art history

Hardcover. San Francisco, Walt Disney Family Museum, 1st, 2018, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 160 pages, illustrated in color and b&w throughout. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. San Francisco, CA, Walt Disney Family Museum, 1st, 2018, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 160 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. A clean, unmarked copy with only minor rubbing to dust jacket. A tight copy. Produced in conjunction with The Walt Disney Family Museum's 2018 exhibition of the same name, Walt Disney's Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation features an array of fascinating artwork and family mementos from each of these accomplished gentlemen, such as sketchbooks, caricatures, and snapshots, as well as original art from the classic films Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty.

Hardcover. San Francisco, CA, Walt Disney Family Museum, 1st, 2018, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 160 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. A clean, unmarked copy with only minor rubbing to dust jacket. A tight copy. Produced in conjunction with The Walt Disney Family Museum's 2018 exhibition of the same name, Walt Disney's Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation features an array of fascinating artwork and family mementos from each of these accomplished gentlemen, such as sketchbooks, caricatures, and snapshots, as well as original art from the classic films Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty.

Softcover. New York, St. Martins Press , 1st US, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 122 pages. Softcover. Small marking to front cover. Otherwise clean copy with minor edgewear. 107 illustrations, including 16 in color. Walter Crane, artist of Kensington, was a man of many talents, but is possibly best known for his original and charmingly executed designs which made him the leading illustrator of children's books of the Aesthetic Movement period. In the face of the commercial vulgarity and ugliness of Victorian industrialised society, he created a delicate and escapist fairy world which, with its emphasis on spontaneity and mobility of line, and its clever use of background and colour, popularised a completely new style of tasteful book designs, and brought them within reach of everyone. The influence of Crane's work and his highly novel theories of design make him an important figure in nineteenth century art history. Rodney Engen, American-born painter and lecturer, discusses Crane's style and ideas in a study delightfully arranged after Crane's own rules and book design.

Hardcover. Bangkok, Muang Boran Publishing House, 1st, 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 164 pages. Hardcover. Color illustrations throughout. Navy blue cover boards (excellent), gilt title on spine and front cover board. Pages unmarked, clean. Dust jacket unclipped, has some slight shelfwear. In very good, colorful condition. Text in Thai and English. 94 pages of color photographs and 7 pages of b/w photographs of 14th-18th century mural paintings at this revered site.

Hardcover. New York , Quantuck Lane Press, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 144 pages, Vibrant watercolors of New York City harbor and life on the waterfront in the 1920s and 30s. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Artist Aldren Watson, the accomplished son of two New York City printmakers, has made a beautiful and historically rich collection of watercolors depicting the part of the city he loved-the waterfront and harbor of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Based on photographs taken by his father in the twenties and thirties, seen here are the city's docks, storefronts, bustling streets, and iconic bridges. These 46 watercolors give us an intimate and accurate sense of the past in this diverse locale. Each painting is accompanied by descriptive and informative text, placing the view in the context of the city and its history. Approximately 50 color reproductions

Hardcover. Guilford CT, TwoDot, 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 159 pages, b&w photos throughout. Classic Photographs from the Farm Security Administration 1936-1943. Featuring images by such renowned photographers as Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Russell Lee, and several others, this book documents ranching culture in western states during the Great Depression and leading up to World War II. This was a period of great change in the ranching West that included the introduction of the automobile, electricity, radio, the telephone, and other technologies that drastically transformed the lives and work of ranching people, and some of the best documentation exists in the powerful documentary photographs by this remarkable group of photographers. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Skira Rizzoli, 1st, 2010, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 224 pages. Illustrated in color and b&w. The most comprehensive book on the artist to date, offering an insightful look into the legendary musician and his enormous impact on the development of jazz. Miles Davis explores the life and art of one of the greatest visionaries in jazz history--through photographs, handwritten musical scores, album covers, posters, and more--cementing his reputation as the embodiment of cool, both on- and offstage. To examine his extraordinary career is also to examine the history of jazz from the mid-1940s through the early 1990s, as Davis was crucial in almost every important innovation and stylistic development during that time. His genius paved the way for these changes, both with his own performances and recordings, and by choosing collaborators with whom he forged new directions. Miles Davis--trumpeter, bandleader, and composer--was one of the most important figures in jazz history. He was born in a well-to-do family in St. Louis in 1926 and died in a Los Angeles hospital in 1991. He was at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, and fusion. Davis worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, including Ron Carter, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Charlie Parker, and Max Roach, among numerous others.

Hardcover. NY, Oxford University Press, 1st, 2004, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 532 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Very light wear to jacket, two small scratches to upper jacket spine. Otherwise very clean and tight copy. In this superb collection of essays, reviews and articles, Giddins brings together, for the first time, more than 140 pieces written over a 14-year period, most of them for his column in the Village Voice (also called "Weather Bird"). The book is first and foremost a celebration of jazz, with illuminating commentary on contemporary jazz events, on today's top musicians, on the best records of the year, and on leading figures from jazz's past. Readers will find extended pieces on Louis Armstrong, Erroll Garner, Benny Carter, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Billie Holiday, Cassandra Wilson, Tony Bennett, and many others.

Hardcover. New York, Rizzoli, reprint, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover, 248 pages. Extensive color photography throughout. Some shelf wear and minor tear to printed acetate dust jacket. Slight rubbing to top corner. Otherwise clean, tight copy. "This book showcases a wide range of styles by such fashion luminaries as Cassini, Chanel, Dior, Armani, and McQueen, among others. The beautiful fashions, photographed by such notable photographers as Patrick Demarchelier, Benno Graziani, Horst, Arthur Elgort, Milton Greene, David LaChapelle, and Irving Penn capture the effervescent spirit that is associated with the wedding dress. The Wedding Dress begins with an overview of the sumptuous wedding gown, chronicling its history from royal weddings to today's celebrities."

Softcover. New York, Abbeville Press, 1st US, 1984, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 160 pages, illustrated throughout in b&w. Previous owner's sticker on front end paper, light edgewear and soil to wrappers. Clean, tight copy. The pictures assembled here show how this artistic culture originated in the aftermath of the First World War and the unsettled early years of the Weimar Republic, uneasily balanced between revolutionary pretensions and the desire for order. The montage of images--photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, books, and film stills--evokes the period with shocking vividness.

Hardcover. New York , Thames & Hudson, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 255 pages, clean hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. B&w photographs throughout by Bischof. His images were influenced by the major photo-movements of his time: the formal concepts of Das Neues Sehen (New Vision), the surrealism of Man Ray, and the documentary tradition of photojournalism. From the 1940s through the early 1950s, he covered World War II, the bombing of Hiroshima, and the Korean War for Life , Paris-Match , and other publications; his most famous series, "Famine in India," appeared in Life in 1951. This first major compilation of Bischof's work is nicely complemented by the text, a joint effort by son Marco and Swiss art historian Magnaguagno that vividly integrates biography and history. Dust jacket with minor edgewear, short closed tear to rear panel.

Hardcover. New York , Thames & Hudson, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 255 pages, clean hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. B&w photographs throughout by Bischof. His images were influenced by the major photo-movements of his time: the formal concepts of Das Neues Sehen (New Vision), the surrealism of Man Ray, and the documentary tradition of photojournalism. From the 1940s through the early 1950s, he covered World War II, the bombing of Hiroshima, and the Korean War for Life , Paris-Match , and other publications; his most famous series, "Famine in India," appeared in Life in 1951. This first major compilation of Bischof's work is nicely complemented by the text, a joint effort by son Marco and Swiss art historian Magnaguagno that vividly integrates biography and history.

Softcover. NY, Quadrant Press, Revised Ed., 1972, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover in pictorial wrappers, 136 pages. Fascinating history of the 'short-lived short line' illustrated with B&W photographs and reproductions of train plans and diagrams, timetables and tickets. Includes text from original 1962 edition, as well as "When the Westchester Was New, " a collection of articles reprinted from railway trade magazines of 1910-1912, describing and illustrating the line in its early days. 8.5 x 11". Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, Harper, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 672 pages. 16 pages of photos. What Becomes a Legend Most is the first definitive biography of this luminary--an intensely driven man who endured personal and professional prejudice, struggled with deep insecurities, and mounted an existential lifelong battle to be recognized as an artist. Philip Gefter builds on archival research and exclusive interviews with those closest to Avedon to chronicle his story, beginning with Avedon's coming-of-age in New York between the world wars, when cultural prejudices forced him to make decisions that shaped the course of his life. Compounding his private battles, Avedon fought to be taken seriously in a medium that itself struggled to be respected within the art world. Gefter reveals how the 1950s and 1960s informed Avedon's life and work as much as he informed the period. He counted as close friends a profoundly influential group of artists--Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Harold Brodkey, Renata Adler, Sidney Lumet, and Mike Nichols--who shaped the cultural life of the American twentieth century. It wasn't until Avedon's fashion work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 1970s that he became a household name. Balancing glamour with the gravitas of an artist's genuine reach for worldy achievement--and not a little gossip--plus sixteen pages of photographs, What Becomes a Legend Most is an intimate window into Avedon's fascinating world. Dramatic, visionary, and remarkable, it pays tribute to Avedon's role in the history of photography and fashion--and his legacy as one of the most consequential artists of his time.

Hardcover. NY, Harper, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 672 pages. 16 pages of photos. What Becomes a Legend Most is the first definitive biography of this luminary--an intensely driven man who endured personal and professional prejudice, struggled with deep insecurities, and mounted an existential lifelong battle to be recognized as an artist. Philip Gefter builds on archival research and exclusive interviews with those closest to Avedon to chronicle his story, beginning with Avedon's coming-of-age in New York between the world wars, when cultural prejudices forced him to make decisions that shaped the course of his life. Compounding his private battles, Avedon fought to be taken seriously in a medium that itself struggled to be respected within the art world. Gefter reveals how the 1950s and 1960s informed Avedon's life and work as much as he informed the period. He counted as close friends a profoundly influential group of artists--Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Harold Brodkey, Renata Adler, Sidney Lumet, and Mike Nichols--who shaped the cultural life of the American twentieth century. It wasn't until Avedon's fashion work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 1970s that he became a household name. Balancing glamour with the gravitas of an artist's genuine reach for worldy achievement--and not a little gossip--plus sixteen pages of photographs, What Becomes a Legend Most is an intimate window into Avedon's fascinating world. Dramatic, visionary, and remarkable, it pays tribute to Avedon's role in the history of photography and fashion--and his legacy as one of the most consequential artists of his time.

Art Intitute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 1st, 2021, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial cloth, 251 pages illustrated in color. The extraordinary life of a captivating American artist, beautifully illustrated with his dreamlike drawings Much of Joseph Elmer Yoakum's story comes from the artist himself--and is almost too fantastic to believe. At a young age, Yoakum (1891-1972) traveled the globe with numerous circuses; he later served in a segregated noncombat regiment during World War I before settling in Chicago. There, inspired by a dream, he began his artistic career at age seventy-one, producing some two thousand drawings over a decade. How did Yoakum gain representation in major museum collections in Chicago and New York? What fueled his process, which he described as a "spiritual unfoldment"? This volume delves into the friendships Yoakum forged with the Chicago Imagists that secured his place in art history, explores the religious outlook that may have helped him cope with a racially fractured city, and examines his complicated relationship to African American and Native American identities. With hundreds of beautiful color reproductions of his dreamlike drawings, it offers the most comprehensive study of the artist's work, illuminating his vivid and imaginative creativity and giving definition and dimension to his remarkable biography. Clean copy. NOTE: DUE TO WEIGHT, DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.

Hardcover. Zurich, Scheidegger and Spiess, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in pictorial cloth, 210 pages, 164 color and 76 b/w illustrations. Le Corbusier (1887-1965) is one the most influential architects of the twentieth century. In the Scandinavian countries, his influence is arguably most pronounced in the writings and art of the Danish experimentalist Asger Jorn (1914-1973). Their collaboration on Le Corbusier's pavilion for the 1937 Paris World Exhibition sparked Jorn's lifelong fascination with the great architect and with architecture more broadly as an inherently public form of art. At the same time, Le Corbusier started working in the visual arts and began to move from a rational, technological approach to architecture towards a more poetic, materialist approach. Published in collaboration with the Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, What Moves Us? focuses specifically on the reception of Le Corbusier in Scandinavia, with the relationship between Jorn and Le Corbusier as a thematic thread. The book first highlights the architect's change of direction and subsequently takes readers through his influence on the young artist. The book's distinguished contributors explore the relationships that emerged among their artistic theories and practices, including Jorn's later critique of Le Corbusier. Essays also explore the wider influence of Le Corbusier on Scandinavian architecture and urbanization and consider Le Corbusier alongside the Danish architect Jorn Oberg Utzon and the Aarhus Brutalism movement.

Hardcover. NY, Routledge, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, price-clipped dust jacket, 246 pages, color and b&w illustrations. Unlike many books on painting that usually talk about art or painters, James Elkins' compelling and original work focuses on alchemy, for like the alchemist, the painter seeks to transform and be transformed by the medium. James Elkins communicates the experience of painting beyond the traditional vocabulary of art history. Alchemy provides a magical language to explore what it is a painter really does in her or his studio - the smells, the mess, the struggle to control the uncontrollable, the special knowledge only painters hold of how colours will mix, and how they will look. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Mariner Books, 1st, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 253 pages, b&w illustrations. From a longtime New Yorker staff cartoonist, an evocative family memoir, a love letter to New York City, and a delightful exploration of the origins of creativity--richly interleaved with the author's witty, beloved cartoons. David Sipress, a dreamer and obsessive drawer living with his Upper West Side family in the age of JFK and Sputnik, goes hazy when it comes to the ceaselessly imparted lessons-on-life from his meticulous father and the angsty expectations of his migraine-prone mother. With wry and brilliantly observed prose, Sipress paints his hapless place in the family, from the time he is tricked by his unreliable older sister into rocketing his pet turtle out his twelfth-floor bedroom window to the moment he walks away from a Harvard PhD program in Russian history to begin his life as a professional cartoonist. Sipress's cartoons appear in the story with spot-on precision, inducing delightful Aha! moments in answer to the perennial question aimed at cartoonists: Where do you get your ideas?

Hardcover. Chicago, University Of Chicago Press, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, pages. In When Buildings Speak,Anthony Alofsin explores the rich yet often overlooked architecture of the late Austro-Hungarian Empire and its successor states. He shows that several different styles emerged in this milieu during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Moreover, he contends that each of these styles communicates to us in a manner resembling language and its particular means of expression. Covering a wide range of buildings--from national theaters to crematoria, apartment buildings to warehouses, and sanatoria to postal savings banks--Alofsin proposes a new way of interpreting this language. He calls on viewers to read buildings in two ways: through their formal elements and through their political, social, and cultural contexts. By looking through Alofsin's eyes, readers can see how myriad nations sought to express their autonomy by tapping into the limitless possibilities of art and architectural styles. And such architecture can still speak very powerfully to us today about the contradictory issues affecting parts of the former Habsburg Empire.

Hardcover. Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1st, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 292 pages, b&w illustrations. SIGNED BY BOTH AUTHORS on the title page. Additionally INSCRIBED BY COHN on the dedication page. Kevin J. Crisman and Arthur B. Cohn show how a confluence of geographic, technological, economic, and social conditions in the United States and Canada turned an ancient idea into a practical alternative to more expensive and dangerous steamboats. Reviewing evidence from travelers' memoirs, regional histories, pictorial records, and the only horseboat ever studied by archaeologists - a wreck on the floor of Lake Champlain's Burlington Bay, in Vermont - the authors trace the evolution of horseboats from early mechanisms that forced the animals to walk in tight circles to "endless floor" treadmills that resembled modern exercise machines. In a lively narrative interspersed with quotes from passenger accounts, the book charts the rise and demise of horseboat businesses on the Hudson River, as well as in New York City, St. Louis, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The authors also describe and record the underwater excavation of the Lake Champlain wreck, revealing a wealth of detail about the construction and operation of a typical treadwheel horseboat of the 1830s and 1840s. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, 1st, 1961, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 251 pages including index. Clean copy.