May 2023 MBR The Art Shelf

The Art Shelf

Abstract Expressionists: The Women
Ellen G. Landau, author
Joan M. Marter, author
Merrell Publishers
8755 Lookout Mountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046
www.merrellpublishers.com
9781858947037, $65.00, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Abstract-Expressionists-Ellen-G-Landau/dp/1858947030

Synopsis: With the publication of "Abstract Expressionists: The Women", co-authors Ellen G. Landau and Joan M. Marter presents showcases the vital role of women in the development of Abstract Expressionism by looking at more than 50 paintings, collages, and sculptures all accompanied by carefully selected quotes from the artists themselves.

The dominant movement of the New York and San Francisco art scenes of the mid-20th century, Abstract Expressionism is celebrated as the first development in American art to gain international status. The movement is synonymous with the work of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, but also belonging to this generation who changed the course of modern art were numerous female artists; only in recent years have their contributions received the recognition they deserve.

The remarkable women featuring in "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" include Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gechtoff, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell -- all of whom studied at the same art schools as the men, exhibited at the same galleries, and were part of the same social scene. But their work was not shown and reviewed as widely or considered as valuable as that of the men.

A beautiful book, "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" also presents the works of the Levett Collection, an unparalleled private collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by women Abstract Expressionists. Of special note are the richly illustrated essays by the scholars Ellen G. Landau and Joan M. Marter, leading authorities on the subject, consider, respectively, the vital role of women in the development of Abstract Expressionism and the work of women sculptors of the movement.

Full of exuberant, explosive color and densely layered expression, the main part of "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" is devoted to more than 50 paintings, collages, and sculptures, all accompanied by pertinent quotes from the women about their artistic practice and concerns.

An illustrated timeline and 35 artist biographies provide further insight, making this volume an essential addition to the study of Abstract Expressionist women, innovators in their own right, whose time in the art-historical spotlight has finally come.

Critique: An outstanding compendium of captioned art works and informative commentaries, "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" is a coffee-table style (10 x 1 x 11.25 inches, 4.01 pounds) volume that is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Art History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Ellen Landau (https://researchguides.case.edu/faculty-authors/EllenLandau) is Andrew W. Mellon Professor Emerita at Case Western Reserve University. An independent art historian and curator, she writes widely on Abstract Expressionism, with a frequent focus on women painters.

Editorial Note #2: Joan M. Marter ( is Distinguished Professor Emerita at Rutgers University. She writes frequently on women artists, organizes exhibitions, and is Editor of Woman's Art Journal. (https://arthistory.rutgers.edu/people/faculty-emeriti/faculty-emeritus/67-joan-marter)

Art Dog: Clever Canines of the Art World
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781922754264, $16.95, HC, 96pp

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Dog-Clever-Canines-World/dp/1922754269

Synopsis: Dogs have been man's best friend for as long as we've been sketching on canvas. In the background, behind the table, or right at the forefront, dogs of the past peer out from paintings and sketches, frescoes and prints across art history.

Put together by the editorial team at Smith Street Books, "Art Dog" is a collection of these painted canines, featuring works by a diversity of artists drawn from across the ages and continents. A compendium of Japanese prints and German oils, American sketches and Italian murals, and more, the featured artworks spans eras and styles, but as different as these dogs are, one thing shines through -- the love and respect we have always had for them.

Critique: A beautiful book that is ideal for browsing, the captioned artwork showcases in "Art Dog: Clever Canines of the Art World" is a 'must" for anyone who has ever had a canine companion of their own -- or wanted one. A guaranteed and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Animals in Art History collections, this brilliantly produced compendium of canine artworks is an unreservedly recommend acquisition.

Vermeer
Pieter Roelofs, author
Gregor J. M. Weber, editor
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500026724, $65.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Vermeer-Gregor-J-M-Weber/dp/0500026726

Synopsis: The artwork of Johannes Vermeer (October 1632 - 15 December 1675) is intensely quiet and his enigmatic paintings invite the viewer into a private world, often prompting more questions than answers. Who is being portrayed? Are his subjects real or imagined? And how did he create such an unrivaled sense of intimacy?

Bringing together diverse strands of the Dutch master's professional and private worlds, "Vermeer" by Pieter Roelofs (Head of Paintings and Sculpture, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) is the first major authoritative study of Vermeer's life and work for many years and showcases all thirty-seven of Vermeer's paintings.

Deftly edited by Gregor J. M. Weber (Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), "Vermeer" has been beautifully designed by Irma Boom, the "Queen of Books," and printed on an uncoated paper. With a wide selection of contextual illustrations, commentaries and up-to-date research by distinguished international Vermeer scholars, this new edition from Thames & Hudson is the definitive volume on one of the most admired of all the seventeenth-century Dutch masters.

Critique: A coffee-table style (8.7 x 1.5 x 10.6 inches, 3.09 pounds) volume, "Vermeer" features an informative Introduction by Taco Dibbits and includes contributions by Bart Cornelis (National Gallery, London), Bente Frissen (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), Sabine Friederike Schuett (Staedel Museum, Frankfurt am Main), Christian Tico Seifert (National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh) Ariane van Suchtelen (Mauritshuis, The Hague), Marjorie E. Wieseman (National Gallery of Art, Washington). With 200 beautifully laid out color illustrations gracing an impressively informative commentary, this simply outstanding edition of "Vemeer"must be considered a core addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library 18th Century European Art History collections in general, and supplemental curriculum Vermeer studies lists.

Art of the Lips
Vlada Haggerty
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781922754189, $29.95, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Lips-Shimmering-liquified-bejeweled/dp/1922754188

Synopsis: From opulent to optical illusion, Haggerty's art is a blend of makeup and magic that transforms her lips into canvases. Makeup artist royalty, her work is washed across the Internet, lips dripping and bedazzled, transformed by talent and a vision that's helped shape the beauty industry.

Featuring over 200 photographs of Haggerty's work, "Art of the Lips" is a sumptuous tome to flip through one page at a time and marvel at the minute painted details on her lips in each photo. Gloss, lipstick, sequins, and jewels transform Haggerty's skin in hundreds of different images, with looks inspired by nature, jewelry, pop culture, and more.

Much more than just lipstick, Haggerty's art is a showcase of makeup's power and an artist's innovation.

Critique: Not since the opening scene of The Rocky Horror Picture Show" have a pair of lips been 'can't take your eyes off of it' focus of an artist's work. With the use of lipstick as her medium, "Art of the Lips: Shimmering, Liquified, Bejeweled and Adorned" by makeup artist and innovator Vlada Haggerty is a unique and ground-breaking art medium to be paged through one full page, full color, image at a time. Highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library art and fashion photography, history, and design collections, with human lips ranging from the curious to the grotesque, these are images that will imprint upon the mind of the observer for a long time to come.

Editorial Note: Vlada Haggerty (https://www.vladamua.com) is a Ukrainian cosmetic artist based in Los Angeles. She works as a makeup artist, beauty and cosmetic photographer, and lip artist. Her makeup and photography have been featured in publications internationally, including Harper's Bazaar Ukraine, Harper's Bazaar Kazakhstan, Vogue Mexico, Vogue India, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, Make-Up Artist Magazine, and many, many more. She has worked with Smashbox Cosmetics as their Lip Editor in Chief and her worked has inspired makeup artists everywhere.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review