Artists Books

As an artist interested in Marcel Duchamp and his works, I foud this book to be very informative. It's a book that will fascinate even those who have little interest in modern art.

I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful book to everyone who knows how to read English. Marcel Duchamp was perhaps the premier iconclast of the twentieth century, and the runners up might be Buckminster Fuller & Le Corbusier. The book is NOT a boring monograph; it is a lot of fun to read. Tompkins is a Duchamp enthusiast but manages to wade through the mythology and bull to present the reader with the rosetta stone of Duchamp's life and art. Whether you took a twentieth century art survey in college and only know Duchamp as the guy who wrote R. Mutt on an upside-down urinal or you have read any number of books about the artist you should read this book! Tompkins sucks the reader right into the mind of Duchamp on the first page with a discussion and analysis of The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even, one the the greatest and most misunderstood and unappreciated works of the last century. I was an Art History major in college and hence suffered through so many authoritative, pretentious, dry, bland, misinformed, prejudiced and yawn-inducing books that it was such a pleasure to stumble onto Tompkin's Duchamp, which is a reader's book, totally apt since Duchamp was a man's man, a genius, not a theorizing weasal. This book is important because it inspires everyone to question everything you take for granted, and enjoy puns and jokes and the lighter side of life, and that art is there for everyone, not for patrons and the elite, for you and me, and that the contrary notion is absurd.

You don't have to like modern art to enjoy this remarkable biography about the most influention and controversial artists of the twentieth century. Tompkins explores the various interpretations of the art of Marcel Duchamp, most amusing of which is that of the artist himself (he was very laissez-fair when it came to expounding upon his own art). If the reader is not a fan of modern art (least of all the Dada movement) he or she will still find pleasure in reading about the life and times of this man of extreme wit and humor. The book reads like a who's-who of the pre and post world war II art world. Dealers, artists, and collectors who filled Duchamps world are just as amusing as characters in a comical work of fiction. The day to day life of people like Peggy Guggenheim and Max Ernst, Francis Picabia and Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia, Katherine Dryer, and Andre Breton, and the ever popular and exclusive members of the surrealist group is explored in comical detail. This book can also be looked at as a crash course in twentieth art history. Duchamp is explored in the most scholarly manner, but Tompkins keeps his study on a level that makes it easy to read.

DUCHAMP: A BIOGRAPHY is a wonderful biography of the artist whom, Tompkins argues persuasively, is the most influential of our almost-completed century. That the art work must be a mental act (a 'cosa mentale,' Leonardo da Vinci had argued many years before); that to be truly creative we need to work AGAINST our esthetic expectations; that art should aspire to be 'non-retinal': these are only some of Duchamp's major perceptions included in this book. What is particularly enjoyable is the way in which Tompkins meshes DuChamps' remarkable life -- one of the most sexually attractive of men, a chess player at the highest levels, an extraordinarily charming and easy person (yet a man who, not matter how much he tried to avoid the repetitive patterns involved in 'art,' was always the consummate artist)with the works of art and 'readymades' which emerged in and from that life. Duchamp's life makes for wonderful reading. What I most recommend about the book is that it stimulates one's own thinking, challenging so much of our conventional beliefs -- in art, in convention, in the concepts of both accomplishment and genius.

The fantastic New Yorker art critic turns his eye towards one of his favorite artists. This book balances both a traditional historical biography of Duchamp along with a critique and examination of his art. A good read of an artist with an interesting (and pleasantly surprisingly un-tortured) life.

Bought this as a gift and he loved it. A great collection of info and photos on the one and only Big Daddy. Great shots of him througout his life and career, up and down, (my favorite shot was of him sleeping on the side of the road beside his car on his way to a show). Lots of photos of his wild cars. Great book for all his fans.

This is a great book, a must have for Big Daddy fans and hot rodders alike. A great compainion to "Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I love the hard cover because I hope to have this book to show my kids someday. Ed Roth lives forever through his fans.

For me, a guy, who lived and breathed the hot rod, surf and music scene of the 60's, this book brings back a necessary component of the time. Relive and remember the essence of the time through Ed Roth who's artwork and cars seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue. We all knew the "Rat Fink" and we all knew "Big Daddy". Now he lives forever in this definitive work.

This book is a great collection with everything that you want to see and know about the "Big Daddy".
I bought one for a friend and I'll buy for me too.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

Terrific reproductions, great bio and lovely feel to this handsome volume. I admire Vuillard for his ability to use what are generally dank tonals to achieve such melodious, satiny and harmonized compositions. As a painter I look for the best repros to help me in my own training. A fellow painter friend's borrowed it and I'm still not sure if I've gotten it back.

i've only found one vuillard collection bigger (better) than this one. it's the complete collection: a 3 volume set (same page size as this book). i've only seen it in art libraries in large universities; it must cost hundreds. for us mortals, Cogeval's selection will satisfy 99.99% of the vuillard fans out there. the image quality is quite good -- i've seen them framed. and the text is well written.

I had the opportunity to see this show at the National Gallery in Washington D.C. and am amazed at how well everything was represented both in the book and at the show. At first I wasn't going to buy the book but, after speaking with my painting professor, who has been collecting Vuillard books for over 30 years, state that this is THE most comprehensive book of Vuillard's work and probably has more information and work than all his other Vuillard books combined, well, that clenched it and I had to get the book. I am very, very glad I did.

it is really a wonderful book, with very many very beautiful illustrations, many of not always known them. really much more of which it hoped, it contains whole work catalogues of very important museums for the lovers of the painting of Vuillard, it contains 463 beautiful illustrations to color

The career of this French painter and photographer spanned the first four decades of the 20th century and produced a wealth of works. Edouard Vuillard represents the most comprehensive and authoritative study of Vuillard's art, with over a hundred works covering the wide range of his creations and enjoying essays by the authors, who explore his career and influences. Though it's the catalog for an exhibition in Washington DC, Edouard Vuillard will also earn its own rightful place as an authoritative coverage of Vuillard's vast body of art.

I found the images in this little book breathtaking. The color and expression was so exciting and the history was fascinating. This tiny little volume is packed with beautiful images of Nolde watercolors. I'm so glad I found it.

Nolde, though sympathetic to the Nazi Party, was included among the artists who were exhibited in the "Degenerate Art Show". He was also banned from painting throughout the war which he spent in the north German town of Seebüll. Being the artist he was he was unable to halt the creative process and began to paint watercolor pictures on small torn sheets of paper - these paintings, the "unpainted pictures" are the subject of this book. The paintings are quite beautiful and the viewer can see how Nolde played with the rich watercolors to create pictures of people, fantastic portraits, and landscapes and seascapes. They are heavily expressionistic as Nolde used dark colors and india ink to delineate figures, give depth, and provide shadow. At their best the pictures are akin to stained glass with a backlighting sun emphasizing the rich colors. If you're a fan of expressionism it's a must book to have. For an art historian there there is a concise text which explores Nolde's relationship with the Nazi Party and those Nazis (Goebbels among them) who attempted to intercede on his behalf.

it is a really beautiful book, in spite of being small, contains watercolors of this great artist, gorgeous, very good quality of illustration, that I make on paper Japanese, in small format, all are like small jewels, that display the great colorista that was. I am enchanted with the book.

Emile Nolde's Unpainted Pictures is a reminder that the Nazi regime affected everyone, not just the groups targeted for persecution. This is an example of one artist's adaptation to those horrible circumstances. It is a book of beautiful reproductions of watercolors done in secret and distributed to friends to keep them safe. Even the format of the book is small, implying that the paintings had to be hidden. It is not a book for generalists; it is for a specific audience, those who are interested in Expressionist paintings.

I liked, though did not love, this book. I think that perhaps there are too many reproductions, some of which are inferior to the others. I hope that when I die and become a famous artist (well, one can hope, can't they?) someone will edit my work with more care.
Still Nolde is always interesting and this book is worth it for fans of his work.

I started this book knowing nothing about this important painter and finished it with a great understanding of both the man and his art.

Justin Spring's biography on Fairfield Porter, A Life In Art, is one of the most difficult and disturbing biographies I've read in some time. It's incredibly thorough, as if no piece of information was left out.

Most biographies are bound to reveal new information, but the amount here is overwhelming. Other reviews here on Amazon bring out the detail, so there's no point repeating it. If you're only familiar with Porter from an artisitic standpoint the biography of his family life, lifestyle, manners, and politics will be shocking and difficult to bring together.

While in the middle of reading this book I had to let it go for a few months and read other things then go back to it. Porter's activities in the late 1940's to the mid 1950's were especially difficult to reconcile considering the subject matter of his output.

It seems the frankness in tone of the biography is totally in tune with Porter's ways of communicating. I suspect if Porter had lived longer then such an autobiography probably would have been as revealing.

This book displays great beauty: the paper is beautiful, the writing is flawless and the subject matter (the art work) is cool and elegant. But the artist's life was a difficult & complex equation of contractions: he was born patrician, yet he was a leftist (he attended Socialist demonstrations in a chauffeur driven limousine); he was highly verbal and intellectual, yet he painted the coolest (visually abstract) emotion; he made realist art in an abstract art time; he was married yet he had sex with men; he was surrounded by a loving family, yet he remained remote and distant; he lived in the country, yet he was always running to the city; he was bright and balanced, yet his best (lifelong) friend was mentally deranged; he made the most stable art from the most unstable life; he was slender and active, yet he died early of a surprise heart attack; he was on the verge of greatness (and nearly penniless much of the time), but cared little for fame and less for money. This assortment of profound conflicts make for a great story, and the art works themselves tower above everything in their lofty remove, quiet dignity, and timeless spirit. Find out why that is so (and what it may mean for the history of 20th century art criticism) and read this haunting and very personal book you'll not forget.

Fairfield Porter's paintings have a strange pale quality, and they are flooded with light.His subjects are upper class domestic,and many of them are pale and etherial. He painted his family friends,and their pvt haunts beautifully. Little did most people realize he was a torn person,and probably can be better understood by this reading.I think what amazed me the most about this book was the incredible latent homosexual exsistence that paralled and co-existed within Porter's very homey and simmering homogenous realism.The bio details his social, artistic and private relationships with a younger generation of artists. This book is a portrait of a man at war with his sexuality. His ptngs are beautifully orchestrated, sensual, understated. A must for those that want to know more about Porter's life, and the different sides that lived inside him. A good read!I love artist bios.This is a worthy effort.

Justin Spring's Fairfield Porter: A Life In Art provides an excellent literary and intellectual biography, drawing important connections between Porter's social, artistic and personal lives and considering both his art and his position in the art world. Black and white and color photos pepper this in-depth biographical and artistic coverage.

Both me & my 4 year old daughter are in love with this book!
You will never get sick of looking at it, we promise!

The magic of Friends With You truly gets the best possible overview with this new, oversized art book from German book publisher Die Gestalten Verlag. Featuring 176 pages, Friends With You Have Powers! showcases the incredible breadth of Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval's artistic output - from truly innovative toy concepts to full-room gallery installations, videos, paintings and animations.

Sweet!

If you like Modern Art, or Toys, or Design or all three you will love this book. Not only are the photographs and the items shown a treat to browse through, the book itself is a treat to hold (and behold) with it's cushioned cover and eye catching grahics. No Modern Art Book collection would be truely complete with out this fun book and if you own even one of the great art toys this book showcases, then you MUST have it.

Somewhere in heaven J.M. Barrie is hugging his Malfi and smiling. Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandova (AKA Friends with You) get it. There art is for kids, adults, anyone who is happy or needs to get happy. This book will put a smile on your face and make your heart feel warm and fuzzy. The worlds they create are beautiful magical places, the creates sweet and charming and friendly. The artwork is showcased beatifully, the shots are clear, it's well organized. I love this book so much. I know I sound like a 12 year-old girl talking about a puppy, but I'm a 30 year-old male talking about an art book. And that is why this book is pure magic. Please, please buy it.

Anyone from 4 to 104 can spend a relaxing hour in this book exploring the Friends' world of imagery, and once you put it down life seems a bit easier.

My grandmother gave me this book in nineteen-seventy-something and I have hung onto it until now. The original copy is still with me, I cherish it and I read it to my two older children who are ages six and four. Lovely story, fascinating, nice illustrations... Thumbs up!

This is a very funny story about a goat that tells the story of how her fur becomes a Navajo rug. If you look close enough at the front cover, you'll notice the book is written by the goat herself. It's a wonderful book for all ages, especially Navajo children.

When I was little (a long time ago at this point!) I had this book and was utterly fascinated by it. I remember trying to dye yarn myself after reading it... (well, that didn't work out so well as I recall-- since this is NOT a how-to book, just an engaging story-- but it was fun all the same.) Now that I'm an adult, I would definately recommend this book to anyone with "creative" children who love to make things.

I was raised on this book and it has always been a favorite of mine. The pictures are delightful and the story has stayed with me through the years. I love how Geraldine decides to eat all the yummy plants they were going to use to dye the wool. OOPS! Now I find it is on the school reading list and being used in the classroom! I highly recommend this book as a favorite for children and parents alike.

This is a gentle book, both the words and illustrations, which guides the reader through the process of making a traditional Navajo rug. Told from the goat's perspective, humor is interwoven with facts. My 5 year old wants to add that the goat ate up some of the flowers the weaver had collected when she wasn't looking.

The last page states: "This is a true story of a weaver and her goat who lived in the Navajo Nation at Window Rock, Arizona." The end plates have pictures of items used in making the rug, including local plants and which parts of them are used for certain dye colors (ex. juniper branches used for brown dye).

My mother lived on a Navajo reservation as a child and so I've purchased this for her childrens book collection so that she can read it to the grandkids when they visit.

I was looking for a book to go through all aspects of nature sketching and journaling. This is the book! I have lended the book out to other sketch artists and they found it very useful as well. Lots of pointers on different types of sketching and FANTASTIC illustrations. It it worth purchasing just for the illustrations alone. I would recommend this book to ANYONE who is interested in sketching nature.

This book provides a tremendous amount of information on sketching in nature but don't let the title fool you- this is a terrific general sketching and drawing book. Johnson covers topics that are rarely covered in other books. The use of pens, watercolors, pencils and colored pencils (both water soluble and not) are covered. This is an invaluable book and is an asset to both the beginner and more advanced student. I'm on Amazon right now trying to find other books by Cathy Johnson- I'm that impressed.

This is a very refreshing book. Cathy Johnson not only makes it look easy to draw and paint loose, yet accurate, watercolor sketches outdoors, but she tells you everything you need to know. This book will actually teach you how to draw and paint what you see, without making things overly complicated. Best of all, her supply list is well within the means of most people. I really enjoyed this book, and learned a great deal from it. This summer, I caught Lyme disease. It's nasty. For months, I could hardly walk, let alone hike and garden and do stuff I used to love. But Cathy's book has helped draw me back outside, and I'm learning to love nature all over again, one leaf, flower, and bug at a time. This book would make a great gift.

I loved this book. I am a beginner and it was an excellent resource.

I am a novice artist and need all the tips and help I can get. This book is a big help and I refer to it frequently.

wow, what a gift he had. I'm glad he chose to share it. He seems to get so much in such a small space. Classic Americana Art.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves Charles Wysocki's art. There are a lot of pictures and some interesting insights into the pictures he paints. Together with An American Celebration, this is a must have!

wonderful book including glimpses of the artist's life and pictures of his family. the book also shares real life photos that charles wysocki used to create his magical paintings. what a great accusition for a true fan.

As Amnerican as apple pie, artist Charles Wysocki's "Heartland" is a tribute to our country.

While his visions exist only in his imagination, his images are true-historic Boston in midwinter with bundled skaters circling a pond, a sun-filed beach in Nantucket, a New England pumpkin patch, and a White House Fourth of July picnic.

Wysocki says, "There is a country in my mind, a landscape in my heart, a place that does not appear on any map but is so clear and sharply detailed that to paint it, I have only to look within."

How fortunate we are that he did.

Profusely and beautifully illustrated, Charles Wysocki's Heartland is a bright and impressive chronicle of his love of life and Americana. The highly detailed, full-color paintings, drawings, sketches and photographs are all from his own collection and embellished with his personal poetry. Enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library artbook collections, Heartland is a visual and emotional celebration that will charm and even inspire those who browse through its pages.

Love the book. It has lot's of great pictures of Helen Kish dolls (some that I have and love) and interesting info about Helen.

This is a well rounded book of Helen's past, previous, and current dolls. She is a talented artist and has a very human side to her too! You can see her talent and creativity improve page by page. Her struggles getting noticed by worldwide and national doll and sculpture collectors increases gradually until she is so popular that she finally gets a book about her career as an artist.
So many of my dolls by Helen is in this book that I finally have a doll artist book that I will cherished because I can identify most on them in this book. I love the color photos of her work. I haven't read every page yet; but it seems to be accurate.
I've also had the advantage of meeting this wonderful artist in person several times at doll events and conventions and she is as wonderful as described in the book. Helen is very down to earth and her husband and daugther are her greatest supporters.

The most popular doll that has made Helen superpopular is little Riley!
That little 7 and 1/2 inch doll has so much attitude and has taken over the hearts of many doll collectors worldwide.

I also love Helen for adding many ethnic dolls to my collection and I cherished them very much. I have one of her ethnic black little boys and he is in this book on page 48 and his name is Bailey.

If you are a new or old collector of Helen Kish; you will love to have this book in your collection.

Enjoy, Lena

This is a wonderful book. A must for all Kish collectors. The photography is beautiful.

Thrilled with this edition.. wonderful photographic record of her productions.I have used it many times already to identify a doll before a purchase and in discussion with other collectors on internet groups

As a collector and admirer of the work by Artist HElen Kish, , it was enjoyable to read her personal bio..

..a must for anyone who collects Kish dolls

This book is very helpful especially to the new collector of Helen Kish dolls. It provides interesting historical information about the artist, as well as lots of good photos and information about the dolls themselves. I refer to the book often to help identify Kish dolls made in the past. While I am glad to own the book and think it's a good value I would have liked more information on which dolls were made in the USA and which were handpainted by Kish herself. I rate the book FOUR stars.