The Artbook Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
THE ARTBOOK SHELF
Hopper's New England
Carl Little
Pomegranate Artbooks, Inc.
PO Box 6099, Rohnert Park, CA 94927
1-56640-315-4 $24.95
Edward Hopper is one of the most important American painters of the 20th
century and spent nearly every summer of his long artistic career in New
England. Hopper's New England is a collection of 35 of Hopper's finest
paintings of New England, beautifully reproduced in full color. These paintings
include scenes of Gloucester's sail-filled harbors and sunlit streets to the
Cape's hills and dunes, to the monumental lighthouse paintings that have become
icons of American art. Carl Little's essay examines the crucial role New
England played in Hopper's development. The full range of Hopper's work is
explored from early etchings and radiant watercolors to architectural paintings
of Victorian mansions, factories, barns, and summer cottages, to magnificent
sailing pictures in which Hopper expressed his lifelong love of the see. The
later psychological paintings are also here, composites of the landscape with
figures that convey so powerfully the loneliness and isolation for which
Hopper's work is most known.
New Art
Roxana Morcoci, et.al., Eds.
Abrams
0-8109-2674-1 $24.95
What's new in modern art? The publication of this third volume in an ongoing
series packs in work by over 100 artists from around the world. Most are under
age 50, and all works were created since 1990, providing a strong contemporary
showcase of paintings, sculptures, photos and drawings.
American Dreams
David Park Curry, et al.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
2800 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23221
http://www.vmfa.state.va.us
0-917046-48-X $TBA 1-800-943-8632
American Dreams: Paintings And Decorative Arts From The Warner Collection
addresses themes central to America's past and present. The art works selected
for American Dreams range from an 18th century portrait of George Washington to
a 1995 image of Thomas Jefferson, from landscapes of the Hudson River School to
views of the American West, and from American Impressionism to 20th century
Realism. All touch upon dreams that have shaped the American experience.
Following a brief introduction to Jack Warner and the development of his
collection, American Dreams presents commentaries that illuminate the work of
such artists as Thomas Cole, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent,
and Georgia O'Keeffe. Thirty color polates are paired with b/w images of
additional selections from the Warner Collection ahd the Virginia Museum of
Fine Arts. American artists are noted for their unaffected "plan speaking", but
their images take us far beyond what they actually saw. Since the earliest days
of the new republic, American artists have created complex works with layered
meanings, some obvious, others hidden. American Dreams is enhanced with
annotated entires and a reader friendly index.
The Artistic Touch: Volumes 1 & 2
Chris Unwin
Creative Art Press
6850 Brookshire Drive, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
$29.95 each 1-800-750-7010
The first volume of The Artistic Touch (0-9642712-0-6) is a "color explosion"
of art works by Chris Unwin and 64 other outstanding arts, nationally prominent
contemporary artists (mostly in the watercolor medium). The second volume (1-4)
showcases the art works of 91 superlative artists whose paintings will inspire
practicing artists and delight art lovers everywhere. Taken together, this two
volume set provides an exquisite visual experience for the the novice artist,
the experienced artist, and the armchair art connoisseur featuring the full
range of artistic expressions in watercolor and mixed media, from the
realistic, to the impressionist, to abstract subject matter, and the thoughts
and inspirations of the individual artists. The art works themselves range from
the very serious to the humorous, from still life to dynamic composition, The
Artistic Touch is a two volume set that will enhance any private, academic, or
public library artbook collection.
European Glass in the J. Paul Getty Museum
Catherine Hess & Timothy Husband
The J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90049-1687
0-89236-255-3 $100.00 1-800-223-3431
The Getty Museum's outstanding collection of postclassical European glass
represents a well-defined chapter within the history of the remarkable medium.
These fascinating objects (ranging in date from the late Middle Ages to the
late 17th century) originated in important Italian, German, Bohemian,
Netherlandish, Silesian, and Austrian centers of productions. The 68 pieces
presented in this handsome and highly recommended volume include vessels made
to resemble rock crystal or chalcedony; glass blown into unusually large or
remarkably refined shapes; and glass decorated with ornament that is
intricately applied, elegantly enameled, or gilded. Each object is described in
detail, including provenance, bibliography, and relevant comparative examples.
An introductory essay traces the history of European glass from classical times
to the present. European Glass In The J. Paul Getty Museum is enhanced further
with a glossary, maps, an index, 69 color and 199 duotone illustrations.
The Oxford Dictionary of Art
Ian Chilvers, et.al.
Oxford University Press
0-19-280022-1 $18.95
Over 3,000 entries on painting, sculpture, drawing and other applied arts from
the 5th century through modern times makes for a concise yet broad coverage
which will appeal to any art student. The summaries are often more detailed
than would be anticipated in a 500+ page paperback, offering fine explanations
and cross-references to other topics.
Martin Johnson Heade
Barbara Novak and Timothy Eaton
University of Washington Press
0-9655819-0-X $39.95
This survey of the turn of the century painter provides a beautiful catalog
documenting his flowers and landscape paintings: a work which goes beyond
reproducing paintings, and which provides a study of his style and intentions.
Enjoy a rare art expose which reveals Heade's approach to natural history
representation.
The Floating of Being
Ku, Fu-sheng
Strawberry Hill Press
Strictly Book Promotion (publicity)
3848 S.E. Division, Portland, OR 97202
#6424 $39.95 1-503-235-5989
The Floating Of Being: The Retrospective Of Ku, Fu-sheng 1959-196 showcases the
work of a most remarkable, multimedia artist. Born in Shanghai in 1934, Mr. Ku
and his family fled the Communists in 1948 for Taiwan. One of Asia's leading
modern artists, after his formal studies of art in Taiwan, Mr. Ku went to
Paris, where he studied and painted, and then on to New York where he continued
developing his unique style. A master with color, he works in oils and
watercolors, on canvas and wood, prints, collage, fabric, porcelain and glass.
The Floating Of Being is a catalog of his first retrospective showing his
artistic vision. The Floating Of Being is enhanced with 58 full color photos
and more than 230 b/w photos of his work. Many of these works are in museums
around the world and many more are in hundreds of private collections. Highly
recommended.
The Age of Rossetti, Burne-Jones & Watts
Andrew Wilton & Robert Upstone, Eds.
Flammarion/Abbeville Press
0-208013-643-7 $55.00
Symbolism was an influential and popular art movement in Britain which had
links to the works of European Symbolism. This scholarly coverage recommended
for college-level art libraries uses the British Symbolists as its starting
point, revealing its influence upon British artists, who then influenced others
in other countries. While this is published to coincide with a major traveling
exhibition, it stands well on its own.
Phaidon Press/Chronicle Books
Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair's Islamic Arts (0-7148-3176-X $22.95) provides
an excellent, comprehensive survey highlighting the various characteristics
which connect all phases of Islamic lands and artistic development, from
600-1800. Photos, maps and plans illustrate this fine classic history, which
provides important background and applied arts information to college-level
students. Nigel Spivey's Greek Art (3368-1 $22.95) provides an excellent
account of Greek art and archaeology, covering sites, artistic findings, and
early concepts of beauty and art in Greek society. James Rubin's Courbet
(3180-8 $22.95) provides an excellent account of an ambitious painter from
rural Ornans who was rebuffed by his 1800s art world in Paris and attacked for
his realistic portraiture. The in-depth account includes excellent photos and
presentations of his work as well as his politics and perspective. David
Irwin's Neoclassicism (3369-X $22.95) provides the first study of Neoclassicism
to embrace all manifestations of the style. Color photos throughout trace the
early history and development of this movement. John Lowden's Early Christian &
Byzantine Art (3168-9 $22.95) provides an authoritative account of these early
art styles throughout the period of the Byzantine Empire up to 1453. Photos and
text explain how and why the art was made and used. These excellent collections
are in-depth and appropriate for both supplemental and primary classroom use:
they provide plenty of detailed historical as well as art and archaeological
information.
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