The Art Bookshelf

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THE ART BOOKSHELF

Painting Place
David P. Silcox
University of Toronto Press
250 Sonwil Dr., Buffalo, NY 14225-5516
0-8020-4095-0 $65.00 1-800-565-9523

Painting Place: The Life And Work Of David Milne tells the remarkable
story of one of Canada's great artists and his work. Lavishly illustrated
and based on many years of research, Painting Place provides a perceptive
analysis of David Milne (1882-1953) with respect to both his paintings and
his voluminous, lively writings. Milne's unique and striking images set
him on a path of his own early in his life. He never sought fame or
commercial success, but in time curators sought him out, critics hailed
his work, and knowledgeable collectors bought his paintings and prints.
Most import of all, he was a painter[s painter, acknowledged by other
artists as an innovator of supreme ability, an uncompromising master of
technique, and a creator of memorable paintings. Painting Place is a
delightful, informative, and thoughtful presentation of a memorable man
and his equally memorable artistic legacy.

The Art of the Picture Frame
Jacob Simon
National Portait Gallery
St. Martin's Place, London, England, WC2H 0HE
1-85514-172-8 ú25.00 0-171-306-0055

The National Portrait Gallery is mounting the first major exhibition in
Britain (8 November 1996 - 9 February 1997) on pictures and their frames.
The Art Of The Picture Frame: Artists, Patrons And The Framing Of
Portraits In Britain is the work of Jacob Simon, Curator of 18th century
portraits, who has organized and selected the exhibition which explores
the themes of style, function, technique, perception and choice of frames.
Based on the NPG's exceptionally fine and representative collection, the
exhibition ranges from the early 16th century to the present day and
includes some 180 frames (most of them with their pictures). How an image
is framed will consciously (or subconsciously) affect the way in which it
is received. The effect of different frames on the same picture is
explored using a series of frames made over the past 200 years for the
NPG's portrait of William Shakespeare. The Art Of The Picture Frame is a
unique exhibition and has produced a truly memorable catalog.

Vintage Illustration
Rick & Charlotte Martin
Collectors Press, Inc.
PO Box 230986, Portland, OR 97281
1-888054-00-X $35.00 1-503-684-3030

Vintage Illustration: Discovering America's Calendar Artists 1900-1960
contains hundreds of works never before published. The authors, Rick &
Charlotte martin, bring to us the works of Fox; Armstrong; Pressler;
Kenyon; Thompson; Hintermeister; Goodwin; Crandell, and a host of others.
There is a special chapter devoted to the enormously popular "Indian
Maiden". Also included are artist biographies, the step-by-step calendar
making process, and a special collectors pricing index. With over 750 full
color and b/w images, Vintage Illustrated is a veritable treasure trove of
the calendar art of yesteryear and a calendar art browsers absolute
delight!

Henri Matisse
Catherine C. Bock-Weiss
Garland Publishing
0-8153-0086-7 $95.00

It will be the serious college-level collection which will appreciate the
addition of this new reference to their collections: a study which
examines Matisse's work, the scholarship done during his lifetime and
after his death, and the sources which catalog his exhibitions, articles
and published monographs. This in-depth reference is important for any
definitive study of Matisse's life and works.

John Wiley

Neal Zimmerman's Home Office Design (0-471-13433-3, $19.95) provides a
fine examination of the elements of creating an efficient, workable home
office environment. From designing the home office to considering
competing floor plans and drawings and tailoring design to budget, this is
a practical approach which goes beyond competing photo-oriented coffee
table guides. Linda Blair's Design Sense (0-471-14104-6, $29.95) covers
the basics of interior design investments and options. This examines
philosophy, techniques and levels of consideration in the process of
designing an efficient, workable space, and includes plenty of practical
applications and tips.

Degas
Jean Sutherland Boggs
Art Institute of Chicago/Abrams, Dist.
0-8109-6324-8 $19.95 1-800-345-1359

Portraits of Degas' early career and details on his works use the Art
Institute's extensive Degas holdings to provide visual embellishment.
Expect a title light on discussion and heavy on visual images, with Boggs
tracing patterns of experimentation and innovation which were key Degas
contributions.

Splash 4
Rachel Wolf
North Light Books
0-89134-677-5 $29.99

Over 120 watercolor paintings which celebrate light are gathered in this
beautiful collection of contrasts and images. This gathers illustrations
from over a hundred contemporary American watercolorists, who examine the
nature of light in art and explore how their used it to their advantage. A
highly recommended collection of stunning images.

European Sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum
Paul Williamson, Editor
Antique Collector's Club, Dist.
1-85177-173-5 $49.50

The Victoria & Albert Museum holds one of the finest collections of
post-classical sculpture in the world, and this volume presents over a
hundred collection holdings, described in detail and illustrated with
full-page color photos. The chronological arrangement and inclusion of
rare and medieval pieces blends with essays and surveys to make a
beautiful presentation indeed.

University of Oklahoma Press

Two very different, highly recommended, unique titles are critically
important choices for art library holdings. Lillian Ackerman edits A Song
To The Creator (0-8061-2877-1, $18.95), examining traditional arts of
Native American women of the plateau region. Interviewers present
question-and-answer sessions with the female artists charting the origins
of their traditional creations, tribal history and involvements, and the
basics of locating and using materials. Anne Morand's Thomas Moran
(2704-X, $75.00) provides an unusual illustrated catalog of Moran's field
sketches, with an accompanying essay tracing his seventy-year career.
While Moran is best known for his portraits of the American West, these
field sketches from 1856-1923 demonstrate the wider range of his works and
present excellent insights into his style and influences.

The Spirit of African Design
Sharne Algotsson and Denys Davis
Clarkson Potter
0-517-59916-3 $35.00

Two design experts share their knowledge of and enthusiasm for African
design and style, presenting African motifs as displayed in contemporary
home settings. As most titles on African design focus on either museum
holdings or native settings, this makes for a different approach to
African design which teaches a new perspective, standing apart from the
myriad of African art and contemporary design standards.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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reviewers are volunteers. No funding is accepted from any publisher or
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Midwest Book Review
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
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