Customer Reviews (1)

Informative and visually appealing
Robert Rosenblum, critic and professor of Fine Arts at New York University provides the introduction: American Landscape Painting: an Endangered Species? giving an overview of the work and offering links between the various works. The catalogue of the paintings follows, divided into various genres such as Town and Country, The Farm and Field, The Great Outdoors and more. The text for the catalogue entries is written by Lowery Stokes Simms, Associate Curator, and Lisa M Messinger Assistant Curator in the 20th Century Department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. While short in length, averaging about a page in length, they are rich in content. These well documented descriptions include biographical information about the artist and a commentary on the work shown. Other interesting information might include details of how the artist approaches his work, often in the artists' own words. An example is the fascinating description Neil Welliver gives of his unusual painting method.

Each artist is usually represented by one full page colour plate and a postcard size monochrome of his work. Also included are just a few full page bleed images of a detail from a selected work. The range of work is wide including a sculpture; among the artists represented are Milton Avery, Ernest Blumenschein, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benson, Richard Chiriani, Andrew Michael Dasburg, Willard Dixon, William Glackens, Frederic Grant, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Leonard Koscianski, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Fairfield Porter, Marjorie Portnow, Yves Tanguy, Kay Sage, Paul Starrett Sample, Charles Sheeler, Dennis Smith, Clyfford Still, Tod Wizon, Neil Welliver, Yvonne Jacquette, John Tweddle and others.

Published in conjunction with an exhibition organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Federation of Arts, this is a most attractive book. Containing 68 colour plates and about as many again monochrome images, it is well designed and produced; it all makes for a informative and visually appealing volume.

[ISBN 0847813037 ISBN 091741893X published 1991 by Rizzoli 174 pages 10.25" x 9.4" (26.2 cm x 24 cm) hardback]
... Read more

Product Description

With some 280,000 objects, the Harvard Art Museum is the largest university art museum in the United States. Its Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler museums feature world-renowned collections of archaic Chinese jades and bronzes, Italian Renaissance paintings, and nineteenth-century art, along with remarkable holdings of prints, drawings, photographs, and Bauhaus and German expressionist works, making it one of the most distinguished museums in the world.

This first handbook of the collections surveys their full scope, from early-Egyptian bronzes and Chinese ceramics to contemporary paintings and prints. Familiar works by Pollock, Picasso, Dürer, Van Gogh, and other well-known artists are presented along with extraordinary Persian miniatures, rare photographic prints, important Greek coins, and African sculpture. Each work is fully illustrated in color and introduced with a brief, engaging text. This elegantly designed book not only offers an appealing and accessible presentation of some of the Harvard Art Museum’s most significant works, but also introduces readers to other resources at the Museums, such as the Straus Center for Conservation, as well as to the artist archives that are housed there.

Product Description
Over time and across cultures, shifting concepts of beauty have given rise to extraordinary fashions that constrict, enhance, minimize, or exaggerate various zones of the human body. This stimulating book displays and discusses an array of such extreme fashion practices, from the bound feet of aristocratic Manchu women to the tea-tray supporting bustle of an 1880s French visiting dress.Amazon.com Review
Throughout history, humans have used clothing and accessories to lift, squeeze, frame and pad the body. In Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed, Harold Koda deftly weaves anthropology, sociology, art history, and haute couture into a lively survey of shifting notions of the body beautiful. Divided into five sections--Neck and Shoulders, Chest, Waist, Hips, and Feet--the book surveys fashion's literal imprint on the body while tracing the history of clothing styles. The long neck may be the only bodily ideal equally prized by all cultures. Young Padaung women of Burma traditionally wore weighted brass coils that pushed down their collarbones and shoulders, creating the illusion of a remarkably long neck. The wide van Dyke lace collar achieved a similar "triangulated" shoulder-line in 17th-century Europe. Fashionable women in the 1830s relied on hugely inflated sleeves—-held up with down-filled or wire-ribbed supports—-to create the rounded dropped shoulder then in vogue. In the "Feet" section, Koda, who remains scrupulously nonjudgmental throughout, juxtaposes the miniaturized "Golden Lotus" bound foot of pre-Revolutionary China with the reshaping effect of today's stiletto heels. The platform shoe was another way of encumbering a woman's gait, whether as a way of keeping her at home (away from sexual temptation) or as a means of showing her off (the courtesans of Japan and Renaissance Venice perched on elevated soles). Men's body-altering fashions also get their due, from sculpted codpieces and male waist-binding to a front-padded shirt by Issey Miyake that resembles a baseball catcher's uniform. Koda's discussions of the historical allusions of avant-garde designers like Viktor and Rolf, Olivier Theyskens, and Hussein Chalayan vividly illuminate an often murky aspect of contemporary couture. Copiously illustrated with works of art and photographs of clothing and undergarments from many eras, Extreme Beauty packs a wealth of information into a slender volume. —-Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Museum exhibit in a book,,,,,
This is a beautiful book illustrating the different ways cultures reform the body and for what reasons. It is just like actually visiting an exhibit at a major museum. But this you get to take home and enjoy over and over. The photos are plentiful, full color, large and professional. The text is not overly scholarly, but informative and intelligent. It does leave me wanting to delve deeper into the subject intellectually.

Unexpected Beauty Transformation
To read this book reveals not only plenty of interesting and quite often surprising information on fashions past and current but its text and pictures are highly complementary. In addition a lot of the provided information gives insight into social structures of the centuries referred to - and once more it is proven that fashion is one of the quickest instruments to testify social and historical changes to the world.

A brilliant book to celebrate a brilliant exhibit
Extreme Beauty is a wonderful book that celebrates the Metropolitan's equally brilliant exhibit about fashion and it's different preoccupations with the body. The exhibit was magnificent, and the book truly honors the tone and feeling of it, while being extremely informative in it's own right. The book is divided into different chapters such as neck and shoulders, waist, chest, etc. Each chapter features photos of the garments displayed in the original exhibit, as well as additional historical drawings and photographs of the various fashions and cultural trends that have celebrated the parts of the body. And, as promised in the title, the book explores the cultural foundations of bodily transformation and mutilation(?) through everything from extreme corsetry, [..] footwear and peircing to the tribal women who use metal rings to actually elongate their vertebrae. Harold Koda's insightful and meticulously researched commentary is just the icing on the cake. This is a must for any fashion library, but also of great interest to non-fashionistas.

Human preoccupation for Millennia
Sentient humans with brains as well as bodies have always been fascinated by the way we adorn ourselves and why. Once we can get past the cultural anthropology of fashion, and the fads that make it a billion-dollar world industry, we can dig down to discover the roots of historical and current adorned beauty, and EXTREME BEAUTY does this . . . beautifully.
It is pleasing--in an era in which physical beauty and adornment typified by fashion have been roundly rejected by most of the jeans-wearing public--to find a book that lets beauty out and helps us exercise our sense of mystery and wonder, based in no small part on human sexuality and attraction. Harold Koda (curator of the Costume Institute at New York's Met) has mounted a show and created a book with marvelous insights and passion, and the illustrations are wondrous--consider, as a case in point, Thiery Mugler's 'Chimere,' with its savage eroticism.
One could quibble with Koda's arbitrary division of the body into 'neck and shoulders,' 'chest,' 'waist,' 'hips' and 'feet,'
and his exclusion of the fascinating face/head/hair perplex, and the hands, with their magical touch and allure. But this book and its illustrations will become a benchmark by which human adornment is judged, and is a keeper of power and importance.

Considers the evolving, changing strategies of beauty
Harold Koda's Extreme Beauty surveys concepts of fashion and beauty. Koda considers the evolving, changing strategies of beauty around the world, focussing on different body parts and how they are accented and displayed through varying uses of clothing and cultural perception. Black and white and color photos of unusual fashion choices and styles make for some eye-opening insights. ... Read more

Product Description
“Fascinating examination of the museum’s unconventional role in contemporary art....Highly recommended.”—Library JournalThis book examines one of the most important and intriguing themes in art today: the often obsessive relationship between artist and museum.

From Marcel Duchamp’s “Portable Museum” (Boîte en valise) of the early 1940s to Damien Hirst’s distinctive use of vitrine displays in the 1990s, the artists of the past seventy years have often turned their attention—both creatively and critically—to a reappraisal of the ideas and systems of classification traditionally associated with curatorship and display.

The works included here, accompanied by quotations from the writings of individual artists, offer a wide-ranging coverage of projects by established and emerging figures alike, including Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle, Tracey Emin, Hans Haacke, Donald Judd, Olafur Eliasson, and Takashi Murakami. The book has been updated to include recent projects that make use of grand architectural spaces within the museum, as well as those that explore off-site locations and the internet. 239 color, 51 b&w illustrations ... Read more

Product Description

Shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and committed the largest art heist in history. They stole a dozen masterpieces, including one Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five Degas. But after thousands of leads—and a $5 million reward—none of the paintings have been recovered. Worth as much as $500 million, the missing masterpieces have become one of the nation's most extraordinary unsolved mysteries.

Customer Reviews (43)

Struggles to earn a star
TGH is well written enough.UB has an interesting thing to say here and there.But as other negative reviewers (why so few!?) have noted, the book adds nothing...NOTHING...to the existing record.If you've read an article about the heist -- if you only read one Boston Globe article the day after the heist -- you'd know all there is to know.OK, a whole lot of sleuthing and speculating has gone down in the intervening years.But it all adds up to very thin stuff -- unless, per certain UB informants' more paranoid musings -- the Gardner, the FBI, or the US government know where the paintings are and simply aren't telling.Who knows, maybe they do.But that's just the point: who knows?Certainly not UB, who informs us ad nauseum that he spent years haunted by this case, that he conducted hundreds(!) of interviews, followed thousands of leads, and amassed filing cabinets full of data.Hats off, UB.How come so little of your exhaustive research made it to the page?(Hypothesis: UB knows where the paintings are and isn't telling.)Early on in TGH, UB tantalizes us with the news that his tireless research yielded a significant piece of evidence in the case.200 quick reading, calorie-free, pages later the evidence is revealed.I won't spoil the surprise, save to note that said evidence isn't exactly 'new', and it points in the same direction other investigators have been pointing in for years.What's the big deal?UB must have realized early on how little meat he had to flesh out the bones of this story, since he pads chapter after chapter with superfluous or redundant -- sometimes superfluously redundant -- observations about his own aesthetic predilections and about the lives of persons he encounters.Indeed, one entire chapter is given over to an imagined conversation -- scene setting, dialogue and all -- that UB hopes he might one day have with the mastermind of the Gardner heist, assuming there ever even was such a person.(Note: I was willing to pony up a second star till I hit this inspired bit of bloat.Way to up the page count, UB!)

In short: TGH is seconds shy of a total waste of time.At least it's a quick read.

Starts off well but goes downhill a bit
This book started off well. It read like a novel in the beginning, and I found it very enjoyable. It did seem to go downhill, though, perhaps because the author's self-declared obsession with the heist turned into a weird madness. It became very speculative toward the end and not especially informative.

That being said, it's the most in-depth account of the heist that I have read to date, so I appreciated the book for that reason.

As I said to a friend who is interested in Boston crime, the book is worth reading, but not necessarily worth buying - if that makes sense.

Enjoyable true-crime, too bad no happy ending
I enjoy mystery books and true crime books, and this has it all.Plus you learn a lot about how the art world works, at least on the museum side of things.The book is well-written and paced and has only one section I felt out of place (author writes about an imaginary encounter he has with the mastermind of the theft and imagines what he would say and ask).Even the sketchy, monotone pictures on my Kindle gave me some idea of the beauty of these so-far lost works (although of course I was easily able to augment these withquick Google-image searches).The author has a real novelist's knack for giving us such apt descriptions of how the characters he meets look, act, and talk.A strongly recommended read for those interested in art, mystery or true crime.

Poorly written, poorly researched.
Bosner clearly did not do his research for this book.It is poorly written and from what I can tell poorly researched.His conclusions offer no new insight into the Gardner Heist.It is simply a regurgitation of news paper articles and press clippings adding nothing new or noteworthy on the subject. Skip this one in lieu of better Art Theft books.

Visit the museum in Boston
A very interesting book describing, in detail, the largest unsolved art theft in the world. After reading it, I now consider myself one of the many people who what to know what really happened in 1990. The book reads like a detective novel with a little bit of Art 101 thrown in. The narrative moved you along the timeline and the cast of characters was intriguing. I had to keep telling myself that this is real, the paintings are gone and the mystery still exists! I highly recommend reading this book and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's guidebook, then go and visit the museum in Boston. I promise you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
The first European artist-naturalists to tour North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were awed not only by the continent's varying landforms but also by the animals they encountered: vast herds of buffalo, majestic horned stags, a bewildering variety of birds. The earliest sketches depicting these fauna began the remarkable tradition of wildlife in American art, a tradition that evolved along with the United States as a nation and still thrives today.

For more than two decades, the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, has honored and sustained this tradition by assembling the most comprehensive collection of paintings and sculptures portraying North American wildlife in the world. Wildlife in American Art presents for the first time a generous sampling of the museum's holdings, charts the history of this enduring theme in American art, and explores the evolving relationship between Americans and the natural resources of this continent.

More than a museum catalogue, this volume offers descriptions of individual artists in the collection as well as in-depth, informative essays about what the natural environment has meant to Americans over time--untamed wilderness, sublime creation, endless resource, threatened habitat. Author and art historian Adam Duncan Harris also describes how these meanings have played out in painting and sculpture over the past two centuries. More than 125 full-color illustrations highlight the entire range of the museum's collection, from the western wilds of George Catlin to the desert drama of Georgia O'Keeffe. Also included are elegant birdstones carved by ancient Americans, exquisite avian artwork by John James Audubon, epic western scenes by Albert Bierstadt, idealistic depictions of unspoiled wilderness by Carl Rungius, and modern takes on the subject by Andy Warhol, Paul Manship, and Robert Kuhn.

By bringing together and comparing works of unmatched beauty and majesty, this volume gives to a salient theme in American art the attention it has long deserved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A lovely series of sketches and paintings capturing the tradition of wildlife in American art
Wildlife in American Art: Masterworks from the National Museum of Wildlife Art packs in a lovely series of sketches and paintings capturing the tradition of wildlife in American art. For over two decades the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Wyoming assembled these works: this volume captures the museum's holdings for the first time, providing a history of this theme in American art. College-level art libraries will welcome this. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Latin American Modernism from Washington DC
This is a fine catalogue in general, but the description of the art of Carlos Alfonso creates a strange impression of this great artist's work. After reading the description you'd think that his paintings give off a sense angst and even powerful agitation. After seeing the great Carlos Alfonso show at the Freedom Tower in Miami during the Art Basel Miami Beach 2006, I can say that the effect is one of sublime beauty and fantastic imagination. That he
uses images like daggers and other imaginary-occult symbols certainly does notmean anything about violence and it seems silly to suggest it does. Alfonso was simply a great artist, who happened to be Cuban, thus the images from Santeria and the like. I suspect what lies behind the misreading of his art as hugely angst-ridden
is a crypto-political point about his status as an Cuban exile. All great artists are alike in taking the accidents of life and making them something more. Crypto-politics almost never have produced great art. Alfonso had a health problem and had suffered from political viscisssitudes of our time, but the angst this might have created are not the source of his art. The Freedom Tower show, as well as the Hirshhorn show in Washignton DC a few years ago make this very clear.

Smithsonian teaser
How do you highlight 200 years of Latino art in the United States and Puerto Rico in a book from a world renowned collection? Well you don't do it in a 108 page book fromthe Smithsonian American Art Museum. Having visited the said museum it is a pity that this small book is an offering theyproducedto represent the vast collection. The book uses the term "highlights" but it is just not enough. It is like a variety of crackers offered in a fine restaurant; it'll hold you over but not satisfy your hunger. The collected pictures are beautifully presented accompanied by very short analysis of the piece and usually a paragraph about the artist. If you like looking at a few nice pieces than this book will do.This book is like fast food for the art aficionado. Since the represented art is in various media it results in a disjointed but varied whole. Most of the featured artists in the book are contemporary but there is the occasional misplaced unknowncolonial artist or noted 19th century santero Felipe de la Espada that just doesn't fit or do justice to the subject. There is a lack of continuity andthematic cohesion with the book. When the book is thread together it is when the art of New Mexico artists are featured , most notably the works of santeros and wood carvers, George Lopez, Gloria Lopez Cordova, Luis Tapia, Horacio Valdez, Jose Benito Ortega, Ramon lopez, George Lopez, Felix Lopez(yes, it a long family line of Lopez santeros) andPatrocino Barela. Again the problem here is that they are placed between other media like oils, acrylics, fiberglass, woven cotten rug, colored pencil, graniteand silver prints for a resulting weird representaion.The book has no chapters and unfortunately it could have used them. This book just scratches the surface and falls short. This book is for someone just beginning on their quest for knowledge about Latino art. Possbly from this point you can depart to finding out more about some of these artists but this bookis only a starting point. If you are looking for a Latino art appetizer than this book is for you, otherwise look elsewhere to satisfy your appetite.

Contemporary Latinos Productions
This is a great source book of contemporary art productions which includes contemporary Latino artists.The selection of art represented is varied and the text gives readers sufficient background for understanding the works.Very colorful and clear photographs of the works are each full-page sized with a full page of text next to each to help capture the image and short biographies and artistic interpretations of the artists at the turn of each page. ... Read more

Product Description
Artists' books have emerged over the last 25 years as the quintessential contemporary art form, addressing subjects as diverse as poetry and politics, incorporating a full spectrum of artistic media and bookmaking methods, and taking every conceivable form. Female painters, sculptors, calligraphers, and printmakers, as well a growing community of hobbyists, have played a primary role in developing this new mode of artistic expression. The Book as Art presents more than 100 of the most engaging women’s artist books created by major fine artists such as Meret Oppenheim, May Stevens, Kara Walker, and Renee Stout and distinguished book artists such as Susan King, Ruth Laxson, Claire Van Vliet, and Julie Chen. Culled from over 800 unique or limited-edition volumes held by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, these books explore the form as a container for ideas. Descriptions of the works are accompanied by colorful illustrations and reflections by their makers, along with essays by leading scholars and a lively introduction by the most famous book artist in our culture, best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger. The exquisitely crafted objects in the The Book as Art are sure to provoke unexpected and surprising conclusions about what constitutes a book. The Book as Art accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., beginning in October 2006. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

beautiful book book
This is such a beautiful book for lovers of artists' books. I wish I'd bought it a long time ago when I could have gotten it cheaper through Amazon.

amazing
Incredible women artists with amazing altered books. A truly wonderful collection. It is soo inspriring. The book itself is well presented, with lovely photos and so forth. this book shows that altered books arnt just craft, they are ART. Well worth the price!! (BTW if you couldnt tell from the title this is an art book not a how to book)

Wow!
Terrific book that is a keeper. If you can't get to see a portion of these works of art exhibited, at least you can enjoy what is being created out there by this wonderfully photographed and informative book. An added bonus was that it arrived sealed in plastic in mint condition!

Bookmaking is art
This book is a wonderful review of the art of books as contemporary sculpture.As a fiber artist-bookmaker-handmade paper maker, I bought a copy for my own library, then gave another copy as a gift to a fellow artist who was interested in using books and book images in art. Inspirational as well as informative.I look forward to seeing the actual exhibition.

For lovers of books
This is one of those products which is true to its theme from the moment you unwrap it.Being a book about the beauty and creativity of books it has itself to be worthy, which it certainly is. It is a pleasure to hold and to explore, as the design and concept have been carefuly considered.
The examples chosen are rich and varied and are divided thematically.The problem is that so many of the books are enormously intriguing that one wants to handle them to discover their mysteries. However the descriptions are usually very good and do allow one to at least understand the concept of the creator.If you love books as art, this is a truly wonderful possession. ... Read more

Product Description
Printmaking was fundamental to Pablo Picasso's artistic vision. Over his long career, he made well over 2,000 printed images, focusing on the intaglio techniques of etching, engraving, drypoint and aquatint, as well as on lithography and linoleum cut. This publication, published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, explores Picasso's creative process in printmaking starting in the early years of the twentieth century with his Blue and Rose periods, and extending up to the last years of his life. Divided into 12 thematic sections, the book presents highlights from the Museum's extraordinary collection of Picasso's prints. These include such celebrated masterworks as "The Minotauromachy" and "The Weeping Woman" from the 1930s, as well as evolving states that reveal how Picasso's imagery developed. One example of such metamorphosis is seen in a series of lithographs from the 1940s in which a progression is established from the realistic depiction of a bull to one that is completely abstract and captured in just a few lines. Other prints reveal changing interpretations of the women in Picasso's life, who served both as artistic subjects and as catalytic forces for his creativity. Filled with full-page illustrations accompanied by extended captions, A Picasso Portfolio features an essay by Deborah Wye, Chief Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books at MoMA, and introductions to each thematic section. The book concludes with a chronology and bibliography focusing on Picasso's printmaking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A unique collection ofPicasso's sketches and prints
I saw this special exhibit of Picasso's lesser known sketch and print work at the MOMA this April and wanted to get the book in order to remember it. I resisted buying it in the Museum Store because I knew it would be cheaper on Amazon and it was! Anyway, the art in this collection shows Picasso's range and his many interests. It is especially interesting to see his cubist style in development as you look at the works in this collection. If you're a Picasso-lover, you'll be glad you got your hands on this book because it lets you see a different side of his work. If you're not a huge Picasso fan, the strikingly beautiful prints in this collection may win you over! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Everybody Should Have a Book of Hours ...
... for personal devotions! Of course! That was the assumption of people of the social class of the Duc de Berry in the 15th Century! (And don't you wish you'd been one of them?)

Going further: Everybody should have an illuminated Book of Hours painted and calligraphed on vellum by exquisitely skilled artisans like the Limbourg Brothers! Unfortunately, illumination of this quality was painstakingly slow and such manuscripts were fantastically expensive, and besides there are simply too many of us and too few surviving manuscripts. So, much as I would give for a Limbourg codex, I don't have one. Do you?

There are a few exact facsimiles of such manuscripts on the market, but even those are diabolically expensive. This printed 'catalogue' of the glorious exhibition of the art of the Limbourgs, which I saw at the Metropolitan in New York a few months ago, is the next best thing. The color plates are beautifully printed. The text is intelligent and informative. I carried it home from the exhibition and now I can use it to recollect the illuminations, and I don't even need to jostle elbows!

I notice that the amazoo price has dropped almost to a merciful modesty. It's still expensive, but well worth the price.

magisterial illuminated manuscript analysed
This fabulous book, an examination of the earlier masterpiece of the Limbourg Brothers, should be an obligatory purchase for anyone with an interest in illuminated manuscripts. It is astonishing to consider that the three brothers were barely out of their teens when they produced this magnificent Book of Hours between 1405-9. How tragic to realise that they all died in 1416, probably stricken by the plague.

All the 223 folios are excellently reproduced in color. Many of the pages are printed in full size; the remainder are seen without their decorative borders. All the illustrations are described and there is some translation of the text. There are interesting biographical articles on the Limbourg Brothers and their patron the duc de Berry. Additionally, there is more detailed discussion of the Belles Heures.

Given the quality of this Metropolitan Museum publication, I regard this book as a bargain given its asking price. I also suggest that those interested in this subject investigate the catalogue entitled The Limbourg Brothers, Nijmengen Masters at the French Court.

A marvelous book on a marvelous book
The catalogue for an exhibition held at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Met in NYC, this is an erudite and wonderfully illustrated book on one of the treasures of Western art. The text is very complete, with an in-depth study of the meaning of the manuscript, a description of the decoration of the pages, a thorough biography of the Limbourg Brothers and of the Duc de Berry, their biggest patron, and a study of their sources and influences. The illustrations are close to perfect, always in color and often full-page, and give an invaluable insight into a universal masterpiece.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the art of illumination.

Gorgeous Book
This book was a gift and was very well recieved. It has a lot of bacground info on the original book and the english translation (the orignal is in Latin). ... Read more

Product Description
This handsome keepsake volume not only provides ample space to record baby's progress from birth to age three, it also showcases marvelous color artworks by Ralph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Walter Crane, and others from the "golden age of children's book illustration." The covered spiral binding allows plenty of room for snapshots and locks of hair--and the wonderful illustrations and nursery rhymes throughout are a continuing source of delight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

W....TH.
This baby book is so weird! As far as categories and writing prompts, it was fantastic. I loved how thoughtful and diverse the spaces for personal tidbits were and I really wanted to use it as a baby book. The problem was that I couldn't get over how haphazard and awkward the illustration selections were. While all of the illustrations were attractive and well done, they made no sense sometimes. Some of them look like producers of this book got together with a few bottles of wine and flipped through clip art books, getting drunker and gigglier as the night went on, and called the resulting hot mess a total success. Sometimes it's just that there's one style or theme of illustrations on one page and the page opposing it is a totally different theme or style and it clashes. Other times they've actually 'shopped together totally different illustrations in totally different artistic styles to make one complete illustration. Because the book is fairly stark and white, it really relies on the illustrations to brighten the content. So why they chose such odd pictures is beyond me. It was so distracting that I spent more time showing the book to my family and laughing at the "What were they thinking??" kinds of combinations than I did actually filling the book out until I gave up and decided to go find a different book to use. I mean, it's not hideous or anything... it's just confusing. Like... Swedish simplicity on one page and Victorian clutter on the next.

I decided to jot my answers to their prompts into the book as a sort of rough draft to keep track of the information as my pregnancy progressed and then planned to transfer them into a journal or transpose them with new fonts and illustrations into scrapbook pages that are better suited to my personal taste. There's a good chance plenty of other people will like it and not find it as odd as I did though, and with the price what it is, it's hardly a bad gamble. If you love it, there you go. And if you don't, it works as a great journal topic prompter.

Classy and charming- not overly cutesy
I really loved this.I don't like all the ones with a bunch of bows and pink bunnies and cutesy nonsense.There are lovely old fashioned and somewhat stylish pictures and touching poems.The Entries are great and really flexible.It would actually work for adopted kids as well.I have 2 biological children and we are adopting now and I will use this for the adopted child as well.The only one out there that they will actually enjoy as adults looking back on their childhood without having to endure a book full of cheesy cliche baby illustrations.Kudos!

Nice but could be better
I bought this book two years ago when I was expecting my daughter.I chose it because it received stellar reviews from other parents.I love the old-fashioned look, and the poems and illustrations are tasteful and beautiful.Now that my daughter's almost two, I've had plenty of occasions to write in her baby book and have found it somewhat disappointing.There are plenty of opportunities to list baby's particulars but no room to go into any detail.There have been some very touching, funny, and embarrassing moments in our daughter's life that I'd like for her to read about someday.I've also found it lacking in spaces for photographs.I made a separate scrapbook of her first year, but would've liked to have photo documentation of her growth in her baby book as well.We're now expecting her baby brother or sister, and I'll be looking for a different baby book this time.

Too old-fashioned for my tastes
The book is beautiful, it's just not my tastes. I knew this might be an issue going in, which is why I also ordered Baby's Book: The First Five Years which is more contemporary.

The nursery rhymes throughout are neat, but in my opinion, it's a waste of space. If I was actually going to use this book, I would cover them up with photos or keepsakes.

There are also some pages I would never complete, like the immunizations and child illnesses page. Also, an entire page devoted to possible boy and girl names is overkill (especially for us since we only had one name picked out for each sex). Oh, and the visitors' wishes for the baby... if you get this after the fact, you would either handwrite (copy) thoughts from cards or paste actual cards there.

This will be going in a gift basket for another new mom...

Beautiful Baby Book
This is the most beautiful baby book I have ever seen.I purchased if for second child and only wish I had it for first.Can't find anything like this at Babies R'Us.Art work is beautiful with charming little poems throughout.Love the turn of the century feel to it. ... Read more

Product Description
The Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California is a glorious testament to French design in the 20th century. The collections include all manner of French cars - be they touring or competition, and from the greatest marques, including Delahaye, Delage, Voisin, Hispano Suiza, Peugeot, and Talbot Lago.But the Mullin Museum holds a special place for the artistry and talents of the Bugatti family. From the cars of Ettore and Jean Bugatti, to the fanciful furniture of Carlo Bugatti, and the sculpture of Rembrandt, the tribute is as breath-taking as it is historically significant.The Art of Bugatti: Mullin Automotive Museum, highlights the vision of Peter and Merle Mullin as it presents some 29 cars, artwork, furniture and family artifacts in this tribute to the great French marque.Written by noted French car expert Richard Adatto, Bugatti historian Julius Kruta and furniture authority Christina Japp, The Art of Bugatti brings the heritage of this famous family of artists and innovators to life. With rarely seen historical photographs and documents, each car is presented anew in studio photography by renowned automotive photographer Michael Furman.The Art of Bugatti: Mullin Automotive Museum will see its world release at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August, 2010. You may pre-order now to receive your copy in September. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (13)

Marvelous!
While many were critical of this exhibition focusing so much upon M. Lagerfeld, I was not and within the pages of this volume lies the reason.
This catalogue is a tour de force of the CHANEL House of Haute Couture and while in no means exhaustive presents a beautiful overview of the creations offered by both the founder and to the time of printing, of M. Lagerfeld. This is a beautiful catalogue and I highly recommend it to all who adore Haute Couture, Style, and Fashion.

collectors and couturiéres
I am a couturiére to follow my passion and, of course, I already own a bunch of "Mademoiselle Chanel" books. Let's say that I own a couple of meters of fashion monographies and that I love this one.
If you are interested in feeling the details of the artwork of both, Coco+Karl, you will get a number of details to learn about.
Even though it is supposed to be a catalogue, what it is, it can be in the handbook shelf of a loving seammistress.
On Chanel, at this price, you do not get more than the far feeling of her style.
The forewords cover quite well her meaning and her significancy.
As a gift it is quite showy also thanks for the transparent chemise.
it always depends on what you are looking for.

Keepsake Book
This is a beautiful book and one you would love to have in your home. Of course, since I work for the company it is dear to me. I have given this book to three different people and they all have loved it. If you want to give something special to someone-- this is it.

Eh
I bought this book after seeing the Chanel exhibit at the Met.The pictures are nice, but I wish they showed more pictures of real people wearing clothes as opposed to the eccentric mannequins they used in the exhibit.A couple of blank pages here and there. I wish there was slightly more history behind the clothes.Still not a bad coffee table book on Chanel

A huge disappointment to genuine fashionistas
I couldn't disagree more heartily with those who recommended this book as a "beautiful coffee table book." At this price and with this subject matter this could have been a truly amazing look at the history of the House of Chanel and it's transition from the early years of Coco to the present leadershiop of Karl Lagerfeld. The text is mediocre and the photos are terrible. The general visual quality of the book is absolutely reprehensible.The dresses are all reproduced in a poor quality "Liz Taylor in the White Diamonds commercial" fake fuzzy lens. There is not one really great photo of an actual garment in this entire book. As someone who saw the actual exhibit the book is based on, I feel the Metropolitan really missed on this one. The exhibit itself was magnificent, this poorly concieved book is a complete dud. Save your money for one of the many other books detailing the life and work of Coco Chanel. ... Read more

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A lavish selection of nearly 250 works from the Farnsworth Museum's permanent collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Art at the Farnsworth!
In it's fifty years of existence theFarnsworth Art Museum has focused onacquiring a collection of art that represents the history of art and artists in Maine.This 256 page book is an excellent survery of their holdings from the early paintings of J Jonathan Fisher to the realist paintings of Neil Welliver.

There is a one page review of each of 84 artists followed by one to three color plates of their works held by the Farnsworth.The biographical sketch of each artist is concise and accurately describes how the artist fits into not only art in Maine but art in America from the 18th century to the present.

I love Maine art and I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. ... Read more

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Designed as a parallel exhibition to Coming Home: American Paintings, 1930 1950, from the Schoen Collection, which the Georgia Museum of Art organized with the Mobile Museum of Art in 2003, The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection contains works by many of the same artists as its predecessor and addresses much of the same subject matter, from portrayals of the plight of the American farm worker to the development of industry and the growth of the urban environment. This exhibition catalogue includes 153 prints and drawings, all illustrated full page, in color, and each discussed in a brief essay on the facing page. Historian Harry Katz provides an introduction, and contributing authors include William U. Eiland, Paul Manoguerra, Gail Kallins, Carol Nathanson, Stephen Goldfarb, and Lynn Barstis Williams. This exhibition and exhibition catalogue are of benefit not only to those who appreciate American art created between the two World Wars, but also to the average history buff, and they demonstrate the admirable diversity of Jason Schoen's collection of works on paper, which includes significant contributions from women and African American artists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Top Notch
"The American Scene" is a top notch anthology of early and mid twentieth century printmakers. Representative works from one hundred fifty three printmakers and brief biographies are featured in full color and clear text. The illustrations are big enough to observe details. This is an excellent buy for those interested in intaglio prints, block prints and serigraphs from the twenties, WPA era and post WWII. ... Read more

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A presentation of Louis Comfort Tiffany's works in the context of his career, his artistic themes, and his devotion to nature. With illustrations using many of Tiffany's watercolour presentation drawings, selected from more than 400 examples in the museum's collections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Very nice overview of Tiffany's work. Not exhaustive but affordable.
I've a few books on Tiffany's stained glass work, including the definitive collection of his lamps and a cut-out paperback with photos of various windows and lamps. In terms of price and coverage, this is a Goldilocksian "just right" middle choice for someone who doesn't want a major investment but is interested in the breadth of Tiffany's work.

Primarily, this book covers the works that are owned by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in fact I bought my copy in its shop to help me remember my visit. (Aside: it is indeed among the best museum shops in the world, and I felt compelled to buy *something*.)

The museum does have an impressive Tiffany collection, including some of the works you've seen photographed in all the "usual places," such as his wysteria window, Autumn Landscape, and the dogwood window. It also has several lamps, vases, and -- possibly surprising to some people -- furniture, mosaics, boxes, and other items that don't get quite as much "airplay" but are still quite beautiful.

The book is separated into chapters on Tiffany's background, interiors, stained-glass windows, mosaics, favrile glass, lamps, enamels and ceramics, and jewelry, metalwork, and woodwork. The text is academic and a little dry, but suitable for the context. You learn about the provenance of the item rather than how it was constructed.

The photos are lovely, with plenty of closeups -- though not *quite* close enough, I found, for my stained-glass hobbyiest's eye. That is, the closeup of the Magnolias and Irises window shows enough detail for you to appreciate the glass and maybe the soldering, but you never see how amazingly the windows are plated. (Fortunately, the museum lets you take non-flash photos, so I have a few examples of my own.) You also see sketches and other in-progress designs, as well as other documents -- such as a drawing of a theater that Tiffany designed which was demolished in 1902.

But if an item isn't in the museum's collection, it isn't mentioned here; if you're looking for an exhaustive All About Tiffany book, this isn't it. It isn't *meant* to be an All About Tiffany book, and as other reviewers have noted, this doesn't focus on windows or lamps. And, at 100 pages, they can't include everything.

Personally, I was blown away by his mosaics (which I'd never seen before), and I realized why the favrile lamps earned him such a reputation (the photos here, like all the others, simply do not do them justice). So I'm very glad that I have this book in my growing collection; certainly, at the reasonable price it gives you a very good overview.

Loved This Book
I saw this exhibition at the Met in NYC and was enthralled by it.I showed the book to a fellow Tiffany lover and he said though he has many books on Tiffany there were items in this one he had never seen before.I say buy the book and then a ticket to NYC and go to the Met and see the originals.Both are worth the price.

Brief Info on Book
Paperback, 100 pps, over 130 illustrations
A wonderful look at the full range of works by Tiffany.Photos on every page of designs, lamps, vases, mosaics and paintings, and even a peek at his studio and some of the glass workshops.Highly recommended.

Not quite what I was looking for
I bought this book expecting to find many pictures of Tiffany's wonderful stained glass windows.In that, I was disappointed, hence the two stars.There is, however, a great sampling of Tiffany's work including jewelry,lamps, and an absolutely stunning green desk collection that I had neverseen before.In all it is a great collection of the artist's work andgives an excellent overview of his amazing depth.

However, since I waslooking for the stained glass windows, this book wasn't quite what I wassearching for.I hope to save someone else from the same mistake. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1973, this marvelous collection of photographs with accompanying texts by the revered late Museum of Modern Art photography curator John Szarkowski has long been recognized as a classic. Reissued in 1999-with new digital duotones-this volume is now available to a new generation of readers.
"This is a picture book, and its first purpose is to provide the material for simple delectation," says Szarkowski in his introduction to this first survey of The Museum of Modern Art's photography collection. A visually splendid album, the book is both a treasury of remarkable photographs and a lively introduction to the aesthetics and the historical development of photography.
Since 1930, when the Museum accessioned its first photograph, it has assembled an extraordinary and wide-ranging collection of pictures for preservation, study and exhibition. Among the outstanding figures represented here are Hill and Adamson, Cameron, O'Sullivan, Atget, Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand, Weston, Kertesz, Evans, Cartier-Bresson, Lange, Brassai, Ansel Adams, Shomei Tomatsu, Frank, Arbus and Friedlander.
Some of these photographs are classics, familiar and well-loved favorites, many are surprising, little-known works by the masters of the art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

What a private tour of MOMA's photo collection might be like
I also came to know of this book from Mike Johnston's "The Online Photographer" blog.Reading this book is like having a personal non-hurried guided tour of 100 significant works at MOMA by an expert curator.

The subjects of the discussion of each image is not identical for each one.In most discussions we learn about the history of the photographer.More words are probably used to discuss each photographer's history than anything else.The curator's discussion of why the image is significant, why it works etc, is less even with some images getting a greater discussion about this than others.

If indeed I had had a long private tour of these images with Mr. Szarkowski I would have asked more questions about why the individual images "worked" than what the author covered in his discussions. OTOH, since I'm somewhat lazy about visiting museums (and I live in NYC!) reading this book is equal or better than a long day trip to the museum. I certainly came away knowing more than when I started this book.

Stinky!
Book had to be returned to Hippo Books because it was not the hardcover I ordered but it was mildewy or smoky--just stinky!Credit to be given but I will have to pay return postage for this breach of contract.Not happy.

If your interested in learning to see better...
I found this book to be both inspiring and educational...it critiques each image and helped me to see my photograhy a bit more clearly. A must have in everyone who is interested in Photography

Mostly about the historical development of photography and very little about the aesthetics of the images included
I found the title and editorial description rather misleading: "A visually splendid album, the book is both a treasury of remarkable photographs and a lively introduction to the aesthetics and the historical development of photography."

I found the book disappointingly short on the aesthetics part.The book contains 100 photographs and a short essay/note on each of them. Now, most of the text is actually about the background of the photograph. Mostly about the photographer and situation photographed and some on the printing process employed. Generally only the last paragraph is devoted to some comments on the image itself. I really expected to learn more about Szarkowski's thoughts on the images as such.

The book is much better on the historical part. The essays are quite enjoyable and have given me a small background knowledge of the historical development of photography. There is something about the authors lucid style of writing that appeals to me, and seduced me to actually complete the read and rather enjoy it even though it turned out to be very different from what I expected.

The historical part deserves a 5 star rating, however both the title and editorial description suggests a more comprehensive treatment of the aesthetical part. I therefore give it a 3 star rating.

Taught Me To See!
I bought this wonderful book with my Christmas or birthday money over thirty years ago, when I was a teenager first interested in the art of photography.I spent hours looking at the photos and reading the text. I learned so much, not about the "how to" of photography, but about what makes a great photo. ... Read more

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