YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS: Collecting Sculpture in Early Modern Europe by Nicholas Penny and Eike D. Schmidt. 512 pp.; 9 ¼ x 11 ¼; 449 Illus., 56 in Color; Index. The latest in their History of Art Series, Collecting Sculpture in Early Modern Europe explores and documents the ‘collecting’ personalities and families behind some of our most famous museum collections. Keeping with the high quality usually found in this impressive series, the catalogue is lavishly produced and well illustrated, the catalogue includes the research and studies of a host of scholars in the field. *****
Carroll Dunham Prints: Catalogue Raisonné, 1984-2006 by Allison N. Kemmerer, et al. 256 pp.; 9 ½ x 11 5/8; 431 Color Illus.; Key; Glossary; Concordance; Indices. $65.00 Hardcover. Published in conjunction with a traveling exhibition originating at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Carroll Dunham Prints offers a comprehensive overview of Dunham’s extensive print archives. ** André Masson and the Surrealist Self by Clark V. Poling. 212 pp.; 7 ¾ x 10 ¼; 133 Illus., 33 in Color; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $50.00 Hardcover. In André Masson and the Surrealist Self, Clark V. Poling, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Emory University, explores both art and writings of André Masson in an effort to discover how the artist ‘re-figures’ himself in his art. An interesting journey into the aesthetic concept of “self expression”. ****
Georgia O’Keeffe and the Camera: The Art of Identity by Susan Danly. 122 pp.; 8 5/8 x 11 ¼; 91 Illus., 43 in Color; O’Keeffe Chronology; Exhibition Checklist; Selected Bibliography; Index. $45.00 Hardcover. Published in conjunction with and during a traveling exhibition currently at the Portland Museum of Art (thru Sep 7) which will then travel to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe (Sep 26 – Feb 1, ’09), Georgia O’Keeffe and the Camera includes (some published for the first time) the work of Stieglitz, Newman, Webb, and many others. Beautifully and lavishly illustrated. ****
Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives of Cézanne, Monet, & Rodin by Ruth Butler. 368 pp.; 6 ¼ x 9 ½; B/W Illus.; Appendix: The Value of Money; Notes; Works Consulted; Index. $32.50 Hardcover. Presenting an interesting “behind the scenes” study of Hortense Fiquet, Camille Doncieux, and Rose Beuret, art historian Ruth Butler illuminates and enlightens us about the three women “hidden” in the backgrounds of their more famous husbands. A welcome and much needed ‘revision’ of our usual understanding of the period and work of these three acknowledged masters of western art. *****

DOUGLAS & McINTYRE: TruthBeauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845-1945 by Alison Nordström. 160 pp.; 9 x 11; 140 B/w Illus.; List of Artists; List of Works; Photographic Process Glossary; Acknowledgements. $60.00 Hardcover. This handsomely-produced book celebrates the concept of “pictorialism”, the international movement that elevated photography to a fine art form. Published to coincide with a recent exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery and due to open at the Bass Museum of Art, Miami (Aug 8-Nov 2), the catalogue features the work of an international coteries of photographers, including that of Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz. ****

FRESCO FINE ARTS PUBL./University of New Mexico Press: The Art of Charles W. Thwaites: Freedom of Expression by Susan Hallsten McGarry. 119 pp.; 10 ½ x 12; 124 Illus., 112 in Color; Endnotes; Chronology; Appendices. Index of Illustrations. $ 35.00 Softcover. Published to coincide with a recent exhibition at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, The Art of Charles W. Thwaites presents an overview of the life and work of the artist. His pronouncement that “There are 1,000 ways to paint, why limit yourself to one manner?” fairly sums up the totality of his work: it is varied, from figurative to abstract, from rural to city-scape — in short, a prime example of “freedom of expression.” ***

BARRON’S EDUCATIONAL SERIES: The World’s Most Influential Painters…and the Artists they Inspired by David Gariff. 192 pp.; 8 ¾ x 10 ½; Approx. 225 Color Illus.; Index. $29.99 Hardcover. Researched and written by lecturer/historian David Gariff of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., this informative study would be of use to artists, patrons and students of art at all levels. Beautifully illustrated and amply annotated. *****

INDIANA UNIVSERSITY PRESS: Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals by Kathleen A. Foster, et al. 208 pp.; 9 x 12; 179 Illus., 52 in Color; Archival Sources and Bibliography; Index. $29.95 Softcover. Focusing on one of many of Benton’s public works, Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals, as the title suggests, traces the history of the mural series and their installation at Indiana University. Detailed and fully illustrated. ****

PRESTEL: 50 Women Artists You Should Know by Christiane Weidemann, et al. 176 pp.; 7 ¾ x 9 5/8; 200 Color Illus.; Glossary; Index. $19.95 Softcover. The latest release in Prestel’s long line of informative and useful books 50 Women Artists You Should Know presents precisely that — fifty women artists with reproductions of their work along with well-researched documentary illuminating the live and work of each. With a range from the Renaissance to the present, the book includes such artists as Artemesia Gentileschi, Maria Sibylla Merion, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, and forty-five more. A useful addition to your art library. ****

SUBCULTURE BOOKS: The Artist’s Tao: 44 Principles for an Artist’s Life by Sean Starr. 96 pp.; 5 ¼ x 8. $9.99 Softcover. The writer in me cringes when the very first line of a book that I otherwise enjoy, states: “An artist is defined by the life they live…(italics mine). Why not the word “artists” since, like “they”, it denotes the plural? OK, it’s the purist in me…but right is right and first impressions do count — especially when you are in the business of advising others. Anyway, in spite of the glitch (and there were more subject/pronoun discrepancies that followed), I plowed on and have to admit there are a few nuggets in here for artists to chew over — and the modest price is right. ***

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