Galleries Books

This is a wonderful book in the series with wonderful reproductions of the posters of the decade. Makes a wonderful gift for someone who loves movies as well as a great coffee table book. Highly recommended

Excellent... add it to your book collection! If you are a Star Wars fan check this out!

When I first looked at this book, it was like going back to my childhood, well, sort of, it was so neat to see posters of some of my favorite films from back then and a lot from movies that I never knew they made. The artwork on those posters is most certainly something to see and admire!!! If you love art and or movies this is THE book to get you won't be disappointed!

back in the day this was the best visual present.if the poster was cool then the movie would get Love.a picture can tell a thousand words.and the 70's had the coolest posters and arguable the best films in Movie History.before video tape you walk to the movie house and see the poster and the reaction you felt led you or back the other way.a solid must have book.

Like the other decade books in this series Film Posters of the 70's is a sensational buy. You could either keep it intact as a collection of posters in a book to show and discuss with friends, or cut the book up and actually have a vast number of posters up on your wall. This book is about a third the size of your standard film poster and most movies are full page colour. Any of them would look great up on the wall.

The 70's gave the world Star Wars, Grease, The Godfather, Mad Max, Alien, Taxi Driver, Texas Chainsaw Massacure, Halloween, Rocky and a very blood thirsty shark who changed human perception of sharks for decades to come named Jaws. These films along with other greats fill this book. Roger Moore also took over from Connery as James Bond and Clint Eastwood made a heap of Westerns. Find them here as well.

Artists should read this book & make note of all the marketing methods Edith Gregor Halpert employed to make it in the art world ... (actually this should be required reading for all gallery owners & curators too...) Come to think of it , anyone involved somehow in art should read this book ... (also , it is interesting how possibly the lead in oil paints caused ear troubles & related brain tumor in those working close to paint- makes one think that is what Van Gogh also suffered from - lead poisoning ...makes one re-evaluate toxicity & proximity as well as ear problems in artists , starting with tinnitus , like a ringing in one's ears ... is madness among artists just lead poisoning ?) ... fascinating stuff...great read ...

The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.

There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.

It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.

Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.

Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.

I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....

Fascinating and excellent read.

Wonderful little book for children and parents. So fun to see the pictures appear in the mirror and see the different textures and means used to create art. It is fun to work your imagination and share this with your child.

Gracie's Gallery is AMAZING!!! Ms. Houle is a most talented artist as well as author. This book will inspire all readers (adults and children) to explore art, nature and their own imaginations. We need to see more of her work. It is truly "Magic".

Of all the thousands of childrens books out there, Kelly Houle's Gracie's Gallery is unique and original. Kids will love to look at the great artwork through the mirror and read it over and over again. Excellent!

Gracies Gallery is amazingly illustrated with art that very few people have the pleasure of knowing about, very impressed with the artist.

I loved this book!!! The artwork is amazing. Scribbles on a page turn into portraits when seen through the special mirror. You will find no other book like it. I actually bought two copies, one for myself and my family and the other to give as a Christmas present to someone this year. When I showed it to my son's teacher and saw how much she loved it though, I ended up giving the extra copy to her. I will be buying more copies to give as gifts soon.

Henry Darger (1892-1973) spent most of his life working as a dishwasher, janitor, and bandage roller at a hospital in Chicago. Darger's mother died in childbirth with his sister when Darger was 3 years old, and his father died when Darger was 15. The family was economically destitute, and the young Darger ended up in boys homes, orphanages, and such unsavory institutions as the "Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children" in Lincoln, Illinois. Darger lived most of his adult life in the same apartment, and when he died in 1973 his landlord found a number of homemade books containing three large manuscripts written and illustrated by Darger, each more than 5000 pages long.

The most important manuscript is the first, a 14 volume work titled "The Realms of the Unreal, or the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion," which Darger spent two decades writing and illustrating. This epic is the chronicled history of a 4-year war on an imaginary world. On this world, children have been enslaved and a war breaks out to free them. Spearheading the rebellion are the seven Vivian sisters, little girl heroes--figures which seem to have been based, at least partly, on Joan of Arc. Among the story's other main influences are Frank L. Baum's Oz books, the works of Charles Dickens, and the history of the American Civil War.

Darger's artwork is both imaginatively vivid and disturbing. Most of the art involves little girls as the heroes and the victims, with men and supernatural creatures called "the Blegiglomenean Serpents" (or, "the Blengins") as their oppressors. The little girls are often depicted in idyllic portraits; however, they are also often shown being strangled or killed in battle. Also, they are often nude, and sometimes portrayed as hermaphrodites with male genitals. Much of Darger's work is composed of individual figures traced from magazines or comics. Artistically, Darger is compared with figures as diverse as Blake and Andy Warhol.

I've waited for a collection of Darger's work ever since I first saw a handful of originals on exhibit at the County Museum. This volume has a lot (over 100?) of high quality color reproductions of the Vivian Girls leading the sometimes bloody, cosmic child slavery rebellion against the invading Glandelinians, along with source material, and some interesting shots of Darger's studio/apartment.

There are also some pretty interesting writing excerpts from Darger's mammoth source material, REALMS OF THE UNREAL (which dwarfs the notebook writing of David Fincher's antagonists in SEVEN and FIGHT CLUB). It's pretty genuine, and the editors contend to've kept the editing to a crucial minimum.

Tim Burton, et al., can claim to be as weird or on the fringe as much as they want, but they don't hold a candle to someone with a real chemical imbalance.

It's pricey, but well worth it if you're a collector of this sort of stuff. Now, if only someone would make a comparable collection for Adolfo Wolfi...

There have been several things written about Henry Darger and his art but this book is the definitive work. If you want to understand Henry Darger and get a full appreciation of his genius,, read this book and enjoy the beautiful illustrations.

This isn't concerning the book but I thought I would inform everyone that there is a film on Henry Darger that will be at the Sundance Film Fest (Park City, Utah) The title of the documentary is called "Henry Darger: Realms of the Unreal." It looks to be a great film. The filmakers have also animated parts of his paintings. Hopefully the film will make to near your home in the future. I just picked up my tickets so if you can I would recommend it. Good Luck.

Henry Darger, the janitor who spent a lifetime writing and illustrating a loving paedophile epic of staggering proportions never seen until his death, has not yet found his time but it will come. His frenzied Blake-like illustrations have had some exposure in museums which feature outsider and folk art (like the recent exhibit at P.S.1 in NYC) but this collection of his work exhibits a glimpse of the novel they were designed to support. With no training his obsessive masterpiece includes prose, poetry, songs and maps. Infectious in a raw undeniable way it is a spelendid, brilliant, disturbing and awesome.

Being aware of the influence that Japanese print making had on European artists in the 19th century, but not having had much exposure to Japanese prints, I found this book to be a wonderful introduction. The essays that opened the book and the explicatory text that accompanied each print helped to establish a dialogue between the ideas that were exchanged between Oriental art and European art. I found this to be an excellent addition to my personal collection, and would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Europeans and Americans discovered the world of Japanese woodblock prints and thus began an enduring love affair. One result has been the publication over the last century of literally hundreds of books and thousands of articles about the prints known as "ukiyoe," with a particular emphasis on such giants of the genre as Hokusai and Hiroshige. How then, in this crowded field, does one manage to create a must-have publication for readers who may already have well-stocked libraries on Japanese art?

One answer is to be found in "Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts." Issued by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in conjunction with an exhibition, "Hokusai and Hiroshige" is typical of a new wave of "ukiyoe" books that combine excellent design (of layout and typography) with clear and interesting text. Every page displaying a print has a near equal amount of space devoted to text, and the book benefits as well from introductory essays by three established experts. The text in particular appeals to me, providing not only insights about the compositional nature of each print but also detail on the locales depicted by these two great landscape artists and appropriate historical information. There is room for improvement in "Hokusai and Hiroshige"--I would have preferred more standard romanizations for some Japanese words and the inclusion of an index covering well more than just print titles--but overall this is an excellent and valuable volume.

I have not "finished" this book, nor do I intend to for a long time. I take it out to admire, print by print, sometimes reading the informative text, sometimes not. This is not a comic book to rush through. Linger, enjoy.

This volume was the companion for the exhibits at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It covers all the lerge number of works shown there, each with descriptions of what is depicted and some in the points of interest that highlight each artist's rendering of the scene. There are sections on the lives of each artist and the fairly primitive tools used to create these intricate multi-colored (and thus multi-pressed) prints. The full collection of sets, such as the Hokusai views of Mount Fuji, are very well done and would in themselves make this book worthwhile. The sum total of both these woodblock masters is awe inspiring and sumptuous.

I have not "finished" this book, nor do I intend to for a long time. I take it out to admire, print by print, sometimes reading the informative text, sometimes not. This is not a comic book to rush through. Linger, enjoy.

This is the catalogue for the landmark Pollock exhibition held at the Moma and the Tate in 1998-1999. Considering the steep rise in the insurance value of Pollock's paintings, such a comprehensive retrospective is not likely to be repeated in the near future and we are therefore fortunate to have such a brilliant book to help us remember it. The late Kirk Varnedoe was one of the best interpreters of contemporary American art and his text, never anecdotical and always informative without being pedantic, does justice to the masterpieces without falling into any of the cliches that often pollute our view of this great artist.

Beautiful illustrations make this book an indispensable presence in any arts library.

Having just taken in the MoMA show, I was very satisfied with the Pollock catalog. Very nice job reproducing the works (a difficult task in the printing of art catalogs!) Many fold-outs assist in conveying the size of Pollock's larger works. Large, full-bleed detail shots add a nice touch, complimenting the entire painting. While I'm not thrilled with the cover design, the interior is well-written, well-presented, and well-worth reading.

I picked this book up at the MOMA Pollock retrospective a couple years ago and have used it extensively. Having seen many of the paintings in this book firsthand, I can say that these are some of the best reproductions offerred in book form on Pollock's work. Another plus is that several paintings are printed on fold-out pages, so that the work doesn't cross the book's seam. So many of his paintings are extremely wide that this makes a lot of sense (otherwise, there would be hardly any resolution in the height dimension).

If you're interested in Pollock and need to refer to the reproductions, I absolutely recommend this book above all others out there.

This breathtaking catalogue is simply the best single volume available on Jackson Pollock, and this is primarily--but not only--because of the number and quality of the reproductions it offers. Almost every one of the dozen or so Pollock books in my library contains a painting not available in the others, but this book collects and beautifully photographs the greatest number and variety of his canvases--outside of a catalogue raisonee.

As the other reviewers state, there are many generously-sized fold-out pages here, and the crispness and resolution of these big reprints and of the more modest pages are simply amazing. To take two essential examples, this book's reprints of "One: Number 31, 1950" and "Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952" are astoundingly clear, better than any of the many other versions I've seen in art books, even in Ellen Landau's large-format survey, a book which also includes gatefolds.

(Another reviewer, by the by, states that "Lucifer" is not available in any other book, which is not true. Among other places, it appears in Landau, in Elizabeth's Frank's concise volume, and as the sole color reproduction in the book for the 1965 MOMA retrospective. Anyway, it gets terrific treatment here.)

Another invaluable inclusion in this book is a great number of full-sized detail photos of the canvases. For example, on a page adjacent to "Lucifer" and "Autumn Rhythm" and "Full Fathom Five," we see another photo of just one small section of that same painting but in 1-to-1 scale; these details reveal much of the dynamic, kinetic, urgent quality of these works, their encrustations of sand, glass, pennies, paint caps--traits which even this book could otherwise never offer a livingroom Pollock-viewer.

Further, having seen the exhibit in January of 1999, I can attest to the generally excellent fidelity of the color-balance. (Curiously, no one seems to be able to capture "Autumn Rhythm"'s grey-teal passages in a book, but if you were at this show or have viewed the painting at the Met you've seen them.)

The accompanying articles are excellent. Kirk Varnedoe overviews of Pollock's life, artistic aims, his accomplishments, all illustrated with family and archival photographs and drawing on Pollock quotations. Pepe Karmel uses the extensive photographic and film record of Pollock painting to analyze Pollock's physical movements. Most wonderful are Karmel's computer reconstructions of early states of the painting "Autumn Rythm," based on Hans Namuth's photos of Pollock at work.

In sum, this book gives the finest, fullest offering of both Pollock's life and art.

Excellent companion piece to the MOMA show (which traveled to London's Tate) goes beyond all other Pollock explorations. A "must" for students of modern American art as well as those just wanting to get a better understanding of what Pollock was REALLY DOING.

Large format features fold-out reproductions of breathtakingly high quality. Among these, incredibly, are paintings not found in any other published sources. (The incomparable Lucifer (1947) is one such work).

The text is scholarly but readable, and although there is a considerable amount of it, each open page of writing offers at least a couple relevant and highly interesting photos or other illustrations. The many large color plates would certainly make a gorgeous and impressive coffee table book for anyone who doesn't choose to read it.

Kirk Varnedoe writes definitively about Pollock's mercurial life & career. Varnedoe's nearly 75 pages of biographical analysis are a welcome alternative to the kind of misguided mythologizing about Pollock that has for a long time colored the artist as an overrated art "star."

Pepe Karmel's contribution to this book is an amazing analysis of Pollock's painting process through an exhaustive examination of the famous films and photographs of Pollock at work. This was a fascinating, ground-breaking part of the exhibition, and is equally wonderful in the book.

Well worth the price.

This was fascinating to read. Three characters deliver a monologue relating to Molly's experiences temporarily regaining her vision through surgery. In addition to the clear & interesting portraits of these people, scientific information is presented in an easy to understand manner.
However, unlike other good plays I have read I have no interest in seeing the play performed. What does seeing this play add to the experience of reading the play? But definitely read it!

This year i have had the privalege of not only reading Molly Sweeney, by Brian Friel, But also playing the part of Molly. Never have i read such a brillant work of literature. The heroine,strong willed and enchanting goes through a series of operations to try and restore her vision. Through the sucesses and pitfalls of this procedure Molly shows us what true vulnerability and dreams are made of. She posesses an inner strength that can be understood only by those who have been caught between two worlds, never to re-enter either of them. She has taught me to appreciate everything I see. For she relished the world and all the beauty in it.. while those of us with vision are blind to its miracles. indeed, We are the ones with blindsight. I have never played a character I have loved as much as Molly. She took over my body and soul on stage until i existed only as her vessel.... her unique personality shining through teaching us all to value what we have, to love what we are given, and to venture into the unknown.. even if it means loosing everything we've ever understood. Brian Friel is a modern day shakespeare. Truly my favorite playwright of the 20th century, he is also my mentor, and my inspiration. Molly Sweeney is truly a miracle in print.It will change your life.

Brian Friel, Ireland's premier modern dramatist, produces a minimalist ensemble drama in this 1995 play, presenting a story of immense dramatic power with no dramatic action on stage at all. Molly Sweeney, a forty-year-old woman who lost her sight when she was a baby, is the central character, the two others being her husband Frank, and Mr. Rice, a man whose surgical skill can return partial sight to her. When the play opens, all three characters inhabit their own spaces on stage, and each tells his/her story directly to the audience, the characters having no interaction with each other at all.

In a brilliant example of dramatic irony, the play comes fully to life through their stories and achieves a poignant reality though the audience never actually sees any action. In this way, the play's structure parallels the life of Molly, a woman who sees nothing but fully experiences the joy of life. Molly is fully independent, works as a massage therapist in a local health club, and, in fact, supports her husband, who is unemployed, considering her life completely "normal." When she has the opportunity to regain partial sight, she accepts the surgery at the behest of her husband and the surgeon, a man so dependent on alcohol that he sees the surgery as his last chance to restart his career.

Through the story of the surgery and how it changes the lives of the three characters, Friel forces the audience to consider important aspects of reality and how we interpret it. As he points out during the play, a functioning person without sight has created "engrams" of reality based on the other senses and must be taught how to connect new visual knowledge with the tactile engrams of his/her life if s/he is to be successful in understanding a sighted world. The gaining of sight involves the loss of the blind person's known world and the creation of a world in which everything is constantly moving and changing, "all the consolations of...the familiar" gone forever. Friel brilliantly recreates the drama of all three main characters as they try to cope emotionally with the changes wrought by Molly's surgery.

Ultimately, the play raises complex questions about fantasy vs. fact, and imagination vs. reality and suggests that these concepts may not be the opposites that many of us think them. The unusual format of the play itself is perfectly suited to this subject matter, asking us to imagine each character's invisible, but nevertheless completely real, inner life. Mary Whipple

I Just finished this play and loved it. In fact, I found it so moving and powerfull that I was anable to close my eyes because of the haunting ramifications described in this play. I had no choice but to write this review at 2:30 AM. This play tells the story of a women who undergoes a surgery in order to regain her sight, and the aftermath of that surgery. It is told in a seris of monologues by the three central characters in the show to brilliant perfection. Read this play, it will change the way you look at the world forever

Anyone interested in the neuropsychology of vision must see or read this play! *Molly Sweeney* is great drama by an award winning playwright. It tells more of the truth about failed attempts to restore vision in those blinded by cataracts in early childhood than "To See and Not See" in *An Anthropologist on Mars*. "Molly Sweeney" should be required reading for anyone interested in "Discourse between Anthropology and Medicine."

I bought this deck specifically because I am a huge fan of Michele-lee Phelan's art. Over time, I have also become a big fan of Lucy Cavendish's writings - her cd is also top knotch. I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates fantasy or goddess art. The works are not fluffy. Buy it, and you won't be disappointed!

This is an absolutely gorgeous set of oracle cards visually. As with all Blue Angel Gallery products, I adore their bigger included book size, and the quality of their cards. Each of the artists used in this tarot deck are so gifted - I loved loved LOVED each of their representations, and the different energies it brings to this deck.

Aside from the beautiful visual aspects though, I need to say that this is one of the most powerful, accurate oracle cards I've been blessed to experience. Every reading I have done with it has been amazingly accurate, and the wisdom in these cards is powerful and deep.

I also need to say that from the covering box, I at first didn't pick up these cards because it has such a dark cover. I'm so glad I did though - inside it is shining with light, and the friendship of the Dragonfaes.

My highest ho! to Lucy for creating these oracle deck of miracles... you are such a blessing!

I mistakenly bought this deck thinking all the artwork was by Michele-lee Phelan. The cover is hers, and 6 of the 8 pictures featured on the back of the box are also. From the small pics I'd seen only the internet I thought they were all hers, but 2 turned out to be Selina Fenech - which is ok, because she is a fine artist also. After buying the deck I found out it is a collaborative effort of seven different artists. Unfortunately, not all of the artists are a talented as the 2 represented on the box - a sentiment it seems Blue Angel Gallery agrees with, otherwise why not give a more accurate representation? Still, Cavendish is an imaginative writer and the deck is probably worth having - just a bit of a disappointment considering what a great deck it could have been.

I had never used any of Lucy Cavendish's cards before I bought these. I do not regret my purchase! Not only are they beautiful to look at (I fell in love with Michele-Lee's artwork), their very powerful messages are what I need exactly at the time I will draw a card. These cards turned me into a fan of Lucy's. I highly recommend them. They will open your world to the Dragonfae. . . ancient friends that have been waiting to reconnect to us.
Note: There are about 20 incredible cards that Michele-Lee did the artwork for in this oracle deck. Absolutely breathtaking work!

"Dragonfae are powerful and bring deeper understanding and clarity to all things...they tend to come into our lives to remind us who we really are and to active aspects of ourselves that we may have forgotten...Dragonfae help us to access knowledge from deep within. They are truly happy to be seen, felt accepted and heard as they have deep mystical knowledge to share--and they are your kin, and a part of who you truly are." - From the Oracle of the Dragonfae companion book

I first heard of Lucy Cavendish when I experienced her uplifting and profound wisdom through the Oracle Tarot. Lighthearted yet soul centered, her insights were accessible and well, magical!

Although I had no idea what "Dragonfae" were, when I found out she was authoring a new deck titled Oracle of the Dragonfae, I was intrigued and excited.

Well, I received it in the mail today, and it has far exceeded my expectations. I'll share more on my amazing encounter with this deck in a bit.

Firstly, some background: the Oracle of the Dragonfae, published by the wonderful Australian publisher Blue Angel Gallery, features the lovely, vibrant illustrations of seven different artists, with a 163-page larger-than-usual companion book.

The 43-cards are numbered, depicting the world of dragons and those aligned with their energy, for example, Gaia, Brigid, Melusine, Queen Oonagh, Goddess Tiamet, and others. Each colorful card shows the name of the particular Dragonfae, with a short phrase. Here are some examples:

* Tatsuya - Have courage!
* Drystan - Look beyond the surface
* Fernia - Clarity
* The Lovers - Love each other
* Oroko - Boundaries
* Queen Mab - Your ancient wisdom is awakening
* The Wild Huntress - Face your shadow
* Chumara - Web of all life
* The Pendragon - Pure male energy
* The Elder - Heed wise counsel

The sturdy, high-gloss cards from the Oracle of the Dragonfae measure approximately 5 ½ inches x 3 ¾ inches, with the card backings showing a fully reversible, subdued--but attractive--pentagram design.

Now, for my personal experience!

When I received this deck, I did something I don't normally do: rather than look through all the cards first, I just put the deck in front of me, facing outward, asked a question, and drew a card randomly. I had no idea what the cards looked like, let alone the order they were in!

After I read Lucy's interpretation in the companion book, I was stunned. Somehow, her three-page explanation of my card touched on not one, but THREE separate, unrelated issues. Yet, they were melded together by the wisdom of Chenguang, "Be light of heart".

The central, core issue was specifically addressed in this deck (and helped me make an instant decision that lifted a burden and welcomed the fresh air of freedom), as well as two peripheral issues that I've been concerned about, but couldn't seem to coexist peacefully with them.

After receiving such pointed, sage and encouraging guidance from that one card, I began eagerly devouring Lucy's companion book to the Oracle of the Dragonfae. She answers the question of what Dragonfae ARE, as well as their purpose and "calling cards". (Now I know what I keep seeing dragonflies in my backyard and individuals often give me stones, crystals and butterfly tokens!)

I now feel such a kinship with the Dragonfae because of this deck. In fact, when I began writing this review, I felt a strong, huge, heavy beast "curl" around me. I sat very still, felt this powerful, knowing, protective energy--and then the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood up. (It's happening again as I write this!)

So if you're on the lookout for an unusual, illuminating and spot-on deck, do give the Oracle of the Dragonfae deck a try. I feel you'll be pleasantly surprised by its accuracy and beauty, as well as the otherworldly insights by Lucy Cavendish.

(To see 13 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present

good illustrations, intertaining book

While this book contains chapters of material e.g. introduction, calendar, Gospel Lessons, Hours of the Virgin, Pentitential Psalms etc., the core of the book is the descriptions of the illustrations themselves. These description provide a variety of information - bits of biography of the artist, history of the manuscript (confirmed and confirmed), information regarding the style, the imagery etc. The "chapter" material provides samples of the texts, the development of the specific portion of the Book of Hours, etc. This provides the overall context for the materials.

The indices provide access by manuscript, artist, early owners; an appendex provides the outline of the major offices by incipit (first phrase) to place individual illustrations in the overall context of the prayer hour.

Don't be intimidated - the text is easily followed but one unfamilar with the prayer book content or with illuminated manuscripts. But you can also enjoy the book simply going through the pictures - like a stroll through a museum without a docent or tape.

This is a beautiful book. It has full color images througout and contains examples of several pieces that I have not seen in other books. I have a coleection of lllumination books and am thrilled with this addition.

The Pierpont Morgan Library's collection of manuscripts and printed works contains some truly beautiful works of art. I was privileged to see some of them at an exhibit in the Kimbell Art Museum. This book was offered as a catalog of the exhibit and I immediately bought it as a reminder of what I had seen. The illustrations in this book, though not quite as visually stunning, are nevertheless representative of the originals. Bibliographic information is rather sparse but the further reading section is nice.

Painted Prayers gives both the structure of the book itself and the reason behind its popularity during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was the laity in general, and more specifically the female laity, that owned these works as a kind of, "direct, democratic, and potentially uninterrupted access to God, the Virgin Mary, and the saints." (p.14). It is fascinating to see the incorporation of Christian, and sometimes pagan, symbols and iconography, and even humor, in the miniatures and marginalia of the Books of Hours. The miniatures often depicted biblical, or historical, scenes in modern settings and dress. Patrons would often have their portraits, coats of arms, monograms, or intials incoprorated into the Books of Hours that they had commissioned. With the advent of printing in the 15th century Books of Hours, with their pictures, became even more successful as they could now reach out to a wider audience.

If you ever have the opportunity to see an exhibit featuring Books of Hours I recommend you see it. Failing that, Painted Prayers is a good stand in.

This well-organized survey of the Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance art takes the reader through the various parts of the book of hours illustrating both the historical and artistic development from the earliest manuscript examples to incunabula. Lavishly illustrated with examples taken only from the Pierpont Morgan Library, where Wieck is a curator, the book is also a mini catalog of that collection. While the "reader" could fully enjoy this book by simply looking at the pictures, Wieck's text is full of illuminating tidbits. The book also contains some detailed descriptions of medieval liturgy and religious practices that may be of interest to some readers.

The novel is a refreshing look at life in San Francisco in another time. It is a book after my own heart full of raucous humor, enigmatic characters, intrigue, deceit and mystery. What more could a reader want?

The novel is a refreshing look at life in San Francisco in another time. It is a book after my own heart full of raucous humor, enigmatic characters, intrigue, deceit and mystery. What more could a reader want?

I FOUND THIS NOVEL INTERESTING ENOUGH TO WANT TO READ IT A SECOND TIME ALMOST IMMEDIALTLY IN CASE I MISSED ANYTHING THE FIRST TIME. ITS INTRIGUING WITH CHARACTERS AND A PLOT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The novel is a refreshing look at life in San Francisco in another time. It is a book after my own heart full of raucous humor, enigmatic characters, intrigue, deceit and mystery. What more could a reader want?

What a good book, a logical successor to Tales of the City and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Hiassen would have been happy to have written the book.