American Light

"In this magnificent historical panorama, Annie Cohen-Solal shows how American pragmatism furnished the solution: Learn from the best. The French were then the undisputed masters of painting, and so to France the Americans went in hordes, apprenticing themselves in the studios of reknowned masters-- ... Cabanel, and others--or founding colonies such as the legendary one at Pont-Aven. From the seeds of their individual efforts would grow an extraordinary crop, one that included not only the great--Whistler, Cassatt, Sargent--but a legion of artists of all ranks who collectively pushed forward a bold new American enterprise. In two generations, Paris would be eclipsed, and the greatest French artists would begin coming to New York to be at the new center of everything."

"Introducing modernism to the New York art world, photographer Alfred Stieglitz was impresario to such notable American artists and photographers as John Marin, Paul Strand, Charles Demuth, and Marsden Hartley. In 1916 Georgia O'Keeffe became the only woman admitted to this exclusive art circle. An intense love affair with her mentor ensued... ." [Library Journal]

"What is landscape? How does it differ from 'land'? Does landscape always imply something to be pictured, a scene? When and why did we begin to cherish images of nature? What is 'nature'? Is it everything that isn't art, or artifact? By addressing these and many other questions,Landscape andWestern Artexplores the myriad ideas and images of the natural world in Western art since the Renaissance. Implying that land is the raw material, and that art is created by turning land into landscape, which then becomes art, author Malcolm Andrews takes the reader on a thematic tour of the fascinating and challenging issues of landscape as art.

"The book's broad sweep covers the full, rich spectrum of landscape art, including painting, gardening, panorama, poetry, photography, and art. Artistic issues are investigated in connection with Western cultural movements, and within a full international and historical context. Clear explanations and beautiful illustrations convey to the reader the idea of landscape as an experience in which everyone is creatively involved. Landscape and Western Art provides an enlightening and comprehensive critical overview of landscape art."

"Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was one of the greatest 20th-century sculptors, creating innovative parks, plazas, playgrounds, fountains, gardens, and stage sets as well as sculptures of stone, metal, wood, and clay. His works can be seen in public spaces and major museums worldwide, but the full breadth of his vision is revealed most clearly at the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum in Long Island City, New York. Written and designed by Noguchi himself, this book offers unparalled insights into the museum's treasures -- and represents the unity and scope of more than 60 years of intense sculptural activity."

An analysis of Church's paintings between 1845 and 1860, culminating in his "Twilight in the Wilderness." The author posits that these paintings "address matters of pressing importance and interest to the American nation."

In his own best-selling 1985 autobiography, Adams presented a life almost as neatly cropped and printed as his pictures, omitting nearly all of his personal relationships and many major emotional details. Here, Mary Street Alinder - who worked with Adams on that memoir and was his assistant in his later years - draws a much more revealing portrait. Her biography covers in depth his difficult childhood in San Francisco and the profound impact of the Yosemite Valley on the boy who would become its consummate artist, exploring the mixed consequences of that lifelong relationship.

"This latest volume in the acclaimed In Focus series examines the life and work of Alfred Stieglitz, concentrating on the Getty Museum's considerable holdings of the work of this American master. In his studies of his wife, Georgia O'Keefe, in his portraits of the urban scene, and in his pictures of natural form, Stieglitz defined the modern movement on photography. In his periodical Camera Work he championed photography as an art form; in his famous gallery 'An American Place,' he promoted the work of other American modernists. Fifty reproductions with commentaries by Weston Naef, the Getty's curator of photographs, represent both the range of the Getty's collection and the importance of Stieglitz's contribution. The book also includes an edited colloquium on Stieglitz's life and work. Participants included Emmit Gowin, Sarah Greenough, Charles Hagen, John Szarkowski, and Weston Naef."

"A candid and fascinating portrait of the American composer. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) became one of America's most beloved and esteemed composers. His work, which includes Fanfare for the Common Man, A Lincoln Portrait, and Appalachian Spring, has been honored by a huge following of devoted listeners. But the full richness of Copland's life and accomplishments has never, until now, been documented or understood. Howard Pollack's meticulously researched and engrossing biography explores the symphony of Copland's life..."