The Artbook Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
Greek and Roman Art
Eleni Vassilika
Cambridge University Press
40 West 20th Street, NY, NY 10011-4211
0-521-62378-2 $59.95 http://www.cup.org
The Fitzwilliam Museum has arguably one of the finest collections of
antiquities in the United Kingdom. Assembled mainly through bequests and gifts,
it is a stunning exhibition of Greek and Roman art. Skillfully assembled by
curator Eleni Vassilika, Greek And Roman Art is a splendidly illustrated book
presents sixty-four images of the finest examples of Greek, Etruscan, Cypriot
and Roman art dating from the Prehistoric to the late Roman Period, and ranging
from the monumental to the decorative. The concise text provides an
introduction to the art, technology and history for the non-specialist general
reader as will as new insights for the expert and scholar. Many of the objects
are published here for the first time. Greek And Roman Art is a superb and much
appreciated contribution to the growing body of informative literature on this
remarkable field of art history.
Elvgren: His Life and Art
Max Allan Collins & Drake Elvgren
Collectors Press, Inc.
PO Box 230986, Portland, OR 97281
1-888054-05-0 $39.95 1-800-423-1848
Known to nostalgia buffs as "The Norman Rockwell of Cheesecake", Gil Elvgren's
"pretty girl" calendar and advertising art appeared not only on the walls of
barracks, but also in barber shops, saloons, filling stations, garages, frat
houses, and Elks Clubs -- anywhere men gathered to work or play. Elvgren's
sexually attractive girl next door (a fantasy female who combined innocence
with availability, whose rosy, apple cheeks and ample, supple curves created an
aura at once wholesome and provocative) proved far more influential than other
pin-up artists of the day. Elvgren: His Life And Art (co-authored by the
artist's son Drake Elvgren) offers a first time behind-the-scenes look at this
prolific artist and his life. Of special interest are the dozens of artist
photographed models posing next to the finished calendars. Elvgren: His Life
And Art is a fascinating, first-hand approach to the genius of Elvgren's
technique.
Martin Johnson Heade
Barbara Novak
University of Washington Press
Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145-5096
0-9655819-1-8 $29.95
This gorgeous coverage of turn of the century nature artist Heade provide
beautiful full-page close-ups of his flowers and other natural history scenes,
accompanied by comments illustrating his techniques and sketching experiments.
Enjoy excellent color and plenty of fine examples.
150 Years of American Painting
Linda Jones Gibbs
University of Chicago Press
5801 South Ellis Ave., Chicago IL 60637
0-842-52318-9 $50.00
American painting history from 1794-1944 is detailed in this catalog to the
collection of the Museum of Art, Brigham Young University. This is more than a
presentation of images: Gibbs examines the underlying implications and meanings
of the images and their presentation, making for a fine analysis of American
portraits.
Harry N. Abrams
100 - 5th Ave, New York NY 10011
Stephen Calloway's Aubrey Beardsley (0-8109-4009-4, $39.95) celebrates the
artist's 1800s illustrations in a title which blends biographical coverage with
plenty of black and white and color examples of his works. Designs are
reproduced from original drawings and early editions of books and magazines he
illustrated, and presents plenty of depth and diverse features of the range of
his works. Therese Thau Heyman's Posters American Style (3749-2, $35.00)
examines a range of poster choices and styles; from advertising art and those
illustrating events and political concerns to sports and advice posters. The
tie between American life and culture and artistic focus in the posters
provides an unusual and unique touch to this examination of poster art trends.
Peter Arnett introduces Gary N. Van Wyk's African Painted Houses
(0-8109-1990-7, $39.95) reveals the Basotho dwellings of South Africa. The
author, a South African art historian, documents the history and artists of
these houses, studying the house-painting practice and providing plenty of
full-page color photos.
Art in Wales
Eric Rowan
University of Wales Press/Paul & Co.
PO Box 442, Concord, MA 01742
0-7083-1408-2 $25.00 1-978-369-3049
Art In Wales: An Illustrated History 1850-1980 is the first major study of the
fine arts in Wales during the modern period: a pioneering expedition into
territory that has been neglected by the wider world of art history
scholarship. Art In Wales is presented as a broad survey, bringing together
hitherto unrelated individuals and events, to give a coherent account of the
evolution of modern art in Wales. Using a wealth of illustrations, art
historian Eric Rowan argues that there is no case for an autonomous "School of
Ales". His theme is that Welsh art has developed into a vigorous tributary to
the mainstream of western art. Art In Wales tells the story of those
outstanding artists (working in Wales and outside Wales) who, by their
collective efforts have made modern Welsh art a worthwhile subject in its own
right.
Charles T. Williams Retrospective
Diana R. Block, exhibit organizer
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336
1-57441-045-8 $25.00 1-800-826-8911
Charles Williams was the first significant modern sculptor of Texas. Williams
died a very young man at 48. He spent twenty of those years involved in intense
artistic production, contributing immense vitality to,a nd acting as a catalyst
for, the emerging contemporary art scene in North Texas. Never content to limit
himself to one material or formula, Williams continually experimented with
varying media and forms; his work was, therefore, particularly hard to
categorize in the age when a signature style was expected. After clay, Williams
worked in traditional methods with wood and stone, culminating in the large
scale Earth Mother, 1958, made from five large blocks of Carthage marble.
Metals also captured Williams attention as did work with "found objects'.
Charles T. Williams Retrospective With Friends: Roy Fridge, Jim Love, David
Mcmanaway, Gene Owens is drawn from an exhibition organized by Diana R. Block
and featured 43 duotone reproductions along with an eight-page color insert of
his work.
Light Sculptures by Lucana
Ana Tobon & Reinhold Mibelbeck
Edition Stemmle/Abbeville, dist.
22 Cortlandt Street, NY, NY 10022
3-908161-23-1 $35.00 1-800-278-2665
Intensely searching for beauty, Ana Lucia Perez Tobon (pseudonym: Lucana)
monumentalizes all that she photographs with sculptural form. Light Sculptures
by Lucana monumentalizes people and transforms locations to magical places and
objects to fetishes. Lucana examines how we look at and see the world -- how
the human and the inanimate are both linked and separate. In a contemporary
world that often questions and even reflects aesthetic beauty, her photographs
confirm the strength of images rooted in such artistic form. Light Sculptures
by Lucana is enhanced with 104 b&w photographs.
Songs on Stone
Museum Studies
The Art Institute of Chicago Press
1224 West Van Buren, Chicago, IL 60607
0-86559-153-9 $19.95 1-312-563-5151
Museum Studies is published twice annual by The Art Institute of Chicago and
presents articles on the collections and history of the Art Institute. Songs on
Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography is a special issue
featuring an outstanding collection of Whistler's lithographs. Ten short essays
examine Whistler's working methods and consider the ways in which lithography
helped the artist to resolve aesthetic challenges in a variety of media. An
introductory essay, chronology, and glossary situate Whistler's lithographic
activity in the larger framework of late nineteenth-century printmaking.
Including over 200 high-quality reproductions, Songs On Stone serves both as a
guide to the exhibition and as an essential reference source for works that are
seldom exhibited and have rarely been studies.
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