Art Biography

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.

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. London, A.& C. Black, 1st, 1931, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 12 color plates, many black & white illustrations, 269 pages. Scarce in dust jacket.

Hardcover. Bloomington IN, Indiana University Press, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 263 pages,16 BW illus., 16 color plates. Takes us into the mind of American abstract painter Ethel Schwabacher (1903-1984). "Comparable to such important literary journals as those of Virginia Woolf and Anais Nin, Schwabacher's record will become a valuable resource for research into the creative process as well as the art history and theory of our time." Clean copy.

Softcover. NY, Ten Speed Graphic, 1st, 2023, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 201 pages. Everyone knows Stan Lee: His work at the creative helm of Marvel Comics resulted in the creation of many of the superheroes we know and love today, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and more. During his decades-long career at Marvel, Lee turned the comic book publisher into a cultural juggernaut that shaped and defined the burgeoning industry. In I Am Stan, critically acclaimed artist Tom Scioli reveals the man behind the comics and cameos using the same medium Stan Lee revolutionized. This stunning graphic novel takes readers from his early days in the comics industry through his rise at Marvel (then Timely Comics), where his career was touched by other iconic creatives including Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Their collaboration would lead to the creation of the most iconic superheroes of today, and bring about the Marvel Age of the 60's and 70's that introduced new industry stars like Steve Ditko, and John Buscema. Readers will follow Lee's trajectory from his daily life at Marvel to his later years as a spokesperson for the company and for comics as a whole, and finally to his last years away from the spotlight. Scioli provides a clear-eyed view of Lee's triumphs at Marvel as well as the controversies that surrounded the creator at the end of his life. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1st, 1971, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Eric Sloane presents a volume containing autobiographical notes and reproductions of his paintings. 184 pages, featuring 37 color plates of Sloane's oil paintings in addition to numerous other black-ink drawings. Excellent condition; book has no internal flaws but few very light marks on the cover. Dust jacket is in very good condition, very slight rubbing and wear, price-clipped.

Hardcover. New York, Doubleday, 1st, 1991, 604 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Light yellowing and wear to top edge of dust jacket. Minor foxing to top edge of textblock. An otherwise clean, unmarked copy. Recollections by fellow artists and collaborators elucidate the life of teacher and choreographer George Balanchine.

Hardcover. New York , Orchard Books, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 128 pages, illustrated with b&w photographs and sketches by Lewin. A memoir of his brief stint as a professional wrestler.

Hardcover. Garden City, Doubleday & Co, 1st, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 549 pages. Tan cloth cover with gilt lettering to spine, color illustrated dust jacket, b&w illustrations, comprehensive reference work on Western American art. Light wear to dust jacket; overall a clean, tight copy.

Softcover. Decatur IL, Daniel Zimmer, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover magazine, 80 pages, color plates throughout. An issue devoted entirely to Austin Briggs and his illustrations.

Softcover. Decatur IL, Illustrated Press, 1st, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, magazine format, 80 pages illustrated in color. Covers the life and work of this iconic American illustrator.

Hardcover. NY, Doubleday and Co., 1st, 1966, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. Profusely illustrated with da Vinci's scientific drawings. 192 pages. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, David R Godine, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 99 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy with only minor edgewear. Black and white images throughout. These letters were written between 1950 and 1964 as Lebrun moved between the United States, Mexico and Italy and provide a glimpse into the artist's thoughts during that period.

Hardcover. Boston, David R Godine, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 99 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Very clean, unmarked copy with only minor edgewear. Black and white images throughout. These letters were written between 1950 and 1964 as Lebrun moved between the United States, Mexico and Italy and provide a glimpse into the artist's thoughts during that period.

Hardcover. Zurich, Edition Olms, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 208 pages, with dust jacket. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Delving into the photo archives of French magazine, Paris Match, where Chaigneau is an editor, and accompanied by several of the interviews and articles the magazine published, the author offers a glimpse into the working processes and personal lives of some of the 20th century's canonical visual artists . Focused mostly on European masters such as Pablo Picasso, Bernard Buffet, Rene Magritte, Marc Chagall, and Joan Miro, the book's highly accessible, if minimal, commentary and anecdotes allow the photos to take center stage. Georg Baselitz, for example, is pictured perched on a chair with his head in his arms, as if "haunted by invisible demons," with several large scale paintings in the background. In contrast, Salvador Dali, ever the "wily publicist," seems to relish the camera's presence: in one shot dressed as a Spanish nobleman with an expression of faux-seriousness. Elsewhere, as a testament to his creative drive, Henri Matisse is pictured in 1954, bedridden but still painting with a specially devised long brush mere months before his death. Moving beyond the studio, some attention is given to the private lives of the artists, adding a human element to these creative giants. Photographer Willy Rizzo captures Picasso in a rare candid and intimate moment, reading the comics of a newspaper while his boxer, Yan, looks on. But perhaps the most illuminating moments are when the artists, in interviews, talk about their creative process; there is something humble and brave, for instance, in Jacques Villon's quip, "I don't know what I've discovered... but I know that I'm still looking". Color and b&w photos.

Softcover. The MIT Press , reprint, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, The first publication documenting the work of Brooks Stevens, one of America's most influential twentieth-century designers. A long overdue introduction to the work of visionary industrial designer Brooks Stevens (1911-1995). Believing that an industrial designer "should be a businessman, an engineer, and a stylist, in that order," Stevens created thousands of ingenious and beautiful designs for industrial and household products--including a clothes dryer with a window in the front, a wide-mouthed peanut butter jar, and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. ("There's nothing more aerodynamic than a wiener," he explained.) He invented a precursor to the SUV by turning a Jeep into a station wagon after World War II, and streamlined steam irons so that they resembled aircraft. It was Brooks Stevens who, in 1954, coined the phrase "planned obsolescence," defining it as "instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary." This concept has since been blamed for everything from toasters that stop working to today's throwaway culture, but Stevens was simply recognizing the intentionally ephemeral nature of a designer's work. Asked once to name his favorite design, he replied, "none, because every one would have to be restudied for the tastes of tomorrow." Clean copy still in publisher's shrinkwrap.

Hardcover. New York, Rizzoli International Publication, reprint, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, 239 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Extensive color and b&w photographs throughout. Illustrated end papers and fly leafs. Tear to top right corner of rear dust jacket flap repaired with tape. Light edge wear to dust jacket, otherwise clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. NY, Ten Speed Press, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in pictorial boards, no dust jacket issued, 201 pages. This sweeping, full-color comic book biography tells the complete life story of Jack Kirby, co-creator of some of the most enduring superheroes and villains of the twentieth century for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and more. Critically acclaimed graphic novelist Tom Scioli breathes visual life into Kirby's life story--from his days growing up in New York during the Great Depression and discovering a love for science fiction and cartoons to his time on the frontlines in the European theatre of World War II where he experienced the type of action and adventure he'd later imbue his comic pages with, and on to his world-changing collaborations at Marvel with Stan Lee, where the pair redefined comics as a part of pop culture.

Hardcover. NY, McGraw-Hill, 1st, 1972, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a price-clipped dust jacket with light wear, 293 pages, b&w illustrations. Nowhere is the complex and destructive painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) revealed with more compassion and insight than in this exemplary biography. Friedman, a friend of Pollock's and active in the art world, shows him to be a brilliant man tormented by his relationship to his family; an artist who worked hard through years of poverty to achieve his controversial painting technique; the first American painter to gain an international reputation for himself and for what has been variously called Action Painting or Abstract Expressionism; and a man who struggled with alcohol and the tension between gentleness and violence. Light tape repair to dust jacket on reverse. Otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, McGraw-Hill , 1st, 1972, Book: Very Good, Hardcover, 293 pages, b&w photographs. Edge wear, small tears to dust jacket. Dark blue top edge decorative stain w/ light spots, else a very clean, tight copy. Nowhere is the complex and destructive painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) revealed with more compassion and insight than in this exemplary biography. Friedman, a friend of Pollock's and active in the art world, shows him to be a brilliant man tormented by his relationship to his family; an artist who worked hard through years of poverty to achieve his controversial painting technique; the first American painter to gain an international reputation for himself and for what has been variously called Action Painting or Abstract Expressionism; and a man who struggled with alcohol and the tension between gentleness and violence.Newly illustrated with seminal Pollock paintings, this book takes the reader inside the art world of New York during the '40s and '50s, when Action Painting first emerged. Friedman reveals what it meant to Pollock to experience the invasion of his studio and of the very act of painting by the external pressures of shows, reviews, films, dealers, critics, hostile publicity; and how, despite it all, Pollock created many of the most graceful and powerful paintings ever made in America.