No comments about Beads of Life: Eastern And Southern African Beadwork from Canadian Collections (Mercury Series).

1 comments about Childe Hassam: An Island Garden Revisited.

1. Somewhere in one of my many boxes of books I have a copy of a reprint of the original book by Celia Thaxter, "An Island Garden". I have written a review about this book for Amazon elsewhere, and said it wasn't very good (it isn't) and received many negative votes. My major complaint about the "other" book is that you cannot see the brush strokes in the paintings. The book obviously appeals to those who care not a whit about brush strokes.

   Fans of Child Hassam--this is the book you want. No, it isn't the cute little book by Thaxter. The reproductions of Childe Hassam's paintings of Celia Thaxter's island in CHILD HASSAM: AN ISLAND GARDEN REVISITED are 100 times better--and you can see the brush strokes. I can't give this book five stars, because I collect art books know the reproductions could have been better. However, the reproductions in this book are head and shoulders above those in Thaxter's book. Not only that, David Curry has included much text about life on Thaxer's island and in her famous parlor.

   If you are a fan of the American Impressionist Childe Hassam, you will appreciate knowing something about the artist, his work, his friends, and his relationship with Ms. Thaxter. Most of all, you will be able to see what he painted and get an idea of where you might locate some of the originals. They are still hanging in various places such as the Walter's Gallery in Baltimore and other esoteric locations.

1 comments about On Miniature Wings: Model Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum.

1. I did not know anything about the world of model aircrafts until I picked up this book. This book does a wonderful job of interweaving the history of the Air and Space collection with the role model aircrafts played in the war effort. I would be remised if I did not strongly encourage the reader to really take the time to look at each picture in the book. Some of the pictures give you up close detail information on the the intricate work involved in the models (i.e. maps in the cockpits). This book gives you a new appreciation to a hobby that is finally getting the respect it deserves.

No comments about Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape, 1922-1932.

No comments about It's Not Only Rock & Roll baby!.

No comments about The Golden Age of Dutch Art: Painting, Sculpture, Decorative Art.

1 comments about The Sketchbooks of George Grosz.

1. When I first bought this book it was lower in price than the present price.Many of the sketchbooks are of scenes in New York...the subway ,the street.Grosz was an enthusuastic drawer.Many are in pencil...Sometimes a little color..Like Reginald Marsh he used the pocket sketchbook extensively. This book is better than the Reginald Marsh book of his sketches. It shows the different type of sketchbooks he used.Marsh used practically the same books throughout his career.The skizzenbuchs here cover the years from 1909 until 1958. The text will tell you how he used his sketches for particular works. His style changed from 1912 until the time of the Weimar republic. His early work wasn't biting, that came in after he served in WW 1...I have the (facsimile)sketchbooks of Stuart Davis it is interesting to look at both artists Davis made sketches of Manhattan ,the signs, the elevated etc.Grosz did some of this as well but, he always stuck to the figure. Some of the stick figures appear here. He used watercolor, ink wash,in his books.There is documentation in the back of the book..size,subjects ,description of each sketchbook,techniques. There are essays here of Grosz scholars. Such as Mary Beth Lewis who has written insightfuly of George Grosz.I have a lot of books and catalogues on Grosz and this book is one of the most valuable.If you find the present political situation deplorable ,you will find inspiration in Grosz and this book in particular.

1 comments about The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore.

1. This book contains a few truly beautiful paintings, but also some that, in my opinion, are not particularly beautiful or interesting. It gets 4 stars by virtue of the genuine beauty of the few. It's hard to judge just how well any book reproduces works of art, but the quality of these reproductions SEEMS to be fine. And while I applaud publishers who print on acid-free or alkaline paper--as is purportedly the case for this book--the pages of the copy I saw (printed in 2001) are already starting to yellow at the edges.

2 comments about My Kitchen Table: Sketches from My Life.

1. A very special memoir, "My Kitchen Table: Sketches From My Life" is the autobiographical reminisces of Pilar Pobil presented to the reader as she had original told them around her kitchen table to her children. One very special difference is that in "My Kitchen Table", Pilar Pobil enhances those already engaging biographical stories with fifty full color reproductions of her paintings and sculptures. This compendium of stories about Pilar's growing up in Mallorca, of meeting the man who would marry her and take her back to Utah, of her discovery with respect to a talent for creating art, is as engaging as it is informative. Written with wit, wisdom, and occasionally flashes of insight, "My Kitchen Table" is very highly recommended reading as the personal memoir of a very special and talented artist.



2. Pilar Pobil is a popular and prolific artist - painter, sculpture, and more - with roots in the upper classes of old Mallorca Spain. Her life is marked by dramatic stories from the revolution that changed her life forever... Eventually landing her in 1960's mormon Utah, where she has blossomed - particularly in her "third life" as an artist.
   
   Pilar's art is self taught, diverse, yet all connected - Landscapes of Spain, Southern Utah, Mexico and more... Still Lifes, Fascinating people of the past and of parties in the night and places far away. The depth of meaning and symbolism in her paintings carry into the painted frames. Her sculptured figures have secret lives that she can share with you.
   
   This is her first book of written work. Pilar shares in her own words and unique style, glimpses of her fascinating life. The color plates of some of her work are well reproduced and complement the diverse stories from long ago through the recent past, adding insight. Some stories meander, into side trips, but always come back to the point. Her writing is descriptive, at times comical and even suspenseful... enough that I feel I was there at times!
   
   Pilar is an intelligent, charming and talented woman, with earned opinions. She is quite in tune with the natural world, the political, and the art world. She relates to people of all ages. A visit to Pilar's home and garden is a journey into a rich, magical and beautiful world... an adventure of endless discovery. Time spent with her at her kitchen table is a wonderful gift - one that you can get a taste of through this book.

No comments about Anish Kapoor.