4 comments about Great Collectors of our Time: Art Collecting Since 1945.

1. Excellent, if expensive, volume. The first survey of collectors and collecting since the early 60's. Well illustrated. Mostly on art collecting.



2. Written by a senior staff member of Sotheby's, this book offers an interesting overlook on the collections and personalities of some of the most important art collectors of our time. The text itself is a collection of short pieces on each collector, describing the building and the highlights of their collection (which can be African art, Islamic art, modern paintings, rare books, old masters, contemporary art, etc). You will not find any real scoop here, since, but for a few exceptions, most of the people and collections described are already well-known , but it is still a book that is pleasant to read and full of good-quality illustrations of seldom reproduced works.



3. This is a truly magnificent book, very well written, very complete. The text is scholarly and straight forward, with many answered questions about this club of great collectors. While the events of theirs lifes are vividly told, the text also explains and illuminates each personality through interesting analyses. The author tends to be factual and does not speculate much. If you want to be as much entertained as educated on this great collectors buy this fantastic book. This is no ordinary art book. You will treasure it and be proud to show it to friends. Simply 5 stars!



4. Will be enjoyed by those interested in the most significant collectors of great art since the end of World War II and the role each played in preserving various treasures of the world's culture.
   
   By its nature this is a quick survey work, with short articles on each collector, along with nice photographs of important pieces within their separate collections. Each individual survey spans the time from when and how the collector started; to the collection's ultimate breadth and setting; to how it was eventually dispersed (usually to a museum or two) at death or other final point--unless the collector is still alive and still in possession.
   
   My favorite collector in the book: The Canadian embassy worker in the Soviet Union, Mr. George Costakis.
   
   For those really interested, you can find more detailed books on a number of these collectors, such as "Memories of a Collector" by Giusppe Panza.
   
   James Stourton is a highly informed and interesting art expert, although certainly given to focusing on the positive about each of his selected collectors and their collections.

5 comments about Collecting Contemporary.

1. I loved this book! Nicely written, easy to refer to, good mixture of examples. If you're going to buy a work of art because you like it, or because you hope it'll grow in value have a read. No book will change the colour of your wall-paper, or give you prophetic foresight into the future value of the art market, but this book will give you valuable insights to deal with the main players (artists, dealers,etc), & understand the mechanisms that move the market.



2. Great book, well worth the read. I liked all the interviews with the dealers and collectors and every art lover who is thinking about starting a collection should ready this book first.



3. Excellent book. Gives inside information on how the whole contemporary art market system works. Very helpful for emerging contemporary artists. Good buy.



4. Adam Lindemann, is an art collector who has written a book, Collecting Contemporary. It is a good reference material and serves as a basic road map for the burgeoning art collector - and possibly an even better one for emerging artists.
   
   Since I am founding a new theory of art (UnGraven Image), which includes a written manifesto booklet on the theory, I am exceptionally interested in reaching other artists with what will help them. This book will.
   
   I appreciated the information I found within so much I devoted a whole weekly blog to it (and longer review) at my web site. Other reviews here and in the press have dealt with the information for collectors -- and it is useful for them. However, emerging artists get a good overview of the gatekeepers and movers and shakers in the art world. What motivates a collector -- a curator -- or a gallerist to select the work of an artist?
   Read this book to learn more!
   -- Judy Rey Wasserman, Founder & Artist, UnGraven Image
   
   



5. Starting with the positives: you can read the entire book in about 15 minutes.
   Here's the bottom line: buy what you like and can afford.
   Dealers and critics try to make artists famous because that is how they make their money.
   If you buy something from a dealer and later decide that you don't like it, it is considered hoyle (by dealers) to give the dealer first dibs on the re-sale.
   Instead of buying this book, save your money and buy a work from a local artist you like - all will be better served.

2 comments about The Intrepid Art Collector: The Beginner's Guide to Finding, Buying, and Appreciating Art on a Budget.

1. This is a great starter reference for the novice. The guidance is sound, and Lisa Hunter's enthusiasm is contagious. A few color photographs would have been nice, but wisely this book focuses on cultivating the reader's own intelligence and knowledge rather than dictating taste. If you have ever been interested in starting an art collection of your own, or buying that Kashmiri silk rug, a little research is a good thing. This is a grand place to start.



2. I love art but I've always felt nervous buying art. How do you know if you're getting the real thing? How do you know if you're overpaying? What's that rug really worth? Why is a photograph worth so much? What's the difference between a valuable vintage photograph and a copy of it that looks exactly the same? No one can tell you what a piece of art will be worth in ten years, but Ms. Hunter explains how to go about buying the real thing (and avoid buying fakes) -- and why you should buy the real thing. I feel much more confident about buying a few pretty things for the house now.

4 comments about Japanese Patterns (Agile Rabbit Editions).

1. The book is beautiful and the patterns are great inspiration but be aware of the following:
   - The images in the book are black and white
   - The CD-ROM includes images only in TIF, GIF, and PCT only (no .ai)
   - The license in the book notes that any commercial use is not allowed unless Pepin Press is contacted (buying the book only allows personal usage).



2. The best thing about all the books from Agile Rabbit Press are the CD-ROMs. They come with full 1200 dpi scans (huge) of the images in the books! This is an excellent source of quality art!
   
   Anyone 12 and older who has a copy of something like photoshop can use the magic of "click+alt+shift+backspace" to magically change the black and white images to whatever colour your heart desires.
   
   With this book you could make your own designs without having to recreate an old fashioned Japanese pattern by hand!



3. This book is a wonderful resource for graphic designers. It has an incredible array of different black and white designs and comes with a cd-rom for using them on the computer. Yes, it has no color, but with just about any graphics program you can change that. I've even used a few for background elements in artwork or for the inspiration for the designs of kimonos I've drawn. This is not a picture book, but a look into japanese graphic patterns. Very lovely.



4. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that the patterns in the book were printed in color, even though the cover of the book sure is colorful. This book is fine if you are looking for black and white images. But, be warned, there's no color in the book other than on its cover.

4 comments about The Highwaymen: Florida's African-American Landscape Painters.

1. Great book! Such talent needs to be recognized and applauded.



2. In 1994, art aficionado Jim Fitch assigned the name "Highwaymen" to a loose association of young, mostly untrained black artists (including one woman) from the Fort Pierce area who created thousands of Florida landscapes and marketed them from the backs of their cars for about $25 in the 1960's and `70's. Theirs was an unabashedly commercial venture, and the artists collaborated to create and sell works as quickly and cheaply as possible. Dismissed as "motel art" at the time, these intense, lush and at times otherworldly depictions of an idealized Florida have become a subject of renewed interest and critical attention in recent years. Consequently, many myths and vague tales have grown up around the group.
   
   As part of his research, author Gary Monroe interviewed many of the remaining artists to bring the story to life, presented here in a 26-page annotated essay. In analyzing the art, he insists that the speed with which they worked was far from a detriment: "By unintentionally bastardizing the canonical pictorial strategies...they created a new form of fantasy landscape painting." The artists found their strength as colorists, and the emotional hues capture the essence of Florida (or at least, as we imagine it.)
   
   As a northerner who visited Florida twice as a child in the pre-Disney days, I must confess that the 63 glorious full-color reproductions here gave me goose bumps of fond memory, real or imagined.
   
   A followup: This book launched an explosion of interest in The Highwaymen. Surviving members no longer need hawk their wares, since collectors now come to them and new works sell for as much as $18,000. The were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.



3. This book highlites a special group of amateur black artists who lived in Florida in the 1950's. The story is well presented with wonderful details that make their artistic journey come alive. The paintings are wonderful. The only drawback to this book, as I see it, is that the vivid hues of the paintings did not come through in this book. I happened to read a magazine article, full of rich colorful pictures of some of the paintings, which sparked my interest, and led to my purchasing this book. Unfortunately, it seems that this printing process could not represent the original brilliance of the paintings. This is a fascinating peek at a little know bit of Florida art history.



4. An all-inclusive journey through the lives and souls of African American painters from days gone by. These creative souls painted breathtaking beach landscapes... Many of their works still survive today, and sell for [a small fortune]. (I know, I have one in my living room.) A great buy! Just be warned; one look through it's pages will draw you toward Florida's shores lke a child to the smell of cotton candy!

4 comments about How to Identify Prints, Second Edition.

1. This book is found in the printrooms of most galleries and print collectors as it is a precise and concisely written text which explains the complex processes of printmaking. It clarifies the sometimes baffling differences between printing families and the creative techniques involved in making a print such as the subtle visual difference between an etching and an engraving. The book is illustrated throughout to assist the reader to identify printing techniques, characteristics and attribution marks used in Old Master prints through to those made in contemporary times. This reference text would appeal to anyone fascinated by prints and provides a new vocabulary for those who want to know more about the interesting visual variations possible in the world of the print.



2. I almost said "for the beginning print lover," but even the pros might want occasional reminders about obscure processes.
   
   This book displays an incredible number of processes and variations. Even within etching, there is standard intaglio process, relief etching, intaglio so deep it's amost relief, spit-biting or open-biting - well, a very long list. This gives an exacting look at the marks specific to each process, and gives good diagnostic descriptions. A special strength in this book is the differential diagnoses, the questions to ask that help distinguish two very similar kinds of marks. Every point made in the text is illustrated real samples, and that makes for a heck of a lot of illustrations.
   
   I have almost no quibbles with this text. There are just a few minor points that Gascoigne could have brought out more clearly. First is that Japanese woodcuts are under-represented. It's a rich tradition with a number of distinguishing features: gradations of ink hand-placed on a block, occasional use of mica for luster, and occasional use of un-inked "blind" impressions to impress texture into the paper. Second is a mark that I think is unique to drypoint: the line is often asymmetric, crisp on one side and blurred on the other, capturing the asymmetry of the drypoint burr. The split drypoint line is more famous but, in my experience, less common. I've seen it only in the most aggressively worked drypoints, such as some by Picasso. Third is a feature of some dust-ground aquatints: that the white marks can sometimes form a connected mesh around the black dots, where a spirit ground always has a black ocean dotted with white islands. I know these are minor points, and I hope you see how few there are.
   
   I'm a process nut. It's not the only way I enjoy prints, and not the way everyone enjoys them. For me, though, it really adds something to know how the maker's hand created each mark that I see. This isn't strictly a process book, and only accidentally a book of process history. It's a book about how a print looks, and seeing even more in the finest part of its looks. In the end, that's really the best reason to love a print.
   
   //wiredweird
   
   PS: A little while ago, I was given a very nice color print. It was done in mezzotint style, using burnishers to work from dark to light. Instead of a rocker-made ground, though, it had an aquatint ground. Color came from inking au poupee, dabbed on the plate. The giver was quite surprised that I read its story so precisely. Read this book, and you'll know just what I saw.



3. Back in print and updated in a new paperback edition is Bambar Gascoigne's classic How To Identify Prints, first published in 1986 and enjoying ongoing acclaim as an essential resource for any involved in identifying prints, whether they be woodcuts, lithos, or etchings. Some ninety techniques - manual and mechanical alike - are described to round out an accompanying history of prints. A lasting, classic work essential to any art library and many a general library reference collection.



4. Now in an updated and expanded second edition, How To Identify Prints: A Complete Guide To Manual And Mechanical Processes From Woodcut To Inkjet is a superb reference and self-teaching tool for discerning between manual prints, process prints, and screenprints/non-prints, whether the print in question is monochrome or color, and whether it is relief, intaglio, or planographic. 272 illustrations, 40 of which are in color, highlight the meticulous attention to detail in this excellent manual, which also covers essential aspects of printing history and the craft of printmaking. This new addition is revised with insights concerning how increasingly sophisticated yet inexpensive cheap printing processes such as quality inkjet and laser prints affect the process of identifying and evaluating printed images. A "must-read" for anyone collecting authentic prints or pursuing a career involving the identification of prints.

5 comments about Basic Perspective Drawing: A Visual Guide.

1. I have trouble getting things in perspective - especially when I start adding other buildings or objects that come in at different angles. This book is great because it gives 1, 2, and 3 point perspectives, contrast and tonal shading techniques, projections for plans, practice object drawings with curves and landscape drawings. It even gives example of people proportions, and movements, and clothing. I have been looking for a book like this for awhile. It is very easy to follow and it really has every aspect covered. A great foundation to build upon.



2. This book is the perfect perspective guide and reference. Great for beginners and knowledgeable alike. I highly recommend this book.



3. I needed this book for one of my college classes and the Amazon price was almost 3/4 cheaper then in the schools book store. This book was only used for about 3-4 months and from what I saw from the textbook... it was great. I learned a lot and I might keep it around just in case I need it for a future math class. But overall, I give it an A...



4. This is one of the best and most informative books on the subject of perspective I've read or studied. Thank you very much for making this book available.



5. For some reason, perspective is the boogey-man of many people learning to draw. It doesn't have to be that way. This book will help you put that sense of solidity and reality into a drawing.

   This book gives a clear, step by step introduction to the basics of drawing in perspective. Interior and exterior; 1-, 2-, and 3-point; they're all here. The techniques are all graphical, and require only basic ability to handle simple drafting tools.

   As the title says, this covers just the basics. It covers them thoroughly, so the hard-working reader should come away from it with very usable skills.

5 comments about 500 Glass Objects: A Celebration of Functional & Sculptural Glass (500 Series).

1. I love this series from Lark! It provides me with lots of inspiration and it is a wonderful tool to learn new artists and their work. I have almost the whole series!



2. This book contains images that are fantastic however it also contains some incredibly poor ones. Certain artists submitted images of really high resolution or the most accurate photographic image - in slide format and the publisher has scanned them in quite inadequately. I was disappointed at the overall quality of this book and its presentation of artwork.



3. I am not really sure what people are hoping to find in this book. Like all of Lark's '500 Series' they are simply inspirational,the are not technical nor are they project based or how to, they are mostly gorgeous eye candy. I am not a glass artist, I am lucky to have a few art glass pieces that I have collected over the years but I bought this book purely to marvel at the shapes, originality and astonishing colours achieved by the wonderful artists whoose work is contained within. Truly luscious pieces each and everyone. Not always functional but certainly inspiring.



4. If you are a contemporary art glass collector, you will love the hundreds of photographs in this book. You might even discover a new artist whose work you covet! As a learning tool, however, this book leaves something to be desired. Other than the names of the artists and their techniques, plus the object dimensions, there is not a lot of information. It would have been nice to have examples and descriptions of how the techniques are accomplished. But then, the author - the daughter of one of the world's foremost glass artists - would have needed more than 396 pages.



5. Having paged through the excellent "400 Polymer Clay Designs" by the same publisher, I was disappointed by 500 Glass Objects. I was looking for a book full of exciting inspiration for fused glass, and I wasn't particularly impressed by the selection. I returned it.

5 comments about Painted Ponies.

1. This book is a must have for any carousel enthusiast or anyone interested in the art of wood carving. All major carvers/manufacturers of the golden age of carousel building are covered. The photography is wonderful and there is a census of operating carousels in the back of the book. Since the book is written in 1986, many of the carousels that are listed have dissappeared. Check National Carousel Association for an updated list.



2. Awesome book! An absolute must for anyone interested in American Carousel Art! Loaded with close up photos of all the love of labor that went into these beautiful animals! Brings back many memories of the Great Danbury Fair in Danbury, CT which now unfortunately is a shopping mall.



3. OK I gotta give the book a great review as one of the authors is a very dear friend. (Marianne Stevens) I love the photos of the carousel that she purchased from my cousins!
   
   Seriously though this book is an absolute must have for anybody not only interested in Carousels but also in amusement park history. It's a wonderful coffe table book with to die for color photographs and fascinating information.
   
   Even children will love this book! It's beautifully done with glossy photos. Absolutely super.
   
   Warren Crandall



4. This an excellent book giving a good insight into the history of carousels from their early beginnings. Crammed with beautiful photographs of the various animals and some rare photographs of the carvers and their workshops. A must reference book if you are into carousels.



5. A delightful book on a vanishing art form: hand carved carousel animals, sleighs, and ornaments. The color photographs are excellent. The background on merry-go-rounds and round-abouts is fun. The carvers and their companies are discussed in detail. Timelines, a directory, publications, restoration services, music, and a brief bibliography are included. I would have preferred an annotated bibliography, and citations of non-bound materials. In any event, this one is a keeper, and will give many hours of enjoyment.

5 comments about The Art of Buying Art: An Insider's Guide to Collecting Contemporary Art.

1. I've just started exploring art collection and discovered this book. I thought the book had some great advice about how to get started thinking about what art I want to collect and why. As the author says "art should be fun." After reading this book I realized that my approach was all wrong, I was dealing with galleries that weren't fun and it was nice to hear someone in the business tell me that it doesn't have to be that way for beginners like me.



2. "The Art of Buying Art" is a wonderfully comprehensive primer for anyone interested in real art collection for real people with real budgets (but sophisticated taste levels to boot).
   
   The author's unpretentious take on collecting is a refreshing point of view, and the scads of illustrations and pics help introduce new contemporary artists and new art styles that a fledgling collector may otherwise overlook. As a budding collector myself, I came away with an "I can actually do this" attitude, and look forward to applying this book's lessons to building my own little gallery in my own apartment.



3. For anyone leery of investing in art, anyone interested in starting collecting, and anyone simply interested in learning more about contemporary art, Ms. West's book is essential. "Buying Art" is well written, engaging and very informative and will make you a much more knowledgeable and shrewd collector.



4. I'm not particularly well-versed in art history, and visit museums infrequently (there are few notable ones near my home), but have always intended to learn more about fine art, and particularly contemporary art. Either from the perspective of a novice collector or someone who wishes to educate him/herself, I highly recommend this title. The book is accessible and informative, infuses the reader with the writer's clear sense of enthusiasm for the subject, and lacks the condescending or arcane tone taken by some of its similarly-themed predecessors. If you want to familiarize yourself with the basics of the fine art trade, sharpen your tastes, and/or eventually own a small collection, I strongly recommend this title.



5. When someone recommended this book I was skeptical, as I thought of art collecting as something beyond my means. But Paige West does a good job of demystifying the art world, with solid advice on understanding, selecting, buying and living with contemporary art. It's an easy and enjoyable read, and the book is packed with examples of works from emerging artists. Some I don't care for, but there were others whose work I'll seek out. Fortunately, the book also explains how galleries work, and how to find artists you like. This book is not a coffee table decoration - read it and use it.