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Compiled by RAYMOND J. STEINER
ART TIMES January February 2008

YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS: Jasper Johns: Gray by James Rondeau and Douglas Druick. 320 pp.; 10 x 12.5; 275 Color Illus.; Selected Bibliography; Index of Works. 65.00 Hardcover. Jasper Johns: Gray explores Johns’ monochromatic work, specifically those that feature “gray”. Published in conjunction with an exhibition presently at The Art Institute of Chicago (thru Jan 6, ’08) that will then travel to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Feb 5—May 4, ’08), the volume includes essays by several scholars and an interview with the artist conducted by Nan Rosenthal. Decidedly gray. ***
Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-Century Rome
by Edgar Peters Bowron and Peter Björn Kerber. 240 pp.; 10 1/8 x 11 3/4; 152 Color Illus.; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $60.00 Hardcover. The accompanying catalogue to an exhibition presently at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (thru Jan 27, ’08) that will travel to the National Gallery, London (Feb 20 — May 18, ’08,), Pompeo Batoni celebrates the tercentenary of the artist’s birth. Lavishly illustrated with Batoni’s sumptuous works, the catalogue reproduces many for the first time, all drawn from public and private collections around the world. Includes analysis of his life and time, with special attention given to his wide reception and appreciation. A beautiful book. *****
Marsden Hartley and the West: The Search for an American Modernism by Heather Hole. 166 pp.; 8 7/8 x 11 1/4; 135 Illus., 49 in Color; Notes; Bibliography; Index. $50.00 Hardcover. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (Jan 25 thru May 11, ’08), Marsden Hartley and the West explores Hartley’s evolution from his earlier traditional training to “modernism”. Includes extensive analysis of his time, his colleagues and his life. ****
Ipswich Days: Arthur Wesley Dow and His Hometown by Trevor Fairbrother. 146 pp.; 7 3/4; x 7 3/4; 73 Illus., 67 in Color; Chronology; Appendix. $35.00 Hardcover. Published to coincide with an exhibition currently at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA (thru Jan 6, ’08), Ipswich Days offers a previously unknown (and undocumented) photograph album that the artist produced in 1899. A rare find, this lovely little book reveals both Dow’s love of his natural environment and his interest in the abstractions of color and form that informed his work. A pleasant and informative read. *****

HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC: An Artist’s Handbook: Materials and Techniques by Margaret Krug. 256 pp.; 6 1/2; x 10; 300 Illus., 250 in Color; Glossary; Further Reading; Notes; Index. $29.95 Softcover. Among one of the most comprehensive handbooks that have come across my desk, Margaret Krug’s An Artist’s Handbook might well be the most perfect gift you can give to that artist friend of yours. Whether for pro or beginner, this very nearly covers it all. A super bargain! *****

PEN PRESS: George Hand Wright: An Artist’s Life Examined by Kirsten M. Jensen. 92 pp.; 8 1/2; x 8 1/2;; B/W & Color Illus.; Chronology; Appendices. $? Softcover. A labor of love, this little book reclaims the life and work of an artist overlooked by the vicissitudes of a fickle artworld. Illustrator, printmaker, painter — a more than competent practitioner in all three mediums, George Hand Wright is here brought to light for the first time under one cover. A handsome tribute to an unsung artist.