December 4, 2020 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 45

Holiday Book Roundup

Wallace Nutting, Father of the Colo- Houses.” In “The Art of Fashion and Jew- with works by designers who had been how photography as a particularly Amer-
nial Revival Movement, Linda B. elry,” editor of the book, chief curator and either minimally or not at all represented ican medium helped Evans capture a
Palmer, CK Books Publishing, New curator of fashion arts and textiles at the previously. Through this book, readers nation starting over. Alpers also brings
Glarus, Wisc.; 2020; 213 pp; hardcov- museum, Cynthia Amnéus clearly identi- may learn for the first time of Augustab- Evans’s techniques into dialogue with
er; $30. fies the aesthetic of the jewelry of the ernard (working 1923-1934), Beer (circa the work of a global cast of important art-
This slim but informational volume will time while the final chapter — an inter- 1890-1928), Margaine-Lacroix (active ists — from Flaubert and Baudelaire to
be a handy addition and companion to view with Kimberly Klosterman — puts circa 1889-1929), Madeleine & Madeleine Elizabeth Bishop and William Faulkner
the likely already-bursting shelves of col- a final personal touch behind the collec- (1919-1926) and Premet (active circa — underscoring how Evans’ travels
lectors of books on American furniture. tion. 1911-1940s). Prefaced by Andrew Bolton, abroad informed his quintessentially
Nutting, who did as much for late Nine- the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, and American photographic style. The book
teenth and early Twentieth Century Arms and Armor, Highlights from introductions and chapters by associate includes a front gallery of more than 170
domestic taste as Martha Stewart, Marie the Philadelphia Museum of Art, curator, Jessica Regan, and assistant images from Evans’ travels abroad in
Kondo and HGTV have done in the early Dirk H. Breiding, Philadelphia curator, Mellissa Huber, the book con- such places as France and Cuba, as well
years of the Twenty-First Century. Palm- Museum of Art in association with cludes with a lively interview between as his canonical work in American South
er is a retired registered nurse living in Yale University Press, New Haven, Schreier and Bolton. and New York City.
Western Connecticut. She views Nut- Conn., and London; 2020; 312 pp;
ting’s Furniture Treasury, which contains hardcover, $45. Brutal Aesthetics, Hal Foster, Princ- Watermarks: Leonardo da Vinci
more than 5,000 photographs of Ameri- This large abundantly illustrated vol- eton University Press, in association and the Mastery of Nature, Leslie A.
can antiques, to be the “Bible” for all fur- ume by Dirk Breiding, the J.J. Medveckis with the National Gallery of Art, Geddes, Princeton University Press,
niture collectors; this book tells the story associate curator of arms and armor at Princeton, N.J.; 2020; 296 pp; hard- Princeton, N.J., 2020; 256 pp; hard-
of Nutting, a historic preservationist and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, com- cover; $40. cover; $60.
a collector of Pilgrim Century furniture. bines academic catalog and coffee-table In Brutal Aesthetics, art historian and Formless, mutable, transparent: the ele-
The book is divided into 15 chapters book. A short yet comprehensive essay professor Hal Foster explores how post- ment of water posed major challenges for
beginning with “Who is Wallace Nutting” titled “Arms and Armor at the Philadel- war artists and writers searched for a the visual artists of the Renaissance. To
and finishes with “Berea College,” where phia Museum of Art” gives a necessary new foundation of culture after the mas- the engineers of the era, water represent-
Nutting was a benefactor and to whom and interesting history of both collecting sive devastation of World War II, the ed a force that could be harnessed for
he left his estate. It discusses the hand- the category and the collection at the Holocaust and the atomic bomb. Inspired human industry but was equally pos-
colored photos he made that, by 1920 museum. This provides a jumping off by the notion that modernist art can sessed of formidable destructive power.
were hanging in the parlor of nine out of point for a catalog of 99 entries of high- teach us how to survive a civilization For Leonardo da Vinci, water was an
ten homes in the United States. A chap- lights in the museum’s encyclopedic col- become barbaric, Foster examines the enduring fascination, appearing in myri-
ter devoted to the men and women who lection, with comparable examples pulled various ways that key figures from the ad forms throughout his work. In Water-
worked for him is featured alongside a not only from throughout the museum early 1940s to the early 1960s sought to marks, Geddes explores the broad range
discussion of his books, his furniture and but also from institutions and private col- develop a “brutal aesthetics” adequate to of Leonardo’s interest in water and shows
the five historic properties he purchased, lections around the world. Not only does the destruction around them. With a how artworks by him and his peers con-
restored and filled with period antique the book discuss the core of the collection, focus on the philosopher Georges Bataille, tributed to hydraulic engineering and the
furniture. which consists of a bequest in 1977 by the painters Jean Dubuffet and Asger construction of large river and canal sys-
connoisseur and scholar Carl Otto Jorn, and the sculptors Eduardo Paolozzi tems. From drawings for mobile bridges
Simply Brilliant: Artist-jewelers of Kretzschmar von Kienbusch (1884-1976) and Claes Oldenburg, Foster investigates and underwater breathing apparatuses
the 1960s and 1970s, edited by Cyn- but provides an opportunity for many a manifold move to strip art down, or to to plans for water management schemes,
thia Amnéus, Adam MacPhàrlain, works to be published in color for the first reveal it as already bare, in order to begin Leonardo evinced a deep interest in the
Ruth Peltason, Rosemary Ransome time. A seemingly comprehensive list of again. What does Bataille seek in the technical aspects of water. His visual
Wallis and Amanda Triossi, Cincin- references and glossary makes this book prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux? studies of the ways in which landscape is
nati Art Museum in association with a likely page-turner, if not a necessary How does Dubuffet imagine an art brut, shaped by water demonstrated both his
D. Giles Limited, London; 2020; 256 reference, for arms and armor connois- an art unscathed by culture? Why does artistic mastery and probing scientific
pp; hardcover; $55. seurs of any age. Jorn populate his paintings with “human mind. Analyzing Leonardo’s notebooks,
Simply Brilliant is an exhibition cata- animals”? What does Paolozzi see in his plans, maps and paintings, Geddes
log published a year before the exhibition In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy monstrous figures assembled from indus- argues that, for Leonardo and fellow art-
of the same name will be on view at the Schreier Collection, Andrew Bolton, trial debris? And why does Oldenburg ists, drawing was a form of visual think-
Cincinnati Art Museum (October 22, Jessica Regan and Mellissa Huber, remake everyday products from urban ing and problem solving essential to
2021-February 6, 2022). The exhibition, with photographs by Nicholas Alan scrap? A study of artistic practices made understanding and controlling water and
which consists of approximately 120 piec- Cope, the Metropolitan Museum of desperate by a world in crisis, Brutal Aes- other parts of the natural world. She also
es from the collection of Cincinnatian Art, New York City; distributed by thetics is an account of a difficult era in examines the material importance in this
Kimberly Klosterman, reflects her inter- Yale University Press, New Haven, Twentieth Century culture, one that has work of water-based media, namely ink,
est in fine jewelry from the 1960s-70s. Conn., and London; 2020; 204 pp; important implications for our own. watercolor and oil paint.
Reflected within is the work of interna- hardcover; $50. An account of Renaissance art and
tional independent jewelers — 50 in total Got a fashionista on your holiday shop- Walker Evans: Starting from engineering, Watermarks shows, above
— such as Andrew Grima, Gilbert Albert, ping list? Look no further than this lav- Scratch, Svetlana Alpers, Princeton all else, how Leonardo applied his picto-
Arthur King, Theirry Vendome and Bar- ishly illustrated volume that shows about University Press, Princeton, N.J.; rial genius to water in order to render the
bara Anton, along with the work made half of a gift made to the Costume Insti- 2020; 208 pp; hardcover; $40. natural world in all its richness and con-
for other major jewelry houses such as tute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an stant change.
Boucheron, Bulgari and Cartier. A chap- in 2019 by Detroit, Mich., fashion collec- American artist photographing people
ter by Rosemary Ransome Wallis, former tor, Sandy Schreier. The catalog was pub- and places in the United States in unfor- Bravura: Virtuosity and Ambition
art director and curator at The Worship- lished in conjunction with the exhibition gettable ways. He is known for his work in Early Modern European Painting,
ful Company of Goldsmiths, London, of the same name, “In Pursuit of Fashion: for the Farm Security Administration, Nicola Suthor, Princeton University
titled “The International Exhibition of The Sandy Schreiner Collection,” which addressing the Great Depression, but Press, Princeton, N.J.; February
Modern Jewellery 1890-1961” establishes was on view at the Metropolitan Museum what he actually saw was the diversity of 2021; 304 pp; hardcover; $65.
the context that fostered an environment of Art in New York City from November people and the damage of the long Civil The painterly style known as “bravura”
of creativity even after the austerity that 27, 2019 through May 17, 2020, an exhi- War. In Walker Evans: Starting from emerged in Sixteenth Century Venice
followed World War II. Independent jew- bition run that ended prematurely Scratch, art historian Svetlana Alpers and spread throughout Europe during
elry historian Amada Triossi deftly iden- because of Covid-19. Not only does Sch- explores how Evans related to the craft of the Seventeenth Century. While earlier
tifies the cultures behind jewelry houses reier add more pieces by noted fashion photography. Alpers documents how artistic movements presented a polished
that saw the retailing potential of hiring designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga, Evans left dreams of being a writer to image of the artist by downplaying the
jewelry designers in her chapter “Cross Christian Dior and Gilbert Adrian to the become a photographer, how he saw pho-
Fertilization, From Jewelers to Jewelry museum’s collection but it expands it tography as a fresh act of looking, and ( continued on page 46 )
46 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — December 4, 2020

Holiday Book Roundup

creative process, bravura celebrated a memorate a retrospective exhibition held Gems and Minerals (now under construc- many different reasons: for freedom, for a
painter’s distinct materials, virtuosic exe- at the Yale University Art Gallery, this tion), which will tell the story of the vast king, for God, for a protest, for economic
cution, and theatrical showmanship. This book is the first survey of his work in diversity of mineral types on Earth and opportunity, for adventure, for war. We all
resulted in the further development of nearly 30 years. Full-color plates capture how people have used them over millen- have our reasons, both then and now. The
innovative techniques and a popular the meditative quality of his paintings, nia. The Mignone Halls of Gems and national historic trails give us points of
understanding of the artist as a weapon- drawings and prints; special attention is Minerals will include a new gallery space intersection across time and distance —
wielding acrobat, impetuous wunder- given to his still life paintings in oil, such for rotating exhibitions, the Melissa and a way to connect ourselves to those who
kind, and daring rebel. In Bravura, as the gallery’s “Still Life – Table with Keith Meister Gallery, with “Beautiful came before through our common
Suthor offers the first in-depth consider- Ochre Wall” of 1972. Two in-depth essays Creatures” as its first special exhibition. humanity and our experience of the
ation of bravura as an artistic and cul- offer complementary perspectives on Bai- The jewelry pieces featured in the book, land.”
tural phenomenon. Through history, ety- ley’s work, and an interview with the art- dating from the mid-1800s to the present,
mology and in-depth analysis of works by ist by his former student Clifford Ross are divided into three categories: Air — For Art’s Sake: Inside The Homes of
such important painters as Francois captures his voice and vision. While Bai- featuring butterflies, dragonflies, bees, Art Dealers by Tiqui Atencio Demird-
Boucher, Caravaggio, Francisco Goya, ley is revered by generations of Yale birds and more; water — with fish, sea- jian, photographs by Jean-François
Frans Hals, Peter Paul Rubens, Tintoret- graduates, this volume introduces him to horses, crocodiles and starfish among Jaussaud; Rizzoli New York, www.
to and Diego Velázquez, Suthor explores a deservedly wider audience and offers a others; and land, which dazzles with rizzoliusa.com, 2020; 384 pages with
the key elements defining bravura’s rich- new foundation for the study of his art. snakes, lizards, tortoises, panthers, 270 images; hardcover; $85.
ness and power. Filled with images by tigers, elephants, giraffes, zebras and From New York to London, Brussels to
painters testing the traditional boundar- Vintage Rolex: The Largest Collec- lions. Gorgeous studio photography of the Los Angeles and Sao Paolo to Monaco,
ies of aesthetic excellence, Bravura raises tion In The World by David Silver, jewelry is complemented by images of the private residences of the greatest and
questions about artistic performance and Pavilion Books, distributed by Riz- iconic personalities, including Elizabeth most illustrious names in the art world
what it means to create art. zoli, www.rizzoliusa.com, 2020; 384 Taylor, Twiggy and María Félix, wearing boast some of the world’s most outstand-
pages and 75 color photographs; famous animal-inspired jewels. Fasel ing art collections. Antique masterpieces,
The Elements of Stress and the Pur- hardcover; $100. relays the stories behind the individual modern chefs d’oeuvre and contemporary
suit of Happy-ish in this Current For more than a century, Rolex has pieces through entertaining anecdotes creations are set against exquisite — and
Sh*tstorm by Bob Eckstein & stood apart as the most legendary brand and reveals the colorful histories and fas- at times audacious — interiors exuding
Michael Shaw, Humorist Books, of watch in the world. Ever the record cinating symbolism of these remarkable bold, unique style. Written by Tiqui Aten-
www.humoristbooks.com, 2020; 90 setter — Paul Newman’s Daytona was creatures in precious gems. cio Demirdjian, a leading collector of
pages; paperback; $7.99. auctioned by Phillips in New York in Modern and contemporary art and Twen-
Things can’t get much worse — but October 2017 for $17.8 million — it America’s National Historic Trails: tieth Century design, For Art’s Sake gives
they can get funnier. The Elements of should come as no surprise that Rolex is In The Footsteps Of History by Karen readers unprecedented access to the
Stress and the Pursuit of Happy-ish in the most coveted of vintage watches in Berger, photographs by Bart Smith; homes of 24 of the world’s most presti-
this Current Sh*tstorm is a humorous the world. Rizzoli New York in association with gious art dealers.
handbook to help readers better deal Published to celebrate the Vintage the Partnership for the National A first of its kind, this elegant volume
with the challenges and headaches of our Watch Company’s 25th anniversary, the Trails System; www.rizzoliusa.com; grants readers exclusive access to these
times, from overeating, to love problems, book contains larger-than-life-sized pho- 2020; 320 pages with 325 color photo- houses and gives life to enthralling con-
money woes, global warming, night tographs of vintage Rolex watches that graphs; hardcover; $55. trasts, echoes and unexpected dialogues
sweats, winter itch, general anxiety, and have passed through the shop over those From the battlefields of the American by juxtaposing unparalleled art collec-
so much more. Plus, more than 50 stress- years. From early Rolex pocket watches Revolution to the trails blazed by the pio- tions with interiors designed by the most
defusing cartoons from two of the best to the world’s first wristwatches, elegant neers, lands explored by Lewis and Clark renowned names, such as Annabel Sell-
gag cartoonists in the world will help in their simplicity yet revolutionary in and covered by the Pony Express to the dorf, Peter Marino, François Marcq,
readers handle all the anxiety in today’s their impact, to the very first Submari- civil rights marches of Selma and Mont- Jacques Grange, Toshiko Mori and more.
new world disorder –– the perfect gift for ners, iconic Daytonas and jewel-encrust- gomery, America’s National Historic The result is a gallery of striking beau-
fans of the original Elements of Style or ed Crown collections, the unparalleled Trails is a gift that celebrates the 19 ty, most of which is revealed to the public
anyone who has had it up to here. archive of vintage timepieces charts the trails that make up this system. These eye for the very first time and captured
extraordinary rise of a brand coveted by trails range from 54 miles to more than by photographer Jean-François
William Bailey: Looking Through collectors the world over. 5,000 and feature historic and interpre- Jaussaud. Tiqui Atencio Demirdjian’s
Time by Mark D Mitchell; Yale Uni- tive sites to be explored on foot and some- texts guide the reader through these pri-
versity Art Gallery, https://artgallery. Beautiful Creatures: Jewelry times by paddle, sail, bicycle, horse or car vate spaces, while excerpts from exclu-
yale.edu; 2020; 110 pp, 60 color illus- Inspired By The Animal Kingdom by on backcountry roads. Totaling more sive interviews with the spaces’ owners,
trations; hardcover; $45 Marion Fasel, Rizzoli Electa in asso- than 37,000 miles through 42 states, our such as Dominique Lévy, Brett Gorvy,
This publication considers the work of ciation with the American Museum entire national experience comes to life Almine Rech Picasso, Barbara Gladstone,
William Bailey (1930-2020), the King- of Natural History, www.rizzoliusa. on these trail — from American Indian Kamel Mennour and Axel and May Ver-
man Brewster Professor of Art at Yale com, 2020; 160 pages with 120 color history to the settlement of the colonies, voordt, enrich this must-have volume for
and one of the University’s most distin- and B&W illustrations; hardcover; westward expansion and civil rights — all lovers of art and design.
guished studio art faculty members since $35. and they are beautifully depicted in this
Josef Albers. Bailey’s career was marked From Cartier’s iconic panthers to Bul- large-format volume with photography Féau & Cie: The Art Of Wood Panel-
by a dedication to representational paint- gari’s snakes and JAR’s butterflies, some by Bart Smith. ing, Boiseries From The 17th Century
ing — placing him alongside artists like of the most imaginative designs by the As author Karen Berger writes in her To Today, Rizzoli New York, www.
Janet Fish, Audrey Flack, Alex Katz and world’s great jewelry houses and artisans introduction, “All of [the trails] offer rizzoliusa.com; 2020; 288 pages with
Philip Pearlstein, who defied the prevail- take inspiration from the animal king- opportunities to experience the varied 200 color and B&W photographs;
ing taste for abstraction in the mid- dom, creating spectacular objects drip- environments that have played a role in hardcover; $65.
Twentieth Century. From his many itera- ping with precious stones to conjure the American narrative. But even more, The French woodwork purveyor Féau &
tions of tabletop still life that began in wearable art. these trails place us at the intersection of Cie has supplied architects, designers
the 1960s to his career-long commitment Beautiful Creatures: Jewelry Inspired story and landscape. When we touch the and museums with period paneling since
to the human figure, Bailey concentrated by the Animal Kingdom depicts some of wooden walls of a frontier fort, step in the 1875. Featuring documents, drawings,
on the rudiments of representational art: the most spectacular beasts ever trans- ruts of wagon wheels, look down at a plaster models, panels and antique boise-
form, color, line, medium, surface and formed into sparkling treasures, many of river from a bridge that wasn’t there a rie rooms, its 25,000 piece archive —
light. His artistic inspirations spanned which will be shown in an upcoming hundred years ago, or consider what it many from the Eighteenth Century and
centuries, from Raphael and Piero della exhibition at New York’s American Muse- would be like to walk, ride a horse, drive Art Deco era — was an unrivaled source
Francesca to Giorgio de Chirico, Giorgio um of Natural History. Curated by the a wagon or march in military formation of inspiration for recreating heirloom
Morandi and Piet Mondrian, with Jean- book’s author, Marion Fasel, the exhibi- over an expanse of land, we understand spaces, constructing spectacular contem-
Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul tion will be featured in the redesigned the past in a physical, visceral way. Our porary installations, and was the unpar-
Cézanne in between. Published to com- Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of forebears passed through these lands for alleled resource for creating Féau & Cie:
 December 4, 2020 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 47

The Art of Wood Paneling which docu- the place, the way the energy of the per- the House Museum. Zani’s decision to the mystical teachings of eastern reli-
ments the firm’s unrivaled history of son who lives there is expressed in its establish the Fondazione Paolo e Caroli- gions. Thousands followed the advice to
excellence in this field. singular style. I wanted to build a por- na Zani and breathe life into this project “turn on, tune in, drop out” and in doing
Though the house of Féau & Cie trait of the best interiors of the moment is motivated by his desire to keep this so created an alternative blueprint to the
remains best known for its historic filled with the personalities of the bril- great artistic heritage intact, as well as mainstream, a counterculture that would
rooms, it has collaborated with architects liant people who live there.” to remember his daughter Carolina go on to bring about lasting change, not
and decorators on original projects since (1990-2017). just to American society.
its founding, and today’s design greats — Picasso and Maya: Father and This evolution found its way into the
including Michael S. Smith, Brian J. Daughter, edited by Diana Widmai- The Collector: The Story of Sergei studio of many American jewelers, affect-
McCarthy and Robert Couturier, among er-Picasso with contributions by Shchukin and His Lost Masterpieces ing the way they lived, loved and worked.
others — regularly call upon the firm for Pepe Karmel, Elizabeth Cowling, by Natalya Semenova with André The handcrafted and authentic postulat-
elaborate projects for their most discern- Carmen Gimenez and Maya Ruiz- Delocque; Yale University Press, ed by the counterculture soon went on to
ing clients. Picasso; Gagosian/Rizzoli, www.riz- https://yalebooks.yale.edu/; 2020; 304 inform studio jewelry. The works hold a
In this title, Féau & Cie reveals a selec- zoliusa.com; 2020; 372 pages; hard- pages with 32 color and 3 black and mirror up to American history and Pop
tion of its most exceptional undertakings, cover; $200. white illustrations; paperback; $18. culture in equal measure, addressing US
from magnificent historical homes to sur- A comprehensive exploration and Sergei Shchukin was a highly success- warfare and sexual liberation. On the
prising modern creations, including a chronicle of Picasso’s depictions of his ful textiles merchant in the latter half of other hand, Native American and Afro
palace in Tuscany and residences in eldest daughter, Maya, and the relation- the Nineteenth Century, but he also had American influences are reflected in
Paris, London, New York, Malibu and ship between father and child. a great eye for beauty. He was one of the their aesthetic and choice of materials.
Atlanta. Dazzling images of 21 interiors In 2016 and 2017, Diana Widmaier- first to appreciate the qualities of the They are counter-narratives that become
are accompanied by exquisite details of Picasso curated two exhibitions for Gago- Impressionists and Post-Impressionists public statements in the form of rings,
panels, doors and decor, while exclusive sian: the first gathered works from the and to acquire works by Cézanne, bangles, brooches and necklaces.
photographs by Robert Polidori — who collection of her mother, Maya Ruiz- Matisse and Picasso. A trailblazer in the Attractively designed with visual refer-
has a three-decade relationship working Picasso, Pablo Picasso’s beloved eldest Russian art world, Shchukin and his col- ences to the time, the essays in this richly
with the storied company — explore the daughter; and the second commemorated lection shocked, provoked and inspired illustrated book tell of how this jewelry
house’s timeless Parisian atelier. The the relationship between Picasso and awe, ridicule and derision among his con- contributed to the contradictory and
expertise of joiners, sculptors, gilders and Maya. More than just a catalog of these temporaries. enthusiastic clamor for a new kind of
painter-decorators shines through in this two exhibitions, this book is a compre- This, the first English language biogra- society, one which made the 1960s-70s so
visual celebration which is bound to hensive reference publication that phy of Sergei Shchukin, features person- extraordinary. It also sheds light on the
delight aficionados of incomparable inte- explores the figure of Maya throughout al diary entries, correspondence, inter- imaginative worlds and working meth-
riors and the history of decorative arts. Picasso’s work and chronicles the rela- views and archival research, and brings ods of many well-known and rediscov-
tionship between the artist and his to light the life of a man who has hitherto ered American jewelry designers. An
More Than Just A House: At Home daughter. The volume features an inti- remained in the shadows. The Collector approach to an America in the time of the
With Collectors And Creators by Alex mate interview between Ruiz-Picasso shows how despite his controversial rep- Vietnam War, Woodstock and free love,
Eagle with Tish Wrigley, photogra- and Widmaier-Picasso, along with archi- utation, Shchukin opened his collection seen from a hitherto uncharted perspec-
phy by Kate Martin; Rizzoli New val photographs by Edward Quinn and to the public, inspiring a future genera- tive.
York; www.rizzoliusa.com; 2020; 288 from the Picasso family, many of which tion of artists and changing the face of
pages with 215 color photographs; have never been published before. the Russian art world. Hidden Valuables: Early-Period
hardcover; $50. New scholarly essays complete the pub- Meissen Porcelains from Swiss Pri-
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could lication, with contributions by distin- The Pocket: A Hidden History Of vate Collections by Sarah-Katharina
knock on the most talented people’s doors guished Picasso scholars such as Eliza- Women’s Lives, 1660-1900 by Barbara Andres-Acevedo, Claudia Bodinek,
and prowl through their homes for inspi- beth Cowling, Carmen Giménez and Pepe Burman and Ariane Fennetaux; Yale Alfredo Reyes, Röbbig München;
ration? Chosen and curated by London- Karmel. A section of the book is devoted University Press; https://yalebooks. Arnoldsche Art Publishers, https://
based creative director Alex Eagle, this to Picasso’s plaster sculpture “La Femme yale.edu/; 2020; 264 pages with 200 arnoldsche.com; 2020; 608 pages
collection of more than 30 stylish interi- Enceinte” (1959) and includes a discus- color illustrations; paperback; $25. with 605 illustrations; hardcover;
ors is the next best thing. sion of Roe Ethridge’s vivid, specially This fascinating and enlightening study $135.
In More Than Just a House: At Home commissioned photographs of this work. of the tie-on pocket combines materiality Switzerland is well-known for its host
with Collectors and Creators, an excep- and gender to provide new insight into of remarkable collections of Eighteenth
tional group of creative contemporaries Living Art: House Museum Paolo the social history of women’s everyday Century European porcelain. Exemplary
opens the doors to their lush and layered and Carolina Zani with text by Mas- lives — from duchesses and country gen- representatives of these are such extraor-
homes — original, charming and above similiano Capella and Alvar try to prostitutes and washerwomen — dinary collector personalities as Albert
all, authentic. With a spotlight on objects González-Palacios; Rizzoli Electa, and to explore their consumption prac- Kocher or Dr Marcel Nyffeler. A number
that personalize each home, this playful www.rizzoliusa.com; 2020; 208 pages; tices, sociability, mobility, privacy and of these magnificent collections can be
volume is rich in inspiration for creating hardcover; $35. identity. A wealth of evidence reveals found today — as a result of endowments
that perfect blend of modern luxury and A colorful volume about an extraordi- unexpected facets of the past, bringing or gifts — in Switzerland’s renowned
bohemian chic. Practicing what she nary house and art collection dating from women’s stories into intimate focus. institutions. Today the “white gold” from
preaches, Eagle’s light-filled loft in Lon- the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centu- Saxony still fascinates Swiss connois-
don’s Soho is a showhouse for the objects, ries. In Flux: American Jewelry and the seurs: this publication is dedicated to
vintage furniture and art she deals in at Living Art tells the story of the collec- Counterculture by Susan Cummins, their passionate collecting and exception-
her boutique, where natural materials, tion of Paolo Zani (1945-2018), a Damian Skinner and Cindi Strauss; al treasures and is enriched by articles
rare books, original art and vintage fur- renowned entrepreneur and a great art Arnoldsche Art Publishers, https:// by renowned art historians and porcelain
niture create the warmth and personality enthusiast. Over three decades, Zani col- arnoldsche.com; 2020; 184 pages; experts. An impressive overview of the
of a well-lived home. lected more than 800 works at his home flexbind; $50. gems of the most sumptuous Meissen
The book pairs vibrant photos of interi- in Italy (Cellatica in Brescia) — which In Flux provides revealing insights into porcelain of the early period.
ors with texts about their owners’ worlds, was designed and remodeled over time in the highly dynamic period of American
providing insight into how these spaces order to accommodate them — including studio jewelry and contextualizes the A Passion For Porcelain, edited by
embody unique ways of living, working paintings, sculptures, examples of political jewelry of its time with world Karine Tsoumis and Vanessa Siga-
and socializing. Eagle’s warm curation of applied art and interior decor. Some of events and the rise of the counterculture las, essays in honor of Meredith
her subjects and her personal relation- the outstanding masterpieces on display associated with it. A fascinating book for Chilton; Arnoldsche Art Publishers,
ships with each allows More Than Just a include works by Canaletto, Tiepolo, all those interested in art jewelry and https://arnoldsche.com; 2020; 208
House to transcend the boundaries of a Guardi, Longhi and Boucher, along with more recent American cultural history. pages with 165 illustrations; hard-
traditional interiors tome. About the exquisite Baroque and Rococo furnish- In the 1960s-70s, a generation of young cover; $65.
project Eagle said, “This book was born ings, which are mainly of French and Americans rejected the promise of pros- In 2018, a symposium titled “A Passion
from a feeling I often have when I am Venetian origin, and extraordinary art perity and the suburban dream embraced for Porcelain” was held in scholar, cura-
welcomed into a friend’s fabulous house. I objects from the Seventeenth and Eigh- by their parents. Opposed to the war in tor and author, Meredith Chilton’s honor
look around and wish I could record my teenth Centuries. These marvels are now Vietnam, they also fought for civil rights at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto,
experience: not just the color of the walls being unveiled to the public at large at home, explored psychedelic drugs and
or the art in the hallway, but the spirit of thanks to this book and the opening of discovered the delights of free love and ( continued on page 48 )
48 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — December 4, 2020

Holiday Book Roundup

Canada, with associates of many years’ artists working in other media during Earle G. Shettleworth Jr was born in doms could lead to conclusions about
standing as well as a newer generation the same period. Although neoclassicism Portland, Maine, and has lectured and human life. Many of Friedrich’s often-
of leading porcelain experts. is often considered a cold, rational and written extensively on Maine history overlooked later paintings reflect his
The essays, now brought together in a masculine movement, Rauser’s analysis and architecture for more than 50 years. engagement with these philosophical
publication of the same name, take the shows that it was actually deeply pas- From 1976 to 2015, he served as the ideas through a focus on isolated shrubs,
reader on a Grand Tour of Vienna and sionate, with women at its core — as ide- director of the Maine Historic Preserva- trees and rocks. Others revisit earlier
Dresden via Sèvres and Boston to als and allegories, as artistic agents, and tion Committee. Since 2004, he has compositions or iconographic motifs but
Nabeshima, Japan. Along the way they as important patrons. served as the Maine State Historian. subtly metamorphose the previously dis-
make the acquaintance of established tinct human figures into the natural
artists, get to know anonymous produc- The Golden Flea: A Story of Obses- Vida Americana: Mexican Mural- landscape. In this revelatory book, Nina
ers and follow the trails of passionate sion and Collecting, Michael Rips, ists Remake American Art, 1925- Amstutz combines fresh visual analysis
collectors. W.W. Norton & Company, New York 1945, edited by Barbara Haskell; with broad interdisciplinary research to
Alongside the actual history of “white City; 2020; 224 pp; hardcover; $26.95. Yale University Press, New Haven, investigate the intersection of landscape
gold” and its multifarious design possi- An enchanting tale of the search for Conn.; 2020; 264 pp; hardcover; $65. painting, self-exploration and the life
bilities, the essays, which are arranged forgotten treasures at one of the great- An in-depth look at the transformative sciences in Friedrich’s mature work.
by location, also explore cultural histori- est flea markets on earth. influence of Mexican artists on their US Drawing connections between the art-
cal connections: from the secret recipe Across America and around the world, counterparts during a period of social ist’s anthropomorphic landscape forms
that ultimately found its way to the people wander through flea markets to change. The first half of the Twentieth and contemporary discussions of biology,
European royal courts, via dramatic search for lost treasures. For decades, no Century saw prolific cultural exchange anatomy, morphology, death and decom-
artistic rivalries and the alchemistic such market was more renowned than between the United States and Mexico, position, Amstutz, assistant professor in
production of individual workshop man- the legendary Chelsea Flea Market, as artists and intellectuals traversed the the history of art and architecture at the
agers, to the — private or political — which sprawled over several blocks and countries’ shared border in both direc- University of Oregon, brings Friedrich’s
relationships that porcelain generated within an old garage on the west side of tions. For US artists, Mexico’s monu- work into the larger discourse surround-
or maintained. Manhattan. Visitors would trawl mental public murals portraying social ing art, nature, and life in the Nine-
In doing so, the full spectrum of porce- through booths crammed with vintage and political subject matter offered an teenth Century.
lain becomes palpable: in competitions dresses, rare books, ancient swords, alternative aesthetic at a time when art-
in art, as an object of fashion and schol- glass eyeballs, Afghan rugs, West Afri- ists were seeking to connect with a pub- Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles
arly curiosity, as well as a symbol of sta- can fetish dolls, Old Master paintings lic deeply affected by the Great Depres- Price Guide 2021, Terry Kovel and
tus and power. Not least, the delicately and much more. In The Golden Flea, the sion. The Mexican influence grew as the Kim Kovel; Black Dog & Leventhal
formed figurines, the opulent decorated acclaimed writer Michael Rips takes artists José Clemente Orozco, Diego Publishers; 2020; 592 pp; paperback;
services, the modern-looking plates, and readers on a trip through this charmed Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros trav- $ 29.99.
rooms clad entirely in “white gold” also world. With a beguiling style that has eled to the United States to exhibit, sell The Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles
chronicle a very special aspect of porce- won praise from Joan Didion and Susan their work and make large-scale murals, Price Guide 2021 is the most complete
lain — its status as an object of desire. Orlean, Rips recounts his obsession with working side-by-side with local artists, and best-illustrated price guide avail-
This passion for porcelain continues to the flea and its treasures and provides a who often served as their assistants, and able — with 11,500 listings and more
the present day and unfolds in all its fascinating account of the business of teaching them the fresco technique. Vida than 3,000 full-color photographs —
intensity in this illustrated publication. buying and selling antiques. Along the Americana examines the impact of their from the most trusted name in the
A beautifully designed book and an way, he introduces us to the flea’s lov- work on more than 70 artists, including industry. The Kovels are the most trust-
illustrated scholarly expedition through able oddball cast of vendors, pickers and Marion Greenwood, Philip Guston, ed source for both the casual and expert
the multifaceted world of baroque porce- collectors, including a haberdasher who Isamu Noguchi, Jackson Pollock and collector. With 11,500 actual prices and
lain in honor of one of the greatest lumi- only sells to those he deems worthy; an Charles White. It provides a new under- 3,000 full-color photographs, the guide
naries of European porcelain history. art dealer whose obscure paintings often standing of art history, one that acknowl- also features exceptionally well-orga-
go for enormous sums; a troubadour who edges the wide-ranging and profound nized, wide-ranging and up-to-the-min-
The Age of Undress: Art, Fashion sings to attract customers; and the influence the Mexican muralists had on ute information, and includes more tips,
and the Classical Ideal in the 1790s Prophet, who finds wisdom among all the style, subject matter and ideology of marks, logos and photographs than any
by Amelia Rauser; Yale University the treasures and trash As Rips’s pas- art in the United States between 1925 other competitive title. Kovels’ is the
Press, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/; sion for collecting grows and the flea’s and 1945. Edited by Barbara Haskell, a only guide with prices based on actual
2020; 216 pages with 180 color illus- last days loom, he undertakes a quest to curator at the Whitney Museum of sales from the previous calendar year,
trations; hardcover; $50. prove the provenance of a mysterious American Art, it has essays by Mark A. never estimates. Unlike other guides,
Neoclassicism recast as a feminine, painting that just might be the one Castro, Dafne Cruz Porchini, Renato which focus almost exclusively on Eng-
progressive movement through the lens González Mello, Marcela Guerrero, lish or high-priced items, Kovels’ covers
of empire-style fashion, as well as relat- Maine’s Lithographic Landscapes: Andrew Hemingway, Anna Indych- all American and international items
ed art and literature. Town and City Views, 1830-1870, López, Michael K. Schuessler, Gwendo- and includes reasonably priced goods.
The Age of Undress explores the emer- Earle G. Shettleworth Jr; Brandeis lyn DuBois Shaw, ShiPu Wang and The book is organized by categories most
gence and meaning of neoclassical dress University Press, Waltham, Mass.; James Wechsler. sought-after by collectors, including
in the 1790s, tracing its evolution from 2020; 144 pp; hardcover; $50. Depression glass, dolls, jewelry, furni-
Naples to London and Paris over the During the Nineteenth Century, Amer- Caspar David Friedrich: Nature ture, porcelain and sports memorabilia.
course of a single decade. The neoclassi- icans celebrated their towns and cities and the Self by Nina Amstutz; Yale Indexes, cross-references and expert
cal style of clothing — often referred to through printed landscapes. In Maine, University Press, New Haven, commentary throughout empower read-
as robe à la grecque, empire style, or lithographs were commissioned from Conn.; 2020; 280 pp; hardcover; $65. ers to collect with confidence and price
“undress” — is marked by a sheer, white, such leading artists as Fitz Henry Lane A revelatory look at how the mature their own antiques.
high-waisted muslin dress worn with and talented, lesser-known local artists, work of Caspar David Friedrich engaged
minimal undergarments, often acces- such as Esteria Butler. This book repro- with concurrent developments in natu- The Birth Of The Boxlock Shotgun
sorized with a cashmere shawl. This duces many of these works and provides ral science and philosophy. Best known by John Campbell; Mowbray Pub-
style represented a dramatic departure insights into how these growing centers for his atmospheric landscapes featur- lishing; gunandswordcollector.com;
from that of previous decades and was of commerce and industry viewed them- ing contemplative figures silhouetted 2020; 120 pages with 230 B&W pho-
short lived: by the 1820s, corsets, silks selves and wished to be viewed by oth- against night skies and morning mists, tos; softcover; $29.99.
and hoop skirts were back in fashion. ers. It’s the perfect book for those who Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) The inside story of Anson & Deeley,
Amelia Rauser investigates this sud- love Maine, both full-time residents and came of age alongside a German Roman- Westley Richards, Harrington & Rich-
den transformation and argues that those who make it a beloved summer tic philosophical movement that saw ardson, and the perfection of the ham-
women styled themselves as living stat- destination. Published in association nature as an organic and interconnected merless action. The story of three Nine-
ues, artworks come to life, an aesthetic with the Bowdoin College Museum of whole. The naturalists in his circle teenth Century English gentlemen and
and philosophical choice intertwined Art, the book is the perfect way to honor believed that observations about the the guns they made and how these
with the experiments and innovations of the bicentennial of Maine statehood. animal, vegetable and mineral king- remarkably creative men sired a shoot-
 December 4, 2020 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 49

ing heritage that most of us take for Fondation Beyeler of Hopper’s iconic intense disapproval of the museum’s the whole structure of the Atlas.
granted today. They were amazing images of the vast American landscape. contemporaneous exhibit “American
craftsmen, businessmen and artists. But The catalog gathers together paintings, Painting Today: 1950.” The artists were Space Fantasies 1:1: R.F. Collec-
like all of us, they led personal lives watercolors and drawings made by the William Baziotes, James Brooks, Fritz tion, edited by Rolf Fehlbaum, Fifo
fraught with hope, tragedy, victory and artist between the 1910s and the 1960s, Bultman, Jimmy Ernst, Adolph Gottlieb, Stricker, Vitra Design Museum/Art-
defeat. What caused the brilliant engi- and supplements them with essays by Hans Hofmann, Weldon Kees, Willem de book, New York City; 2020; 296 pp;
neering alliance between William Anson Erika Doss, David Lubin and Katharina Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Barnett hardcover; $215.
and John Deeley to devolve into a seem- Rüppell, focused on the subject of depict- Newman, Jackson Pollock, Richard This limited-edition collection of space
ingly obscure end? The surprising ing the landscape. Pousette-Dart, Ad Reinhardt, Mark exploration toys — from shuttles to
answers, and more, can be found in this Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Hedda space dogs — taps into the nostalgia and
book much of it previously unknown, Philip Guston Now, text by Harry Sterne, Clyfford Still and Bradley Walk- imagination of Twentieth Century sci-
and unpublished. Cooper, Mark Godfrey, Alison de er Tomlin. This artistic coalition, which ence fiction. Presented in this oversize
Lima Greene, Kate Nesin; D.A.P./ included many members of the New publication are 146 aerospace-related
Horace Pippin, American Modern National Gallery Of Art, Washing- York School and is now considered a toys from the collection of Rolf Fehl-
by Anne Monahan; Yale University ton, DC; 2020; 280 pp; hardcover; watershed movement in mid-Twentieth baum, Vitra’s chairman emeritus and
Press, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/; $60. Century American art history, chal- the founder of Vitra Design Museum.
2020; 264 pages, 96 color and 25 A sweeping retrospective of Philip lenged the museum’s policies for a nar- Toys related to space exploration —
B&W illustrations; hardcover; $50. Guston’s influential work, from Depres- row understanding of what made certain rockets, robots and astronaut figurines
Arguably the most successful African sion-era muralist to abstract expres- art worth exhibiting. Though they resist- — exploded in popularity in the 1930s
American artist of his day, Horace Pip- sionist to tragicomic contemporary ed being labeled as a collective, media with the success of space opera comic
pin (1888-1946) taught himself to paint master. Philip Guston — perhaps more coverage of the museum boycott, which strips such as Buck Rogers and Flash
in the 1930s and quickly earned interna- than any other figure in recent memory included a now-famous group portrait in Gordon, which portrayed postwar fanta-
tional renown for depictions of World — has given contemporary artists per- Life magazine taken by photographer sies of untold technological possibilities.
War I, Black families and American mission to break the rules and paint Nina Leen, ultimately contributed to the From there, sci-fi only gained a wider
heroes Abraham Lincoln, abolitionist what, and how, they want. His winding success of the 18 “irascibles” in what audience as the Soviet/American space
John Brown and singer Marian Ander- career, embrace of “high” and “low” became known as the abstract expres- race began and people of all ages turned
son, among other subjects. This volume sources, and constant aesthetic rein- sionist movement. This publication col- their gazes skywards to wonder about
sheds new light on how the disabled vention defy easy categorization, and lects 18 paintings by the artists, images what marvels may exist beyond Earth’s
combat veteran claimed his place in the his 1968 figurative turn is by now one from Leen’s photoshoot and extensive orbit. The toys in this volume are shown
contemporary art world. Organized of modern art’s most legendary conver- documentation of the letter-writing pro- at their original size with the available
around topics of autobiography, Black sion narratives. “I was feeling split, cess with relevant catalogs and maga- packaging, organized into ten categories
labor, artistic process and gift exchange, schizophrenic. The war, what was hap- zines. Featuring more than 230 illustra- and arranged in chronological order by
it reveals the range of references and pening in America, the brutality of the tions alongside original essays by their manufacture dates. Some of the
critiques encoded in his work and the world. What kind of man am I, sitting several art historians and curators that toys depict amusing conjectures for the
racial, class and cultural dynamics that at home, reading magazines, going into examine the complex history of the New future of aeronautical exploration such
informed his meteoric career. Horace a frustrated fury about everything — York School, this volume serves as a as space dogs, space elephants and even
Pippin, American Modern offers a fresh and then going into my studio to adjust time capsule of the exciting period of a space whale, while others are more
perspective on the artist and his moment a red to a blue?” And so Guston’s sensi- early abstract expressionism in the realistic replicas of rockets in miniature.
that contributes to a more expansive tive abstractions gave way to large, car- United States. Infused with an undeniable nostalgia,
history of art in the Twentieth Century. toonlike canvases populated by lumpy, this collection maintains the childlike
Featuring more than 60 of Pippin’s sometimes tortured figures and myste- Aby Warburg: Bilderatlas Mnemo- wonder of the toys’ initial audiences and
paintings, this volume also includes two rious personal symbols in a palette of syne, Commentary Volume, text by invites present-day readers to both
previously unknown artist’s statements juicy pinks, acid greens and cool blues. Roberto Ohrt, Axel Heil, Bernd reflect on the era’s technological
— “The Story of Horace Pippin as told by That Guston continued mining this Scherer, Bill Sherman, Claudia advancements and look to the future for
Himself ” and “How I Paint” — and an vein for the rest of his life — despite Wedepohl, Artbook, New York City, what discoveries may still be on the
exhibition history and list of artworks initial bewilderment from his peers — 2020; 600 pp; hardcover; $75. horizon.
drawn from new research. reinforced his reputation as an artist’s The essential panel-by-panel compan-
artist and a model of integrity; since his ion to Aby Warburg’s epic atlas. Accom- The Dawn of Independence: The
Edward Hopper: A Fresh Look on death 50 years ago, he has become panying the first ever English-language Death of An Industry by Justin W.
Landscape, edited with text by Ulf hugely influential as contemporary art publication of German art historian Aby Thomas; Historic Beverly, https://
Küster, text by Erika Doss, David has followed Guston into its own antic Warburg’s (1866-1929) Bilderatlas Mne- www.historicbeverly.net; 2020; 166
Lubin, Katharina Rüppell, Artbook, twists and turns. Published to accom- mosyne, this commentary volume pro- pages; softcover; $16.
New York City; 2020; 168 pp; hard- pany the first retrospective museum vides an explication of each of the panels The red earthenware industry in
cover; $68. exhibition of Guston’s career in more constituting Warburg’s Modernist mas- Charlestown, Mass., supplied house-
A fresh look at Hopper’s iconic vision of than 15 years, Philip Guston Now terpiece. The Bilderatlas Mnemosyne holds throughout coastal New England
the American landscape — its gas sta- includes a lead essay by Harry Cooper was begun in 1925 and ended with War- with utilitarian wares, circa 1635-1775.
tions, diners and highways. Edward surveying Guston’s life and work, and a burg’s death in 1929. He created it as a The industry was unsurpassed in New
Hopper’s world-famous, instantly recog- definitive chronology reflecting many series of 63 large, themed panels, each England with production recovered as
nizable paintings articulate an idiosyn- new discoveries. featuring a constellation of images — far north as Canada and as far south as
cratic view of modern life, unfolding in a postcards, maps, adverts, reproductions the Carolinas. Dozens of potters and a
world of lonely lighthouses, gas stations, The Irascibles: Painters Against of artworks — that trace the migration number of businesses made up this
movie theaters, bars and hotel rooms. the Museum (New York, 1950), text of symbols from antiquity to the present. industry; the most prominent years of
With his impressive subjects, indepen- by Daniel Belasco, Bradford R. Col- Warburg’s goal was to show how certain production were 1740-1775. There was
dent pictorial vocabulary and virtuoso lins, Beatriz Cordero, Charles H. gestures and icons repeated themselves even an attempt to produce stoneware in
play of colors, Hopper’s work continues Duncan, Horacio Fernández, Manu- across history, constituting what he the 1740s in competition with New York
to this day to color our memory and el Fontán del Junco, Sanford Hirsch, called a “pathos formula” — that is, an City, Philadelphia and Virginia. The
imaginary of the United States in the Frauke V. Josenhans, Marin R. Sul- enduring emotional metaphor. Warburg identity of this industry was destroyed
first half of the Twentieth Century. Hop- livan, María Toledo, Inés Vallejo, had the panels photographed, conceiv- in 1775 during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
per began his career as an illustrator Artbook/Fundación Juan March; ing of their ultimate incarnation as More than 200 years later, this identity
and became famous around the globe for New York City; 2020; 304 pp; hard- being in book form — but never complet- was revealed when archaeologists exca-
his oil paintings. These paintings testify cover; $55. ed the atlas. Assembled over several vated part of Charlestown for Boston’s
to the artist’s great interest in the effects The first documentation of the 1950 years through a collaborative process, Big Dig Project. These important arti-
of color and his mastery in depicting showdown between 18 leading abstract the texts in this volume analyze each of facts provide a better understanding of
light and shadow, at work whether the expressionists and the Metropolitan the panels (which the English edition of how far Charlestown’s pottery traveled
artist was painting alienated figures in Museum of Art. In 1950, 18 American the Atlas itself painstakingly recon- before 1775. This book is the first of its
dreamlike interiors or desolate Ameri- abstract painters signed an open letter structs from the archives of the Warburg kind, exploring the history of Charles-
can landscapes. This book was published addressed to the president of the Metro- Institute). The book is prefaced by an town’s industry, the pottery, the exports
to accompany a major exhibition at the politan Museum of Art to express their introduction and a general analysis of and its historical significance.