art biography

Softcover. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, First Edition, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover published to accompany the exhibition, Church's Great Picture, The Heart of the Andes, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 5, 1993 - January 2, 1994. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 168 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy still in shrink wrap. Color and black & white images throughout. Tight copy. Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power traces the path of this remarkable early feminist and visionary art patron. In Rubinstein's world, art and commerce blended seamlessly. She ornamented her salons and homes with splendid artworks--Surrealist murals, modernist portraits, Art Deco furniture, Venetian mirrors, and one of the era's great collections of African and Oceanic art. Her understanding of beauty was similarly expansive and democratic: she saw the face as the site for self-expression and the exploration of identity. The Rubinstein beauty program thus included not only makeup and hairdressing, but also lessons in health, deportment, and culture. Such features, innovative at the time and wildly popular, today provide a fascinating glimpse into popular culture as it affected women in the 20th century.

Hardcover. Steidl, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 360 pages. In 1878, the Photographic Times claimed that ten minutes provided sufficient exposure for photographing a landscape. Six years earlier, an English immigrant to the West Coast named Eadweard Muybridge, going by the commercial name of Helios, had already pushed photography far in the opposite direction: not to soak up time into pictures, but to divide time with the quickest exposures then imaginable. In 1872, the tycoon Leland Stanford had commissioned Muybridge to photograph his horse, Occident, to determine whether it ever lifted all four hooves off the ground at once. In proving that this was indeed the case, Muybridge achieved a five-hundredth-of-a-second exposure, and so began an anatomy of motion-in humans, horses, birds-that exploded the possibilities of photography and ultimately led to the development of the motion picture. Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change offers an opportunity to trace the life and art of the great photographer. In the wake of a wave of recent scholarship and renewed interest, it pitches his entire body of work against the backdrop of one of the most transformative periods of American and European history. Published to accompany a retrospective exhibition organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Helios features essays by Philip Brookman, Marta Braun, Corey Keller and Rebecca Solnit that provide a variety of new approaches to Muybridge's art and influences.

Hardcover. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich , 1st, 1972, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Two hardcovers in a red cloth slipcase. Vol. 1: 234 illustrations., 76 in color, 356 pages. Vol. 2: 307 illustrations, 79 in color, 366 pages. Translated from French by Jean Stewart. Clean set. Some plates, and some photo panoramas, are foldout. A labor of love for the poet who knew Matisse well, and who worked for 27 years on this project. NOTE: DUE TO SIZE AND WEIGHT, DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Hardcover. Berkeley , University of California Press, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn, unclipped dust jacket, 455 pages. This biography of Henry Thoreau offers insight into his social activism, his interest in fine arts, William Gilpin and John Ruskin's influence on his nature writing, and his involvement in, and influence by, the Agassiz-Darwin debate over "The Origin of Species." Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1st US, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 394 pages, b&w illustrations. The adventures of Tintin and his dog, Snowy, have captivated people worldwide since they first appeared as an insert in the Belgian Catholic newspaper Le Vintieme Siecle in 1929. Available for the first time in English, this insightful biography delves deep into the psyche of Tintin creator Georges Remi and his public persona Herge. Author of the critically acclaimed Tintin and the World of Herge and the last person to interview Remi, Benoit Peeters tells the complete story behind Herge's origins and shows how and why the nom de plume grew into a larger-than-Remi personality as Tintin's popularity exploded. Drawing on interviews and using recently uncovered primary sources for the first time, Peeters reveals Remi as a neurotic man who sought to escape the troubles of his past by allowing Herge's identity to subsume his own. As Tintin adventured, Herge lived out a romanticized version of life for Remi.

Hardcover. Brookfiled, VT, Ashgate, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR. 159 pages. 24 color plates and 144 B&W illustrations. Black pictorial dust jacket. Black boards with silver gilt title to spine. Herkomer: A Victorian artist is a study of the life and work of the Victorian portraitist and social-realist painter, a self-made polymath whose boundless enthusiasm led him to take an early and important interest in photography, film-making, stagecraft and motoring. Biography of artist by publishing company laid-in. Overall, a clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Germany, Steidl, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 262 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy still in publishers shrink-wrap. Photographs throughout. Tight copy. The High and Lonesome Sound combines Cohen's vintage photos, film and musical recordings as well as an anecdotal text into a multimedia tribute to this underappreciated legend of American music whose every performance was, in Cohen's words, "not just a rendition of music, but a test of something to be overcome."

Hardcover. Germany, Steidl, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 262 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy still in publishers shrink-wrap. Photographs throughout. Tight copy. The High and Lonesome Sound combines Cohen's vintage photos, film and musical recordings as well as an anecdotal text into a multimedia tribute to this underappreciated legend of American music whose every performance was, in Cohen's words, "not just a rendition of music, but a test of something to be overcome."

Hardcover. New York, Knopf, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 336 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. Color and Black and white pictures throughout. Brings together for the first time the artist's extraordinary eighty-two-year career, revealed in more than 360 of his iconic black-and-white and color drawings, illustrations, and photographs--his influences, his techniques, his evolution from his earliest works to his last drawings, and with a biographical text by David Leopold, Hirschfeld authority, who, as archivist to the artist, worked side by side with him and has spent more than twenty years documenting the artist's extraordinary output.

Hardcover. NY, Skyhorse, 2nd pr., 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 442 pages, color illustrations. The first portrait of the renowned artist's life-as spirited and unique as his pen-and-ink drawings. Beginning in the 1920s, he caricatured Hollywood actors, Washington politicians, and-his favorite-celebrities of the stage. Broadway belonged to Hirschfeld. His work appeared in the New York Times and other publications, as well as on book jackets, album covers, posters, and postage stamps, for more than seventy-five years. He lived in Paris, Moscow, and Bali, and in a pink New York townhouse on a star-studded block where his closest friends-Carol Channing, S. J. Perelman, Gloria Vanderbilt, Brooks Atkinson, Elia Kazan, Marlene Dietrich, and William Saroyan-flocked in and out.

Hardcover. NY, Skyhorse, 2nd pr., 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 442 pages, color illustrations. The first portrait of the renowned artist's life-as spirited and unique as his pen-and-ink drawings. Beginning in the 1920s, he caricatured Hollywood actors, Washington politicians, and-his favorite-celebrities of the stage. Broadway belonged to Hirschfeld. His work appeared in the New York Times and other publications, as well as on book jackets, album covers, posters, and postage stamps, for more than seventy-five years. He lived in Paris, Moscow, and Bali, and in a pink New York townhouse on a star-studded block where his closest friends-Carol Channing, S. J. Perelman, Gloria Vanderbilt, Brooks Atkinson, Elia Kazan, Marlene Dietrich, and William Saroyan-flocked in and out.

Hardcover. New York, E. P. Dutton, 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 206 pages, b&w illustrations. White cloth spine, red boards. Pictorial dust jacket. For-edge rough cut. Light wear to edges and covers, slight bump to lower edge of spine, else a very nice, tight, clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, E. P. Dutton, 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 206 pages, b&w illustrations. White cloth spine, red boards. Pictorial dust jacket. For-edge rough cut. Light wear to edges and covers, slight bump to lower edge of spine, else a very nice, tight, clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Assouline , 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 196 pages. From the motel in Psycho and the bachelor pad in Rear Window to the blonde elegance of Tippi Hedren and Grace Kelly, this is the first book about Hitchcock to explore the great director's style, art direction, and use of fashion. Hitchcock's images reveal an aesthetic as vivid as his suspenseful subject matter. Jean-Pierre Dufreigne explores the world of Hitchcock, examining the director's unique atmospheric sensibilities. Featuring many of the actors, set and costume designers, cameramen, composers, and title creators from Hitchcock's inner circle, this stylistic study ends with a catalogue raisonne of Sir Alfred's entire oeuvre. Well illustrated in color and b&w. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Viking Press, 1st, 1955, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: Fair, Hardcover in a worn and chipped dust jacket, 319 pages, b&w illustrations. Biography of one of England's greatest painters and engravers. Shelfworn, a nice reading copy.

Hardcover. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1st, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover set. Volume I: 558 pages. Cloth boards. Illustrated with black & white reproductions of works by Hogarth. Dust jacket quite worn along edges with some tape repair to small tears. Clean, tight copy. Volume II: 557 pages. Cloth boards. Illustrated with black & white reproductions of works by Hogarth. Fore-edge shows slightest foxing. Dust jacket worn along edges with small tears and creases. Clean, tight copy. NOTE: DUE TO WEIGHT AND SIZE, DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Softcover. New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, Revised Ed., 1991, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Three softcover volumes, complete set. Clean, tight trade paperbacks with unmarked interior and text. Straight uncreased spines; like new. b&w illustrations. Indexed. xxiv, 411; xviii, 477; xvi, 567 pages. DUE TO WEIGHT, DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Softcover. New York, Faber & Faber, 1st, 2007, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 229 pages, illustrated throughout in b&w. Clean, unmarked copy in excellent condition. Andrzej Klimowski has already produced two intriguing graphic novels that have combined his skill as a poster designer with his exceptional narrative gifts. Both were stories without words. In his third novel, which alternates text and pictures, he has become more ambitious.

Hardcover. New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 56 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. Color and Black and white pictures throughout. Shocking pink--hot pink, as it is called today--was the signature color of Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) and perhaps her greatest contribution to the fashion world. Schiaparelli was one of the most innovative designers in the early 20th century. Many design elements that are taken for granted today she created and brought to the forefront of fashion. She is credited with many firsts: trompe l'oeil sweaters with collars and bows knitted in; wedge heels; shoulder bags; and even the concept of a runway show for presenting collections. Hot Pink explores Schiaparelli's childhood in Rome, her introduction to high fashion in Paris, and her swift rise to success collaborating with surrealist and cubist artists like Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. The book includes an author's note, a list of museums and websites where you can find Schiaparelli's fashions, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

Softcover. NY, Grove Press, reprint, 1997, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 239 pages. Hettie Jones presents an intimate memoir of her life--from her middle-class Jewish family in Queens to her marriage to the controversial black poet LeRoi Jones and her search for her own artistic voice. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Clarkson Potter, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Definitive study of the pioneer American illustrator. 39 color, 165 black & white illustrations. 248 pages. Faint fade to edge, spine of orange dust jacket,

Hardcover. New Castle DE, Oak Knoll Press, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Two volumes, hardcovers with dust jacket, 872 pages. Burgundy cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spines. Each is a quarto of 12 by 9 inches. At the dawn of the 20th century, Howard Pyle was America's most famous and influential illustrator. Through the illustrated pages of Harper's, Scribner's and Century magazines, the American public first became acquainted with the illustrator that they would come to love. Both by example and through his teaching, Pyle molded and influenced generations of young artists who have continued his unique vision of illustration far beyond his own lifetime. Published 93 years after the death of Howard Pyle, this book celebrates the enduring and far-reaching achievements of America's foremost illustrator. Illustrated with over 3300 images, this important research tool represents the complete record of all known Howard Pyle illustrations, hundreds of which have not been reproduced since their original publication over 100 years ago. DUE TO WEIGHT, This is a heavy and oversized book and will require extra shipping. International customers please ask for a shipping quote before purchasing.

Hardcover. NY, Harcourt, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 288 pages. From the late 1950s until her death in 1971, renowned photographer Diane Arbus took pictures of oddball performers at the now-forgotten Hubert's Museum, a typical freak show in New York City's seedy Times Square. One frequent subject was Charlie Lucas, first a freak himself, later an inside talker. In 2003, Bob Langmuir, an anxiety-ridden, pill-popping, obsessive antiquarian book dealer from Philadelphia, unearthed a collection of photographs and memorabilia, including Lucas's journals and what he thought were Arbus's photos. This trove of genuine American kookiness came to dominate his life. Following Langmuir's quest--from the slums of Philadelphia to the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art--as he gathered, priced and ultimately came to understand this collection, author Gibson (Gone Boy: A Walkabout), himself an antiquarian book dealer, effortlessly twists these strands together with an emotional wallop. His toil in Hubert's vineyard, Gibson writes of Langmuir, amounted to no more or less than the continuing archaeology of the old, weird America. Gibson's laser focus on Langmuir's shifting state of mind as he struggles to master his personal demons and navigate the pitfalls of his own obsession gives this story its heart and opens a window onto a lost part of the American soul. 21 b&w photos.