometimes his knowledge and responses have the same effect.

For anyone who is a fan of this too little known author and artist, "Ascending Peculiarity" is a wonderful portrait of Edward Gorey. It leaves you wanting to know more, wishing you were there asking the questions, just as many of his works leave you wondering what they were all about.

For Gorey Fanatics Only
This book is a collection of career-spanning interviews, each of which say generally the same thing, which makes for repetitive reading. However, in each, Gorey does reveal one or two new details about himself. None of the interviews delve too deeply into the mind of this reclusive artist, who gives interviews not because he likes them but only because he can't seem to say "no". I recommed instead Theroux's slim memoir, which somehow seems to contains all the same information but more. That being said, I'm still glad I read it because I'm a Gorey fanatic and there aren't too many books about him.

Read it for the man - buy it for the references
Amid the doorstop-sized biographies of anyone who has put two ideas together, it's great to have this bright little collection of interviews of a remarkably original thinker. The variety of the interviewers is effective - there are graphic design types asking about paper and nibs, and literary types working on themes and influences, as well as the official New Yorker canonization, and the sharp little session with Dick Cavett. Gorey comes across as both erudite and self-effacing - he's an intellectual with an asbsurdist's lack of vanity about his place in the world, and a humanist's warmth for the pleasantness of daily life.

What made this book better than a nice bio of an interesting person is that Gorey was, in his words, "a cultural magpie," and was very generous with his compliments to artists he found excellent. So if you like the play of aesthetic styles and ideas in Gorey's work, you'll probably love listening to him talk about the artists he admires. I've added a half-dozen of his recommendations to my to-read list.

What Could Be Better?
What could be better than Gorey in his own words. I've interviewed Edward and his own conversation is just as good as any of his books or artwork. His estate put this together with great care and it's worth every penny to those familiar with his work. For those who aren't- wait -and go buy Amphigorey...
then buy this.

One highlight- the Dick Cavett interview.... "Would you like to see how you look on television?" Edward, "No, I'd rather not.."

A Kind of Quirky Inspiriation
If there's one thing I really love about this book it's the lack of continuity. There's no need to sit down and read it straight through. Read an article a day. Go to it only when you want a sentence or thought to mull over. Pick out an image when you want to write or illustrate something yourself. There's plenty of quirky inspiration to be found in these articles.

This is an eccentric kind of biography, perfectly suited to the nature of the man. In it there is only so much revealed, enough to make you wonder what else was there, what was waiting to happen. And for those of us that wouldn't have access to the original articles, well, this is a wonderful solution.

Perhaps the only thing that kept this book from getting a full five stars is that there just aren't enough of his illustrations to satisfy. ... Read more

Book Description

Of the six Impressionist painters whose first exhibitionscandalized and fascinated Paris in 1874, Berthe Morisot was the onlywoman. Shereached a pinnacle of artistic achievement despite the restraintssociety placedon her sex, adroitly combining her artistic ambitions with a rewardingfamilylife. Anne Higonnet brings fully to life an accomplished artist and herworld. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Get to Know this Complex Woman
Berthe was obviously an anomaly in her day and age... and, being self-deprecating and reticent, might've actually wished to be forgotten. She WAS literally forgotten for many years after her death. I am grateful to Ms. Higonnet for writing the book, but I felt throughout the reading that, although it was obvious Ms. H. admired Berthe, she didn't truly understand her. It bothered me that most of the book was about OTHER people, although her life DID seem to be about OTHER people. Berthe was generous and hidden, yet daring and "out there." It was probably very difficult to find the true Berthe. She was obviously very much beloved by the other Impressionists and her contributions as the catalyst of the group were immeasurable. But I wanted to know more. I didn't like it that each time she had an accomplishment, it seemed to be overshadowed, in the biography, by moving on to the accomplishments of one of the other more luminous figures in her world. Berthe was beautiful, dedicated, a wonderful mother and wife... after years of pressure by society and her own parents whose biggest fear was that she was to stay a "spinster" (who the HECK invented that word???)... I really felt for Berthe. But was she bulimic? Was she anorexic? What WAS the true nature of her mental challenges? I'd like to have seen some more of that area explored - as it has been so deeply investigated in the case of Vincent van Gogh. Whatever her maladies, we've got to admire the fact that she, unlike Mary Cassatt, DID have it all - career, family, home life, social recognition... and balanced it all so beautifully. But I wished Ms. Higonnet had given us just a bit more to grasp onto.

Berthe Morisot
GREAT BOOK!! I bought this book used from That Book Lady,
I recieved the book promptly and it was in excellent condition.
The book has wonderful information on Berthe Morisot.

Thorough and perceptive
My first reaction to Anne Higonnet's biography of Berthe Morisot was that it was a bit stiff. I had recently read Dominique Bona's "Berthe Morisot: Le secret de la femme en noir" and found that book to be well done, even though lacking documentation and even though indulging in "maybe it was like this" speculations from time to time. But I very much liked Dominique Bona's informal style, referring to Berthe Morisot as "Berthe", while Anne Higonnet almost always refers to her as "Morisot" (a small issue but one that is quite representative of the stylistic difference in the two biographies).

Of course, Anne Higonnet's work is more than 10 years older than Dominique Bona's, so that Dominique Bona reaped the benefits of reading Anne Higonnet's book. And there are many benefits to be had. Anne Higonnet has done a superb job of researching direct and indirect and even background sources to fill in the picture of Berthe Morisot's life and setting.

Sometimes Anne Higonnet's presentation creates a distance: emotional connection is lost amid the cultural history. But overall, this is a fascinating "MUST" book for anyone who wants to understand Berthe Morisot's painting, persona, and life. ... Read more

Book Description

Growing up with the twentieth century, Alfred Barr (1902-1981), founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, harnessed the cataclysm that was modernism. In this book -- part intellectual biography, part institutional history -- Sybil Gordon Kantor tells the story of the rise of modern art in America and of the man responsible for its triumph. Following the trajectory of Barr's career from the 1920s through the 1940s, Kantor penetrates the myths, both positive and negative, that surround Barr and his achievements.

Barr fervently believed in an aesthetic based on the intrinsic traits of a work of art and the materials and techniques involved in its creation. Kantor shows how this formalist approach was expressed in the organizational structure of the multidepartmental museum itself, whose collections, exhibitions, and publications all expressed Barr's vision. At the same time, she shows how Barr's ability to reconcile classical objectivity and mythic irrationality allowed him to perceive modernism as an open-ended phenomenon that expanded beyond purist abstract modernism to include surrealist, nationalist, realist, and expressionist art.

Drawing on interviews with Barr's contemporaries as well as on Barr's extensive correspondence, Kantor also paints vivid portraits of, among others, Jere Abbott, Katherine Dreier, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Philip Johnson, Lincoln Kirstein, Agnes Mongan, J. B. Neumann, and Paul Sachs. ... Read more

Book Description

Cecil Beaton was one of the great twentieth-century tastemakers. A photographer, artist, writer and designer for more than fifty years, he was at the center of the worlds of fashion, society, theater and film. The Unexpurgated Beaton brings together for the first time the never-before-published diaries from 1970 to 1980 and, unlike the six slim volumes of diaries published during his lifetime, these have been left uniquely unedited.

Hugo Vickers, the executor of Beaton’s estate and the author of his acclaimed biography, has added extensive and fascinating notes that are as lively as the diary entries themselves. As one London reviewer wrote, “Vickers’ waspish footnotes are the salt on the side of the dish.”Beaton treated his other published diaries like his photographs, endlessly retouching them, but, for this volume, Vickers went back to the original manuscripts to find the unedited diaries.

Here is the photographer for British and American Vogue, designer of the sets and costumes for the play and film My Fair Lady and the film Gigi, with a cast of characters from many worlds: Bianca Jagger, Greta Garbo, David Hockney, Truman Capote, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Rose Kennedy and assorted Rothschilds, Phippses and Wrightsmans; in New York, San Francisco, Palm Beach, Rio and Greece, on the Amalfi coast; at shooting parties in the English countryside, on yachts, at garden parties at Buckingham Palace, at costume balls in Venice, Paris or London.

Beaton had started as an outsider and “developed the power to observe, first with his nose pressed up against the glass,” and then later from within inner circles. Vickers has said, “his eagle eye missed nothing,” and his diaries are intuitive, malicious (he took a “relish in hating certain figures”), praising and awestruck. Truman Capote once said “the camera will never be invented that could capture or encompass all that he actually sees.”

The Unexpurgated Beaton is a book that is not only a great read and wicked fun but a timeless chronicle of our age. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

a few gems in the sick ward
I eagerly read this book because of the title. I still can't pronounce the word.

Shades of Truman Capote (who is mentioned in Beaton's diaries a few times)! But this wasn't quite the "bitch-fest" we were all hoping for. I hated to read about Diana Cooper's decline, and all the others, the Edwardian actresses, the Windsors, and then a few snippets tucked in about the Guinesses and Rothschilds. Beaton is delightful when his subjects are still well away from death's door, but so many of his entries deal with the impending death and decline of former bright lights. I skipped the pages on his operation. Vickers overplayed the title on this one. I hardly think its worth publishing, though I'm sure he'll make a mint with the delightful P.L. Travers -tyle cover.

Autumnal Gossip
This final volume of Cecil Beaton's diary, which takes us through the photographer-designer-artist-bon vivant's final years, heartily makes one wish that his earlier journals could be re-released similarly unexpurgated. Beaton waxes evil about (among others) Katharine Hepburn, worries about the aging and death of friends and contemporaries (not to mention his own), and records his sometimes unlikely encounters with seventies pop culture. The book is satisfying both as a good, dishy read on its own and as the summing up of a notable artist's long, productive, and generally fascinating creative life (how many people, after all, got to photograph one of Queen Victoria's daughters AND Viva?).

What a Downer!
Mr. Beaton's diary offers several entertaining passages, but it is mainly a chronicle of his physical complaints, his declining health, and sadly, his bodily functions. Boring and depressing. If you really want to read this book, wait for the paperback. ... Read more

Book Description

Archibald Quincy Jones (1913-79) was a Los Angeles-based architect and educator who shared the Case Study goal of reinventing the house as a way of redefining the way people lived in post-war America. A pioneer in 'greenbelt' planning and 'green' design, Jones raised the level of the tract house in California from the simple stucco box to a structure of beauty and logic surrounded by gardens and integrated into the landscape. He introduced new materials and also a new way of living within the built environment, and his work bridged the gap between custom-built and developer-built homes. The exquisite detailing and siting of Jones's houses, churches, civic and university buildings make them quintessential embodiments of mid-century American architecture. This is the first book published on Jones. It documents his full career, from his post-war planning projects to his long association with Palo Alto building magnate Joseph Eichler. The book is comprised of two parts: a substantial introductory

essay tracing Jones's life and career, with a summary of key projects and his contributions to planning; and a catalogue of sixty of Jones's projects illustrated with high-quality black-and-white period photographs, and plans and renderings by Jones. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A.Quincy Jones
It is easy to dismiss the work of Quincy Jones (1913-79) as modernism lite. His long association with Joseph Eichler and other suburban builders prevented him from being taken as seriously as more rigorous and rebellious peers. Modern architecture is supposed to be challenging; Jones made it look easy. However, a drive around Crestwood Hills in West LA, and a close examination of the model houses he and others designed for that enlightened housing association, engender a new respect. Pragmatic, inventive, and humane, Jones bridged the chasm between high art and popular taste, emphasizing practicality over ideology. Buckner has hands-on experience, having restored four Jones houses, and one wishes she had expanded her brief introduction to the architect's career to communicate her personal enthusiasm for his unshowy brilliance. In every other way, this is an admirable survey of 65 key projects, illustrated with vintage black and white photos, drawings and plans.

Timeless Modernism
Let me begin by saying that this is a beautiful book. The original black and white photos are as crisp as the planar fascias and walls of Jones' many projects represented here. The graphics, (mostly plans and perspective renderings) are reproduced in a sepia tone that wonderfully invokes the spirit of the post WW2 period. And, in this age of neo-modernism, it is great to be exposed to a talented, true modernist whose architecture was not influenced by the latest fads and trends, but by the architect's deep convictions of modern architecture improving the quality of life.

The book contains a short essay and a catalogue of about 65 of Jones (and his partner Frederick Emmons) projects. The projects are shown chronologically in seven categories: Single-Family Houses; Residential Housing Developments; Churches; Commercial Spaces; Civic Spaces; University Buildings; and Planning Work.

The essay entitled Building for Better Living: The Architecture of A. Quincy Jones, is however, disappointingly brief. Although it begins in a biographical format, it moves quickly into Jones' theories on multi and single-family residential development. It then discusses Jones' design methods and uses of materials, and concludes abruptly with Earth Structures & Energy Systems and Planning & Landscape Designs. Very little is mentioned in regard to his practice and the fact that Jones and Emmons were awarded national AIA Firm of the Year in 1969. The essay makes no mention when and how Jones died.

Jones' plans are a work of art, not just graphically, but in regards to the rigor in which he was able to make space and structure flow and integrate his buildings into the California landscape. It is unfortunate that only about a third of the projects in this book contain plans. Still, there are some stunning projects represented here. I highly recommend this book to the serious student of mid-century modernism. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you had to choose just one book about Pablo Picasso, the most protean artist of the 20th century, what would you look for? Copious, good-quality reproductions. An authoritative account of the way his approach to painting was influenced by his personality, the women in his life, and his awareness of art made by others. An in-depth treatment of key works like Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (which Picasso memorably called his "first exorcism painting") and signature themes, like the half-man, half-animal Minotaur. Then there's the question of tone. Some books cast Picasso as a demigod or a destroyer. Others, like art historian John Richardson's A Life of Picasso, offer a more balanced, psychologically penetrating portrait of the artist.

Hefty, elegant, and inclusive, The Ultimate Picasso hits most, though not all, of these marks. It offers more than 1,200 reproductions (nearly 800 in color) spanning the artist's entire career. Smoothly translated from the French, the book weaves biographical detail and discussions of the art into a concise narrative. ("Olga became pregnant in the summer of 1920, and in Picasso's work forms blossomed and flesh took on the massive quality of stone.") The three authors are all experts--Léal and Bernadac are (respectively) present and former curators of the Musée Picasso in Paris, and Piot coauthored the catalogue raisonné of Picasso's sculpture. They clearly explain visual sources, duly acknowledge leading art historians' interpretations, and choose good quotes from contemporaries. Yet the text can be surprisingly skimpy. The 16-page section on Guernica, for example, has barely two pages of discussion about the painting and its genesis. The authors keep an extremely tight focus on their subject, with only as much mention of Picasso's contemporaries or the outside world as is absolutely necessary.

The major flaws, however, are the authors' hyperbolic view of their subject ("Picasso did not paint nature, but the suffering of the men and women of his time, creating from it beauty and truth") and the lack of any psychological insight about the repeated devastation Picasso wreaks on the female form. In this old-fashioned portrait of the male artist as genius, human failings do not exist, unless they belong to somebody else. --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (7)

the best picasso book ever!!
this book rocks so much it breaks the very laws that govern physics!! so much information, so many beautiful pictures, so dense.it seems to capture the very spirit of pablo picasso. it was give to me as a valentine's day gift, and it is one of my most prized books. this is a MUST purchase for any picasso fan.

Marie Manson was influenced by Picasso
When I look at Picasso paintings, I see how the artist and painter, Marie Manson, was influenced by him.Her paintins can be seen at www.canzone.org.

nothing much to say but incredible
To see tons of Picasso works in one book is nothing short of breathtaking. This is easily the best Picasso book that focuses on his paintings. What's incredible is to see the prolific amount of work he was capable of, and just what a inventive genius he was. Without a doubt the greatest Artist of the 20th century. Not all the works make sense, or are even recognizable as anything, but that was Picasso; his art was how he viewed the world, and how his own heart felt inside:confused, and out of place. His Cubism is nearly mathmatical, and very intriguing. IF you're interested in Picasso as more than that weird guy who made all those paintings i just don't get, come and check out this book to see all of what he was made of. You'll be amazed and inspired.

Plastic surgeons probably shouldn?tuse these for murals.
The Ultimate Picasso could easily defeat The Fabulous Braque and The Superlative Cézanne in an arena style cubist grand melee. It would be no contest, really. The Ultimate Picasso would open up with his patented synthetic slammer sending Cézanne right back through the analytical period. Braque would try to stun him with some multi-viewed complex patterns, but nothing can neutralize The Ultimate Picasso.
Braque might try a new tactic then: swinging wildly with his blinding colors. The Ultimate Picasso would roll towards the canvas, ducking under the swing that hits the helpless Cézanne full on. Then BAM! Right out of nowhere, The Ultimate Picasso lays the smackdown on both of them with his ball-buster blue period. Down for the count: The Ultimate Picasso is once again champion of the art world.

the ultimate picasso book for art enthusiasts.
The greatest part of this huge and informative art book is the literally hundreds of pictures that it contains. A very colorful book, which is a must for anyone interested in this highly acclaimed artist, whose Cubist style signified a new era for the art world. Picasso is one of the best artists, in my opinion, and this book gives an in-depth account of his life and his extraordinary career on canvas. ... Read more

Book Description

Who was Ed Roth? The answer depends on whom you ask, and when they knew him. To some, he was a counter-culture, greasy-fingernailed, renaissance man of the mid 20th century. To others, he's the creator of Rat Fink and builder of some of the most creative custom cars to ever get a coat of candy paint, cars like the "Beatnik Bandit", the "Mysterion", and the "Outlaw". Some knew him as a devout Mormon, others recall a Harley-riding hellion with a devilish glint in his eye. He was a force of nature and a creative genius whose work had a profound influence on popular culture and helped spawn numerous subcultures.

Ed's rise to fame began in the '50s, and peaked with the custom car boom of the early '60s-every kid in America knew who Rat Fink was, and many built models of his custom cars and wore his "monster" T-shirts. As custom cars went out of style, Ed turned to other pursuits, but a growing interest in hot rod history in the '90s brought him back to the fore, and he was more popular than ever. To say his life was interesting is an understatement-and this book covers it all, from art to custom cars, monster shirts to VW-powered trikes, and the wild life that brought it all together. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A real renaissance man of the 1960s
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

Good story on Big Daddy and his creations
I was the primary audience for Roth's work back in the '60's -- my friends and I would have sleepover parties where we'd read car magazines and build model cars all night long. Roth's creations were just so outrageous at the time and they brought a lot of excitement to the hot rod scene. I remember first seeing the "Rat Fink" and thinking how over the top it was, and wondering what my mom would say if I brought home a Rat Fink model or T-shirt.

I had to get this book as soon as I saw it and I'm glad I did. It brings back so many good memories of those times. While not a true biography of Big Daddy, it does a great job of covering his life and has plenty of detail on all of his cars and other works. The book also has lots of great photos; the author spent a lot of time gathering as many existing photos of the Roth empire as he could. The author also interviewed as many people as he could find who were associated with Roth, and they have some funny and interesting stories to tell.

If you're at all interested in hot rods or hot rod history and the effect that Roth had on the culture, this book is recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

"Miller is an excellent historian...and a fine biographer.... [His] artful arrangement of his conclusions...makes the book something of an intellectual thriller."-- New York Times Book Review.

The most important scientist of the twentieth century and the most important artist had their periods of greatest creativity almost simultaneously and in remarkably similar circumstances.

This fascinating parallel biography of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso as young men examines their greatest creations--Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Einstein's special theory of relativity. Miller shows how these breakthroughs arose not only from within their respective fields but from larger currents in the intellectual culture of the times. Ultimately, Miller shows how Einstein and Picasso, in a deep and important sense, were both working on the same problem. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Going over Boundaries between Disciplines
What factors can be motivations of a genius's reformative work? Is it possible that the same notions affect geniuses in science and art? What is the daily life of geniuses? What processes are going on when a genius does a monumental work? We often have such questions as above. Arthur I. Miller, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at University College London, wrote a wonderful book to answer all of those questions and to tell us more about creative activity by the example of the two giants of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso.

This dual biography centers on the special relativity theory discovered by Einstein in 1905 and the Cubism painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" produced by Picasso in 1907. In the first chapter, the author mentions that Poincare's book "La Science et l'hypothese" gave a spur to both of the two geniuses and led them to explore new notions of space and time. Tracing their respective lives in later chapters, the author clarifies how both men sought representations of nature that transcend those of classical thought and reach beyond appearances. The reader would be convinced of the fact that the effect of Poincare's book is not a superficial similarity between the works of Einstein and Picasso but a common denominator deeply rooted in the culture and science of the early twentieth century.

In the last chapter the author insists that at the creative moment boundaries between disciplines dissolve. Namely, aesthetics becomes paramount also in science; on the other hand, artists solve problems just like scientists. So, if you are a scientist, you would find direct interest in the chapters on Einstein and also find it profitable to read the chapters on Picasso; and if you are an artist, the reverse would be true. Laypersons would also get a lot of stimuli to a productive life from this book.

Great minds think alike.
Arthur Miller is a Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at London's University College. Equal parts biography and art-science history, his interesting book follows the parallel lives of physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) into the 20th Century. Although the two lives never actually intersected, Miller demonstrates that as a result of the intellectual atmosphere of 1905, Einstein and Picasso "began exploring new notions of space and time almost coincidentally" (p. 4). "I wrote EINSTEIN, PICASSO," Miller tells us, "for lovers of art and science practiced at their most fundamental and exciting level, for aficionados of thinking across disciplines and generally for readers interested in the drama of high creativity. We wonder about the moment when everything comes together to produce incredible insights. How does this happen? How do thoughts emerge that go beyond the information at hand?" (p. 8).

While it does not ultimately succeed as a biography in bringing either Einstein or Picasso to life in its 357 pages, Miller's book shows that his subjects were able to achieve "enormous successes under conditions that would have defeated most people" (p. 266), and to this limited extent, Miller gives us insight into what made both men tick. However, Miller's real strength is in exploring how Einstein and Picasso "processed information in order to make their momentous breakthroughs" (p. 245) resulting in Einstein's 1905 theory of relativity, and the cubism of Picasso's 1907 painting, "Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon." The theory of relativity, like cubism, Miller shows, represents "a profound response to changes in the philosophical and scientific climate as well as to dramatic technological innovations" (p. 174). While his book demonstrates time and again how Einstein and Picasso were equally fond of work and women, it only really soars when it reveals how these two men were able to simultaneously move the world into modernity through science and art.

G. Merritt

strains to equate two rather different lives
The idea that there may be a connection between the appearance of relativity and cubism at the beginning of the twentieth century is not a new one. Though it has been shown quite convincingly that Picasso was not aware of Einstein's work when he and Braque invented cubism, it is still possible to say that BOTH Einstein and Picasso were influenced by some common elements that had appeared in western culture at that time. This, in itself, would be unremarkable; Both Einstein and Picasso lived in the same continent at the same time, it would be very surprising if they did NOT have some common influences. But professor Miller tries to stretch this comparison to the breaking point and well beyond. The result is a book in which excellent summaries of their early life and careers are marred by clichéd and overblown psychobabble and cultural theorizing.
The book is still interesting because it deals in detail with the lives of two such gifted and unique individuals. But the comparisons are frequently forced, and the author seems to have failed to take the advice of either of the masters. Picasso was dismissive of most attempts to retrospectively slot his art into some art historian's version of "influences and phases" and he would certainly have resisted any attempt to "explain" his genius in this manner. Einstein, too, was willing to leave the mystery of creativity unsolved. Mr. Miller would have done well to present us with two separate books about Einstein and Picasso, or one bigger book on the cultural ferment of the early nineteen hundreds. This attempt to find "the secret of creativity" fails to rise above the level of the self-help manuals that crowd our bookshops. Einstein loved music, so music is listed as one of the routes to creative "non-verbal" thought. But the fact that Picasso was never interested in music does not constitute a counter-example for Mr. Miller. Meanwhile, Picasso smoked hashish and took opium with great regularity through this period, but while the slightest hint that he might have heard of geometry is inflated beyond belief, this significant aspect of his life gets only two lines in the book.
Last, but not the least, while science and art are both human products, their natures are very different. Much of Modern art has moved beyond mere representation and become more like music (an esthetic experience which may or may not represent a particular "story") but science is nothing if it's not a coherent story. Einstein rebuilt the foundations of modern science by systematically and LOGICALLY questioning the basic assumptions of Newtonian physics and the discoveries of electro-magnetism. This achievement may have involved intuition and unconscious influences, but it would be useless if scientists could not eventually understand and agree on its meaning. Modern art may well deal with matters even more important than the physical structure of the universe (love, sex, death, loss, meaning, values, rebellion, rage...) but it would not be art if all artists were to agree on its significance and meaning.

Creativity and the Mind
A brilliant book for a discussion between the relationship between the art and science.

Maybe we can not be an Einstein or Picasso, but there is a lot to learn about their creative spirit.

Einstein and Picasso - no premise for comparison
In an attempt to seek commonality between Picasso and Einstein, the author fails to leave the reader with the revolutionary nature of Einstein's legacy; precisely why Einstein's ideas were counterintuitive and what its implications for science were. I was disappointed that I did not get a better grasp of this subject matter than before I read the book (I am not a physicist). Einstein was truly a genius because he was able to predict physical phenomena later borne out by empirical observations. Picasso was at best creative and his "legacy" was a new representation of art that is entirely subjective. The author makes conjectures of Picasso's connection to philosophy and science but this is like saying that Bin Laden and Gandhi are similar because both believe in some form of self determination. Picasso's thought processes appear divergent. This is not genius. The poor explanation of Einstein's theories and its implications results in this superficial equating of genius with the "creative". I suppose in a sense the author has succeeded in showing us that when you equate genius with the scandalous hell-raiser you are bound to come up short. This is injustice to Einstein and scientific thought.
While I disagree with the author's basic premise, he has done a fine job of collecting information about the historical aspects of each person's life, placing them in the context of the sociological environment of the twentieth century . He describes many of the key scientific discoveries of those times and has made me eager to learn more about the evolution of scientific thought and advances. ... Read more

Book Description

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the American assemblage artist, was a quirky but passionate collector of bric-a-brac who used trinkets, scraps of paper, paint, and lots of glue to arrange imaginative worlds inside glass-front wooden boxes and frames. While evoking the Victorian era and childhood pastimes, Cornell developed a collage technique that radically transformed the way art could be made--and seen--for generations to come. ... Read more

Book Description

Until now, the 19th-century French sculptor Camille Claudel (1864– 1943) may have been best known for her much-romanticized relationship with sculptorAuguste Rodin, who has been erroneously portrayed as abandoning the fragile Claudel toa nervous breakdown. But this first fully researched biography of Claudel abolishes themyths attached to her life and asserts the brilliance of her art.

Drawing upon ample unpublished material, including family photographs, privateletters, and medical records, Odile Ayral-Clause reveals the truth about Claudel's affairwith Rodin and about her confinement and death in a mental asylum. Using Claudel'sown words, she describes the crushing reproofs and prejudices the sculptor confronted — from her family, from society, from the male-dominated art world. For art historians andfeminists, such issues areas relevant today as they were in fin-de-siècle Paris. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Brilliant and fascinating
This book is the best, most meaningful work on Camille Claudel that I have read thus far. I highly recommend it as an accessible, informative, fascinating work that illuminates the life of one of the finest sculptors in France. Odile Ayral-Clause tells the truth, with unflinching honesty, drawing upon new documents that only came available in September 2000. She offers the details that make this woman's life come real for the reader.

An excellent and intimate read!
Odile Ayral-Clause's work is excellent! I read the book from cover to cover last year and as I am now planning a trip to Paris this Spring, I am rereading the book again and enjoying it even more!

A.C. captures so well the spirit of the woman, her social environment, and the city of Paris.

Thank you for bringing this beautiful artist to life!

"Camille Claudel-A Life" Odile A-Clause
I received "Camille Claudel-A Life" for my birthday this month.
I began reading it at noon and completed it by 4 pm. I could or nor would I put it down so to speak. The book is well written, excellent sources, index, bibliography. Unfortunately, the photo's are not of good quality but passable considering there are any left and the abuse of many photo's and her own work in itself which have vanished! I cannot blame the photographer who did his best! That in itself would be a photographer's dream to compile photoghraphs of her work and publish them as a book of photography of her work and p