FA: $5.00 Art Nouveau

[Elric of Imrryr]

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Art Nouveau
edited by Peter Selz and Mildred Constantine
with articles by Greta Daniel, Alan M. Fern, Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Peter Selz

Hard Cover, with Jacket, Plantin Press, 1959, 192
jacket is damaged, torn, and worn at edges. 4" tear on front of jacket, and tape on spine.
name in ink inside front cover.

What is Art Nouveau? A passing phase or a significant move ment? This book tries to give the
answer, based on a careful and detailed examination of the
underlying sources and the works of art which, spread all over the world, carry this stylis
tic denomination.

It deals with the period at the turn of the century which gave rise to one of the most
controversial movements in art, enthusiastically acclaimed at the
moment of its inception and then, soon after, emphatically denied any value.

But as often happens in the succession of art cycles, the period cherished by the fathers is
derisively scorned by the sons and re-evaluated by later
generations. Art Nouveau, the dominant style of 1895-1905, which not only encompassed all
branches of artistic endeavor but also left its imprint on minute
details of daily life, is undergoing this very process today. The curi osity concerning Art
Nouveau is widespread and the revival of interest in this period can
be measured by the increasing number of exhibitions and publications.

The authors follow the germination, growth and flowering of a style heralded all over Europe
and America in its own time as a new art form, free of the
traditional imitation of the his torical past, new and revolutionary in its emphasis on the
use of decorative form, line and color, and rich in its symbolic
meaning.

In search of the antecedents for the great variety of art forms in our own time, they point
out the importance of basic ele ments inherent in Art Nouveau as
foreshadowing art and de sign of the twentieth century.

They also deal with the extension into all realms of artistic activity which Art Nouveau
made it its gospel to unite: from painting murals to embroidering
pillows, from carving chairs to fusing glass, from building castles to designing exquisite
jewelry and to printing beautiful books.

To do justice to the richness of the material, several experts in their fields have joined
forces under the guidance of Dr. Peter Selz who has written the
introduction and the chapter on painting, sculpture and prints. Professor Alan M. Fern has
written on the graphic work, Miss Greta Daniel on the deco rative
arts and Dr. Henry Russell Hitchcock on architecture. A broad bibliography supplied by
Professor James Grady adds to the completeness of this book. This
comprehensive publica tion is the first critical definition of the style to be published in
the United States.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction by Peter Selz
Graphic Design by Alan M. Fern
Painting and Sculpture, Prints and Drawings by Peter Selz
Decorative Arts by Greta Daniel
Architecture by Henry-Russell Hitchcock
Notes to the Text
Bibliography by James Grady
Biographies and Catalogue of the Exhibition