(845) 246-6944 · info@ArtTimesJournal.com

New Art Books / Videos

Compiled By RAYMOND J. STEINER
ART TIMES May, 2005

YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS: Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile by Philippe Bordes. 400 pp.; 9 3/8 x 12 3/8; 175 Illus., 80 in Color; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $75.00 Hardcover. Published to coincide with the first major exhibition of the artist’s work in the U.S. and organized jointly by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (at the Clark Jun 5 — Sep 5), Empire to Exile concentrates on David’s later work. Including both paintings and drawings, the book examines the work as it evolved in light of the political change that occurred in post-revolutionary France. A beautiful book and a significant contribution to our understanding of David’s place in art history. *****
The Art of Frederick Sommer: Photography, Drawings, Collage
by Keith F. Davis, et al. 240 pp.; 11 1/4 x 12 3/4; 213 Illus., 52 in Color; Plate List; Chronology; Index. $65.00 Hardcover. Published on the centenary of the artist, The Art of Frederick Sommers is a sumptuous affair, the volume (the only to be published on the artist in 2005), a collection of his somewhat disturbing, always unexpected, beautifully realized works, including extensive commentary by the authors as well as enigmatic snippets from the artist himself. A stunning book. ***** .
Drawn from Nature: The Print Lithographs of Ellsworth Kelly by Richard H. Axsom. 112 pp.; 10 3/8 x 14 1/8; 89 Illus., 64 in Color; Plates; Checklist; Selected Bibliography. $35.00 Hardcover.  This handsomely produced book serves as the catalogue for a traveling exhibition of the same name presently at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (thru May 15) and which will travel thence to the Hood Museum of Art, NH (Jun 12-Aug 14), the Tate Gallery St Ives, England (Jan 27-May 7, ’06), The AXA Gallery, NYC (Jun 7-Aug 14), and close at the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville, Spain (Sep 21-Jan 14, ’07). Simple line drawings of Ellsworth’s plant lithographs are enhanced by Axsom’s essay on the “act of drawing.” Excellent. ****
The American Country House
by Clive Aslet. 320 pp.; 7 3/4 x 10; 275 Illus., 200 in Color; Notes; Index. $35.00 Softcover. A paperback reprint of an edition that appeared in 1990, The American Country House is a delightful romp through the beautiful, the exotic, the absurd, and the charming, all as exemplified in the eclecticism of “New World” fancy and money. *****
The Unicorn Tapestries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
by Adolfo Salvatore Cavallo. 128 pp.; 9 x 12; 91 Illus., 77 in Color; Appendices; Suggestions for Further Reading. $19.95 Softcover. A paperback reprint of Yale’s original release in 1998, The Unicorn Tapestries is a beautifully illustrated reproduction of one of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (and the world’s) treasures. A handsome addition to your library at a very modest price. *****

EXPOSURES GALLERY PRESS: Hudson to Delaware: The Great Valley by Nick Zungoli (w/Foreword by JoAnn and Paul Dolan. 144 pp.; 11 1/4 x 9 7/8; 141 Color Photographs; Acknowledgments; Technical Information. $75.00 Slipcased Hardcover. Gorgeously produced and lavishly illustrated, The Great Valley is one of the most beautiful books to come across my desk in some time. Inspired by the same picturesque scenery that enchanted the painters of the Hudson River School, Nick Zungoli, a self-taught artist, turns his inquiring lens on the breathtaking beauty of the Hudson Valley Region from the “Hudson to the Delaware” rivers. Internationally recognized as a first-class landscape photographer, this, his first book, celebrates his enormous talent. A delight for the armchair traveler. *****

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS: Time and Transformation in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art by Susan Donahue Kuretsky, et al. 299 pp.; 9 1/2 x 11 1/4; B/W & Color Illus.; Bibliography; List of Artists. $60.00 Softcover. Handsomely produced, Time and Transformation is the accompanying catalogue for a traveling exhibition presently at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY (See Art Review this issue for further details). Includes the work of some sixty Dutch masters and several essays on the phenomena of “time” and “transformation” as they relate to Dutch art. Excellent. *****
Sean Scully: Body of Light
by Brian P. Kennedy, et al. 216 pp.; 9 x 9; 165 Color Illus.; Biography; Bibliography. $60.00 Hardcover. Published to coincide with an exhibition held last year at the National Gallery of Australia, Body of Light presents an overview of the life and art of Irish-born Sean Scully. Handsomely produced. ***
Tom Patti: Illuminating the Invisible
by William Warmus and Donald Kuspit. 128 pp.; 9 x 10; 100 Color Illus.; Plates; Chronology. $45.00 Hardcover. Warmus and Kuspit offer commentary and insights into the glass sculpture of Tom Patti. Arresting images. ****
Giovanni Bellini and the Art of Devotion (Ed.) Ronda Kasl. 184 pp.; 8 1/2 x 11; 131 Illus., 61 in Color; Bibliography. $40.00 Softcover.
Containing several essays by scholars in the field and excellent reproductions, this volume serves to both highlight and analyze the holdings of old master art in the Clowes Collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. A significant achievement. *****
Voices for Tolerance in an Age of Persecution
(Ed.) Vincent P. Carey, et al. 236 pp.; 4 1/2 x 12; 35 B/W Illus.; Checklist/Catalogue of the Exhibition. $40.00 Softcover. The accompanying volume to an exhibition at The Folder Shakespeare Library, Voices for Tolerance is more than the usual fare of exhibition catalogues, including along with its reproductions a series of studies on intolerance that range over many cultures and faiths. A serious and scholarly presentation. ****
Bill Traylor, William Edmondson, and the Modernist Impulse (Eds.) Josef Helfenstein and Roxanne Stanulis. 208 pp.; 8 1/2 x 10; 124 Illus., 75 in Color; Bibliography; List of Works. $40.00 Softcover. The accompanying catalogue for an exhibit that opened at the Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois, and is now presently at the Studio Museum in Harlem (thru Jun 26), this book offers an overview of two African American artists, painter Bill Traynor and sculptor William Edmondson. Excellent reproductions. ***
Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris
by Patricia Sue Canterbury. 144 pp.; 9 1/2 x 11 1/2; 98 Illus., 89 in Color; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $35.00 Softcover. The accompanying catalogue for an exhibition recently mounted at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, From New to Paris offers an overview of the modernist work of Beauford Delaney, a gay and black artist in New York’s Greenwich Village during the ‘30s. Covers Delaney’s artistic sojourns in both New York (1940-52) and Paris (1953-68). ****
Childe Hassam: Impressionist in the West
by Margaret Bullock. 112 pp.; 10 x 12; 79 Illus., 71 in Color; Checklist. $29.95 Hardcover. The accompanying catalogue to an exhibition recently mounted at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, Impressionist in the West offers some 50 works executed by Hassam during his trips west in 1904 an ’08. Excellent reproductions. ****
Made in Japan: The Postwar Creative Print Movement
by Alicia Volk and Helen Nagata. 124 pp.; 8 1/2 x 10; 100 Illus., 85 in Color; Artist’s Biographies; Selected Bibliography. $28.95 Softcover. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the Milwaukee Art Museum (thru Aug 9), Made in Japan explores the interaction of artistic dialogue that occurred between the U.S. and Japan after World War II. Includes almost the whole gamut of print-work. ****
Benjamin West: Allegory and Allegiance
by Derrick R. Cartwright. 56 pp.; 8 1/2 x 10 1/2; 37 Illus., 14 in Color; Notes; Catalogue of the Exhibition. $19.95 Softcover.  Published to coincide with an exhibition of the same name that was recently mounted at the Timken Museum of Art in San Diego, CA, Allegory and Allegiance features eleven major historical works of Benjamin West. **

THAMES & HUDSON INC.: In Camera—Francis Bacon: Film, Photography, and the Practice of Painting by Martin Harrison. 256 pp.; 9 3/8 x 11 1/2; 275 Illus., 200 in Color; Notes; Further Reading; List of Illustrations; Index. $60.00 Hardcover. Martin Harrison, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, re-assesses the work of Francis Bacon through the lens of mass media, film, and photography in light of their influence on many of his major works. New insights and assessments form a major part of this new study. Groundbreaking. ****

PRESTEL: I, Raphael by Dagmar Feghelm. 158 pp.; 9 7/8 x 12 7/8; Color Illus.; Biography and Works; List of Illustrations; Selected Bibliography; Index. $59.00 Hardcover. The third in Prestel’s series (I, Michelangelo and I, Goya) I Raphael continues in the same tradition of beautifully-produced art books, each offering an overview of the life and work of the artist. Slip-cased, these volumes withy their excellent reproductions, will enhance any art library. *****.
Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights by Hans Belting. 122 pp.; 7 3/4 x 9 5/8; B/W & Color Illus.; Bibliography. $19.95 Softcover. Author Hans Belting, through his text and the selective use of close-up details, takes the reader on a journey into the deep recesses of Bosch’s fertile and enigmatic imagination. Very readable. *****

RUDER FINN PRESS: Zabriskie: Fifty Years by Pat Adams, et al. 208 pp.; 8 1/4 x 11 1/4; 400 Illus., 200 in Color. $50.00 Hardcover. A compendium of observations and accolades by a host of artworld notables, Zabriskie: Fifty Years, as its title suggests, celebrates that half-century of one gallery’s being on the “leading edge” in the art business. ***

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS: Robert Bechtle: A Retrospective by Janet Bishop, et al. 208 pp.; 9 3/4 x 11 1/4; 120 Illus., 110 in Color; Chronology; Exhibition History; Selected Bibliography; Catalogue of the Exhibition. $45.00 Hardcover. Lavishly produced and illustrated, this exhibition catalogue (at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (thru June 5) presents an overview of the entire range of Bechtle’s work. Robert Bechtle: A Retrospective offers series of essays that explore and assess the significance and influences of one of America’s founders and practitioners of what has come to be known as “photorealism.” A definitive work. *****

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS: Surrealism: Desire Unbound by Jennifer Mundy. 352 pp.; 9 3/4 x 10 7/8; 300 Color Illus.; Notes; List of Works; Index. $39.95 Softcover. An analytical look at a side of the Surrealist Movement that, until now, has had little serious attention, Desire Unbound explores the theme of desire that almost universally informs the bulk of surrealist art. A major study and a compelling read that includes a discussion of photographs, films and manuscripts along with the art of most of the major figures of the movement. *****

POMEGRANATE: Keith Morrison by Renée Ater. 128 pp.; 8 1/2 x 11; Over 60 B/W and Color Illus.; Chronology; Index. $35.00 Hardcover. The fifth in Pomegranate’s “The David C. Driskell Series of African American Art, Keith Morrison features the life and work of the Jamaica-born artist, covering a range of his work from the 1960s and on up through 2004. ***

DK PUBLISHING: Sketchbook for the Artist by Dr. Sarah Simblet. 264 pp.; 9 1/4 x 11 1/4; B/W & Color Illus.; Glossary; Index. $30.00 Hardcover. From abstract to representational, from bug to monster; from flower to seashell, from figure to fantasy, Dr. Simblet, teacher at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art and author of Anatomy for the Artist, serves up a wealth of ideas, suggestions, tips, guidance, and direction on the wonderful world of drawing. Covers a wide variety of subjects and the whole range of mediums. A bargain at such a modest price! *****

PHAIDON PRESS: J.W. Waterhouse by Peter Trippi. 240 pp.; 9 7/8 by 11 3/8; 220 Illus., 200 in Color; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $29.95 Softcover. Among one of the most accomplished — and popular — artists of Victorian England, J.W. Waterhouse is here explored and re-assessed by, Peter Trippi, one of the leading scholars of the period. Lavishly illustrated, J.W. Waterhouse is a feast for the eyes and a challenge to those who feel the art of the Victorian period passé. A beautiful addition to the library of all those who cherish beauty in their art. *****

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS: Earth Mapping: Artists Reshaping Landscape by Edward S. Casey. 256 pp.; 7 x 10; 63 Illus., 32 in Color; Notes; Index. $27.95 Softcover. A philosophical look into the relationship between humankind, art, and nature, Earth Mapping explores the influence of and on each by glancing back at early map-making and analyzing the recent crop of “earth” artists and abstract painters. ***

CONTINUUM: The Politics of Aesthetics: The Distribution of the Sensible by Jacques Rancière. 116 pp.; 5 1/2 x 7 3/4; Appendices; Notes; Index. $19.95 Hardcover. This treatise explores the relationship between aesthetics and politics, attempting in the study a rethinking and a defining of aesthetics as isolated from not only politics but also from the greater culture in which it exists. Covers a range from the ancient Greek polis to modern times and concepts. Challenging. ****

ALLWORTH PRESS: Fine Art Publicity by Susan Abbott. 192 pp.; 6 x 9; B/W Illus., Forms; Appendices; Index. $19.95 Softcover. Allworth Press’s latest contribution to the world of the working artist, Fine Art Publicity takes you through the steps towards success. Abbott, a public relations consultant, has long been the business of promoting art as a commodity. ***

Return to Books & Reviews Index

Art Times HomePage