Artists' Letters and Writings

With an intense, troubled personality that many see reflected in his radical "drip" paintings, Pollock was the first American painter to be hailed internationally as an innovator. Even before his death in a drunken car crash in 1956, he was mythologized as Abstract Expressionism's quintessential bad boy. But he was also respected for his sincerity, loved for his sweet nature, and envied for his brilliance. Today Pollock's legend looms larger than ever, inspiring poets, playwrights, composers, and choreographers, as well as visual artists. This collection of writings, interviews, creative responses, and personal revelations - many never before published or long out of print - examines the multiple dimensions of his impact and influence, and proves that the real Pollock is even more fascinating than the myth.

Diane Arbus redefined the concerns and the range of the art she practiced. Her bold subject matter and photographic approach have established her preeminence in the world of the visual arts. Her gift for rendering strange those things we consider most familiar, and uncovering the familiar within the exotic, enlarges our understanding of ourselves. Diane Arbus Revelations affords the first opportunity to explore the origins, scope, and aspirations of what is a wholly original force in photography. Presenting many of her lesser-known or previously unpublished photographs in the context of the iconic images reveals a subtle yet persistent view of the world. The book reproduces two hundred full-page duotones of Diane Arbus photographs spanning her entire career, many of them never before seen.

An unprecedented history of Paris -- the result of a 25-year labor of love undertaken by the renowned English historian. Beginning his narrative in the 12th century and ending in the mid-20th, Alistair Home divides the city's history into seven ages: the Medieval Paris of Abelard and Heloise and of Philip Augustus, who made the city into the intellectual capital of Europe; Renaissance Paris under the first Bourbon king, Henry of Navarre, who proclaimed the city worth a mass; the glittering 18th-century capital of Louis XIV -- the Sun King -- and Louis XV; revolutionary and Napoleonic Paris, a place both of splendor and of terror and tribulation; the 19th-century city of the Commune, the Exhibition, and the Bloody Week of 1871; the Paris of La Belle Epoque and the cultural ferment that lasted until the outbreak of war in 1914; and, finally, occupied Paris, from its world shattering fall to the Germans in 1940 to its joyful liberation at the end of World War II.

The French artists Claude Monet and Frederic Bazille worked together for seven years - until the latter was killed in the Franco-Prussian War - to develop the style of painting which became known as Impressionism. This is a study of that fruitful collaboration and the works that resulted from it.

Georgia O'Keeffe, one of the most original painters America has ever produced, left behind a remarkable legacy when she died at the age of ninety-eight. Her vivid visual vocabulary--sensuous flowers, bleached bones against red sky and earth--had a stunning, profound, and lasting influence on American art in this century. Portrait of an Artist is an in-depth account of her exceptional life--from her girlhood and early days as a controversial art teacher, to her discovery by the pioneering photographer of the New York avant-garde, Alfred Stieglitz, to her seclusion in the New Mexico desert where she lived until her death. Renowned for her fierce independence, iron determination, and unique artistic vision, Georgia O'Keeffe is a twentieth-century legend. Armed with passion, steadfastness, and three years poring over research, former Newsweek reporter Laurie Lisle finally shines a light on one of the most significant and innovative twentieth century artists.

Even in this age of emails, texts, and tweets, there is an ongoing fascination with the simple act of putting pen to paper. Associations such as the International Association of Master Penmen and the Society for Italic Handwriting keep the traditions of calligraphy and penmanship alive, hand-writing typefaces continue to sell, and hand-drawn display type and packaging of all sorts enjoy a renaissance. Pen to Paper, a collection of letters by artists from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, reveals how letter writing can be an artistic act, just as an artist puts pen to paper to craft a line in a drawing. Brief essays explore what can be learned from the handwriting of celebrated artists such as Mary Cassatt, Frederic Church, Howard Finster, Winslow Homer, Ray Johnson, Rockwell Kent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg, Maxfield Parrish, Eero Saarinen, Saul Steinberg, and many others. Each letter is accompanied by an archival image of the artist or a related artwork, with a full transcription. Pen to Paper provides a fresh way to think about artists and their creative work and is sure to inspire your next handwritten note or letter.

This personal and engaging book reproduces over 100 letters from the most famous 19th and 20th century painters in Paris between 1855 and 1968. Among the artists are Claude Monet, August Renoir, Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, and Mary Cassatt. With each letter is an exact transcription (all but two of the letters were originally written in French) and then an English translation. The text of the book explores each writers' relationships with the recipients and with other artists they mention, and a precise examination of each artists's place in the history of art. The artists write of their anxieties about work, health, finances, and their future plans. For example, Pierre Bonnard, at eighteen, writes a long letter to his father explaining why he has transferred from art school to law school. An anguished Emile Bernard describes to art critic Albert Aurier, as Paul Gauguin recounted it to him, the night Vincent vanGogh cut off his own ear. Also featured are a work of art by each artist and their portrait, self-portrait, or photograph. Additionally, each letter has been briefly analyzed by a graphologist (handwriting expert), providing another insight to the human side of great talent. The letters have been selected from the collection of Pierre F. Simon, which is now in the archives of the New York Public Library.