american art

Hardcover. NY, Grand Central Publishing, 1st, 2023, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 388 pages. Drawing on contributions from remaining members, contemporaneous musicians, critics, filmmakers, and the generation of artists who emerged in their wake, this "monumental origin story" celebrates the legacy of the Velvet Underground, which burns brighter than ever in the 21st century. Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen--whether it be the 1960s or the 2020s--the Velvet Underground represents ground zero. Crystallizing the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang around a psychedelic rock and roll band--a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory--the Velvets were the first major American rock group with a mixed gender line-up. They never smiled in photographs, wore sunglasses indoors, and invented the archetype that would be copied by everyone from Sid Vicious to Bobby Gillespie. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia, and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love.

Hardcover. Loa Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 136 pages. Offering a fresh account of developments that have since characterized postwar British painting, this catalogue focuses on Michael Andrews, Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, R. B. Kitaj, and Leon Kossoff-- artists who worked in close proximity as they were developing new forms of realism. If for many years their efforts seemed to clash with dominant tendencies, reassessment in recent decades has afforded their work a central position in a richer and more complex understanding of postwar British art and culture. Rigorous and gorgeously illustrated, the essays reflect on the parallel yet diverse trajectories of these artists, their friendships and mutual admiration, and the divergence of their practice from the discourse of high modernism. The authors seek to dispel the notion of their work as a uniquely British endeavor by highlighting the artists' international outlook and ongoing dialogue with contemporary European and American painters as well as masters from previous generations.

Hardcover. NY, Norton, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 480 pages, 410 b&w duotone plates seected from the 145,000 photographs made between 1935 and 1943 by a team of now-famous photographers employed by the Farm Security Administration, whose ranks included Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans. The agency's mission went well beyond photographing dispossessed rural people, and this book is proof. It includes 410 remarkable images made in large citiesas well as dozens of small towns and villages throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Large format in a bright, unclipped dust jacket.

NY, Norton, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 480 pages, 410 b&w duotone plates seected from the 145,000 photographs made between 1935 and 1943 by a team of now-famous photographers employed by the Farm Security Administration, whose ranks included Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans. The agency's mission went well beyond photographing dispossessed rural people, and this book is proof. It includes 410 remarkable images made in large citiesas well as dozens of small towns and villages throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Large format in a bright, unclipped dust jacket.

Hardcover. NY, Abrams, 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 263 pages. Louis Michel Eilshemius was a born poet-visionary. His paintings reveal a gift for lyrical expression, an ability to impart an unearthly, dreamlike quality to canvas, and an extraordinary originality. The abundant illustrations in this first comprehensive volume on the artist attest to the importance of his contribution to American art at the turn of the century. In his sensitive text, Paul J. Karlstrom illuminates the contradictions that provide the key to understanding Eilshemius's life and art. Thoroughly trained in the academic manner, Eilshemius later became known primarily as the painter of bizarre, 'primitive' nudes. His early paintings, landscapes influenced by the Barbizon school and Camille Corot, differ dramatically from his late works, which are naive and often disturbing fantasies. At his best, Eilshemius was a magician of the canvas, yet his unstable character and unrealistic ambitions prevented him from fully realizing his talent.

Hardcover. NY, St. Martins Press, 1st, 1984, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 145 pages. From the front dust jacket flap "Louise Dahl-Wolfe, one of the most celebrated photographers of the thirties, forties and fifties, was a uniquely American artist whose work had enormous ramifications for Horst, Avedon, Penn, and other great photographers who followed her. Working in the heydey of Harper's Bazaar with editor-in-chief Carmel Snow and renowned fashion editor Diana Vreeland, she came to fashion photography at a time when formal, sometimes stilted, European elegance was the norm and infused it with her fresh new vision - informal, intimate, and undeniably American". Preface by Frances McFadden.

Softcover. New York, New American Library of World Literature, 1st, 1959, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 128 pages. Paperback. Signet Book #1654. Cover art by Bayre Phillips. Light crease to covers. A Carter Borwn Mystery Series.

Softcover. New York, Andrew Crispo Gallery, Inc., 1st, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 74 color and B&W illustrations. Foreword by Andrew J. Crispo. Overall very tight and clean copy.

Softcover. Hantsport NS, Lancelot Press, 1st, 1983, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 159 pages. The appendix is a 15 page list of Loyalists giving their residence in Nova Scotia, their nationality, American residence and their occupation. Includes articles on such subjects as Col. James Delancey, Nathan Pushie , the Black Loyalists, etc., etc. Clean copy.

Softcover. Manchester VT, Southern Vermont Arts Center, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover. 66 pages, 14 color and b&w illustrations. A collection of paintings by Italian-American artist Luigi Lucioni (1900-1988). One of his most-known pieces, 'Farewell to the Birches,' appears on the cover. With essays by Stuart P. Embury and Robert L. McGrath. Clean, bright copy.

Softcover. Manchester VT, Southern Vermont Arts Center, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover. 66 pages, 14 color and b&w illustrations. A collection of paintings by Italian-American artist Luigi Lucioni (1900-1988). One of his most-known pieces, 'Farewell to the Birches,' appears on the cover. With essays by Stuart P. Embury and Robert L. McGrath. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Massachusetts, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 1992, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 470 pages. Brown cloth cover, color illustrated dust jacket, 113 color and 206 illustrations. Still in original shrink wrap; book in excellent condition. American artists have been inspired by Italy since the 1760s, when Benjamin West, the first American painter to travel there, was drawn to the ancient Roman ruins and magnificent Renaissance architecture, statuary, and frescoes. This intriguing, superbly illustrated book is the first to explore the fascination Italy held for the American artist from West's time to the eve of World War I.The unique sense of the past found in Italy, where tangible evidence exists of a continual civilization from antiquity to the present, lured countless American artists to its cities, towns, and countryside. Painters from West and Copley in the eighteenth century to Cole, Inness, Whistler, Sargent, and Prendergast in the nineteenth century were inspired to create many of their finest works in Italy, as were American sculptors such as Hiram Powers and Harriet Hosmer and writers from Washington Irving to Henry James.This in-depth study includes 319 illustrations, of which 113 are reproduced in full color, many of works that have not previously been published. Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., John Moors Cabot Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Professor of Art History at Boston University, provides a broad overview of the American perception of Italy and the unique role that Italy played in the formation of American art.

Hardcover. Boston, Massachusetts, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 1992, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 470 pages. Brown cloth cover, color illustrated dust jacket, 113 color and 206 illustrations. Still in original shrink wrap; book in excellent condition. American artists have been inspired by Italy since the 1760s, when Benjamin West, the first American painter to travel there, was drawn to the ancient Roman ruins and magnificent Renaissance architecture, statuary, and frescoes. This intriguing, superbly illustrated book is the first to explore the fascination Italy held for the American artist from West's time to the eve of World War I.The unique sense of the past found in Italy, where tangible evidence exists of a continual civilization from antiquity to the present, lured countless American artists to its cities, towns, and countryside. Painters from West and Copley in the eighteenth century to Cole, Inness, Whistler, Sargent, and Prendergast in the nineteenth century were inspired to create many of their finest works in Italy, as were American sculptors such as Hiram Powers and Harriet Hosmer and writers from Washington Irving to Henry James.This in-depth study includes 319 illustrations, of which 113 are reproduced in full color, many of works that have not previously been published. Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., John Moors Cabot Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Professor of Art History at Boston University, provides a broad overview of the American perception of Italy and the unique role that Italy played in the formation of American art.

Hardcover. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1st, 1962, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Two hardcover volumes, quarto, 337 + 352 pages., indices, well illustrated in color and b&w. Organized by academic artists, folk artists, visiting foreign artists and artists of the Civil War, with detail biographical information on the artists, this has become an indispensable reference work. near fine copies in gilt decorated gray boards with terra-cotta cloth spines. Clean copies.

Hardcover. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1st, 1941, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 366 pages. SIGNED BY AUTHOR ON FRONT ENDPAPER. Blue cloth cover with small gilt illustration embossed to front, gilt lettering embossed to front and spine, 270 b&w plates, appendix of supplemental b&w plates of art pieces described in collection. Previous owner's signature to front endpaper, 2 small squares of tape residue to opposite endpaper, light foxing evident of front and rear endpapers, light wear to cover. This extensive catalog is one of the finest for the study of colonial and early American furniture, painting, and the decorative of arts of the period of 1720-1820.This beautifully printed volume, set in Monotype Bembo and with full-tone collotype illustrations, established a high visual standard for furniture catalogs.

Hardcover. Insight Editions, 1st, 2008, Book: N, Hardcover, 14 pages. From the demented pages of MAD Magazine comes a depraved and uproarious look at contemporary politics' juiciest scandals. Revel in the salacious animation of our fearless leaders' most embarrassing moments. Hunt with Dick Cheney, learn how to spell with Dan Quayle, take speech lessons with George W. Bush, and find out why Alfred E. Neuman is running for President...again and again and again. Mad About Politics: A Pop-Up Book spares nothing at the expense of our elected officials, highlighting the unbearable truth about who's in charge. With precise pop-up ingenuity American power players have never looked so enjoyably foolish. If you're wondering who to vote for on Election Day let MAD About Politics give you some pointers. Suitable for the sardonic this tome of asinine political parody will have anyone with a sense of humor rolling in the aisles.

Hardcover. Brooklyn NY, Elsewhere Editions, 1st, 2025, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, oblong format, b&w illustrations. Introducing the Latin American comics sensation starring a hilarious 6-year-old whose spunky self-confidence will inspire budding activists and curious readers of all ages. Mafalda loves democracy and hates soup. What democratic sector do cats fall into? she asks, then unfurls a toilet paper red carpet and gives her very own presidential address. Mafalda's precociousness and passion stump all grown-ups around her. Dissident and rebellious, she refuses to abandon the world to her parents' generation, who seem so lost. Alongside the irascible Mafalda, readers will meet her eclectic group of playmates: dreamy Felipe and gossipy Susanita, young-capitalist Manolito and rebellious Miguelito. Quino's bright irony and intelligence bring the streets and neighborhoods of Buenos Aires to life. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, St. Martin's Press, 1st, 2023, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 330 pages, b&w illustrations. Paris in the 1920s was bursting with talent in the worlds of art, design and literature. The city was at the forefront of everything new and exciting; there was no censorship; life and love were there for the taking. At its center was the gorgeous, seductive English socialite Nancy Cunard, scion of the famous shipping line. Her lovers were legion, but this book focuses on five of the most significant and a lifelong friendship. Her affairs with acclaimed writers Ezra Pound, Aldous Huxley, Michael Arlen and Louis Aragon were passionate and tempestuous, as was her romance with black jazz pianist Henry Crowder. Her friendship with the famous Irish novelist George Moore, her mother's lover and a man falsely rumored to be Nancy's father, was the longest-lasting of her life. Cunard's early years were ones of great wealth but also emotional deprivation. Her mother Lady Cunard, the American heiress Maud Alice Burke (who later changed her name to Emerald) became a reigning London hostess; Nancy, from an early age, was given to promiscuity and heavy drinking and preferred a life in the arts to one in the social sphere into which she had been born. Highly intelligent, a gifted poet and widely read, she founded a small press that published Samuel Beckett among others. A muse to many, she was also a courageous crusader against racism and fascism. She left Paris in 1933, at the end of its most glittering years and remained unafraid to live life on the edge until her death in 1965. Remainder dot top edge otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Bowdoin College Museum of Art , 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 144 pages. During the nineteenth century, Americans celebrated their towns and cities through printed landscapes. In Maine, lithographs were commissioned from such leading artists as Fitz Henry Lane and talented, lesser known local artists, such as Esteria Butler. This book reproduces many of these works and provides insights into how these growing centers of commerce and industry viewed themselves and wished to be viewed by others. Still in publisher's shrinkwrap.

Hardcover. NY, Robert Ensko, 1st, 1915, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, green cloth with silver lettering, 46 pages. A slim volume listing all known silvermakers, both by name and locations where they worked. Covers a little worn. A clean, important reference for collectors.

Hardcover. Lexington KY, University Press of Kentucky, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. An Armenian national raised in Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897--1987) studied in the influential Stanislavski studio, renowned as the source of the "method" acting technique. Shortly after immigrating to New York in 1926, he created a sensation with an all-black production of Porgy (1927). He then went on to direct the debut Broadway productions of three of the most popular shows in the history of American musical theater: Porgy and Bess (1935), Oklahoma! (1943), and Carousel (1945). Mamoulian began working in film just as the sound revolution was dramatically changing the technical capabilities of the medium, and he quickly established himself as an innovator. Not only did many of his unusual camera techniques become standard, but he also invented a device that eliminated the background noises created by cameras and dollies. Seen as a rebel earlier in his career, Mamoulian gradually gained respect in Hollywood, and the Directors Guild of America awarded him the prestigious D. W. Griffith Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1983. In this meticulously researched biography, David Luhrssen paints the influential director as a socially conscious artist who sought to successfully combine art and commercial entertainment. Luhrssen not only reveals the fascinating personal story of an important yet neglected figure, but he also offers a tantalizing glimpse into the extraordinarily vibrant American film and theater industries during the twenties, thirties, and forties.

Softcover. NY, Da Capo Press, reprint, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 449 pages, b&w illustrations. Man Ray was the quintessential modernist figure - painter, sculptor, photographer, filmmaker, poet, and philosopher. One of the most fascinating of the Surrealists who transformed the Paris art world during the 1920s, Man Ray was an enigma - a Dadaist who revered the Old Masters, an anarchist pursued by wealthy patrons. Driven to make his mark in as many art forms as possible, he struggled bitterly to win acceptance as a painter even as his skill as a photographer brought him world wide fame. Remainder line to bottom edge, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. La Fabrica, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Like new in publishers shrink-wrap. Hardcover, 391 pages, profusely illustrated. This excellent catalog contributes a wealth of new information, providing a valuable contribution to our understanding of Man Ray. The treasure trove of images and objects collected here is drawn from the large archives of the Man Ray Trust in Long Island, New York, and includes little known early works, documents and objects from his private life, working drawings and sketches for major works as well as innumerable familiar masterpieces.

Hardcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press, reprint, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 208 pages. Between 1936 and 1941 Walker Evans and James Agee collaborated on one of the most provocative books in American literature, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941). While at work on this book, the two also conceived another less well-known but equally important book project entitled Many Are Called. This three-year photographic study of subway passengers made with a hidden camera was first published in 1966, with an introduction written by Agee in 1940. Long out of print, Many Are Called is now being reissued with a new foreword and afterword and with exquisitely reproduced images from newly prepared digital scans. Many Are Called came to fruition at a slow pace. In 1938, Walker Evans began surreptitiously photographing people on the New York City subway. With his camera hidden in his coat--the lens peeking through a buttonhole--he captured the faces of riders hurtling through the dark tunnels, wrapped in their own private thoughts. By 1940-41, Evans had made over six hundred photographs and had begun to edit the series. The book remained unpublished until 1966 when The Museum of Modern Art mounted an exhibition of Evans's subway portraits.