The Artbook Shelf
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THE ARTBOOK SHELF
Nell Blaine: Her Art and Life
Martica Sawin
Hudson Hills Press/NBN, dist.
122 East 25th St., 5th fl., NY, NY 10010
1-55595-113-9 $50.00 1-212-674-6005
Nell Blaine (1922-1996) was a native of Richmond, Virginia who went on to live
and work in New York and East Gloucester, Massachusetts. Nell Blaine: Her Art
And Life is filled with intimate portraits of friends; flowers in bloom in
tabletop still lifes and outdoor gardens; studio views; and the landscapes
Blaine cherished, ranging from records of her world travels to beloved views
from her Riverside Drive, New York, windows. Some of her most enchanting
paintings combine interiors and still lifes with views through windows to
outdoor landscapes. This Hudson Hills release is a joyous testament to Blaine's
more than fifty years of creativity and artistry -- enhanced with the artist's
life history, including the inspiring story of her heroic victory over the
polio that almost killed her in 1959. Nell Blaine is also an invaluable history
of the postwar community of artists, writers and musicians with whom Blaine
lived, worked, and traveled, enriched with a selection of photographs of her
and her circle. Recommended.
Isaac Witkin
Karen Wilkin
Hudson Hills Press/NBN, dist.
1-55595-153-8 $45.00 1-212-674-6005
Isaac Witkin is a beautifully illustrated monograph exploring the career of one
of the most original and influential sculptors now working in the modernist
tradition. This beautiful coffee-table artbook relates the story of Witkin's
career to date, discussing the evolution of his work in the context of the
modernist tradition as well as the work of his contemporaries. More than 100
wonderful illustrations enhance the informative text by Karen Wilkin. Isaac
Witkin also features a Chronology, Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions, a
bibliography, a list of Public Commissions and Collections, and an Index. Isaac
Witkin is an outstanding acquisition selection for all personal, academic, and
public library sculpture and fine art reference book collections.
Irish Public Sculpture
Judith Hill
Four Courts Press/ISBS, dist.
5804 NE Hassalo St., Portland, OR 97213
1-85182-274-7 $45.00 1-503-287-3093
Judith Hill's Irish Public Sculpture: A History is an engaging and panoramic
study which tells the story of public art in Ireland from the High Crosses of
the Celtic period to the sculpture trails of today. Irish Public Sculpture
presents each sculpture in the context of its art, its original purpose, its
place, and the public perception of it in different periods. Irish Public
Sculpture provides the reader with an authoritative appreciation of Ireland's
monumental heritage and contemporary public art. Profusely illustrated with b&w
photography, Irish Public Sculpture is a highly recommended addition to
academic and community library sculpture history and Irish cultural reference
collections.
Bead Art
Alice Korach
Kalmbach Publishing Company
PO Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
0-89024-367-0 $29.95 1-800-533-6644
Bead Art celebrates 81 works by 54 artists selected for the first biennial
Beadworks Exhibition at the Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center.
The works illustrated here with 117 full-color photographs represent the
present and future of the beading movement. Works are constructed from
thousands of tiny glass seed beads, wound from molten glass rods, stitched, and
crocheted with wire. There are pictorial bead-woven images, heavily
bead-encrusted fiber pieces, and free-standing sculptures. The subjects range
from deeply personal statements to whimsical views of ordinary activities.
These marvelous exhibits can also serve as inspiring examples for beginning our
own beat art projects. Superbly photographed.
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