Art Deco Style by Bevis Hillier and Stephen Escritt – 709.04012 HIL
Characterized by geometric shapes, stylized natural forms and the use of luxurious materials Art Deco originated in France and spread quickly all over the globe during the 1930s. Interest in the style was revived in the 1960s, partly as a result of the work of Bevis Hillier who recalls his triumphs and mistakes in writing the first book on the subject and co-organizing the Minneapolis exhibition in 1971.
Sister Wendy’s Grand Tour: Discovering Europe’s Great Art by Wendy Beckett – 759 BEC
Includes works from museums in Madrid, Florence, Rome, and St. Petersburg, featuring the art of such masters as Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco, Titian, and Caravaggio.
Flowers of the Renaissance by Celia Fisher – 704.94343 FIS
From the sunflower in Van Dyck’s self-portrait to roses scattered around Botticelli’s Venus to columbines in the borders of fifteenth-century manuscripts, flowers grace many Renaissance artworks. But their symbolism may not be understood by the modern viewer. This is the first book to untangle the richly layered botanical messages in many of the world’s great masterpieces.
Flower Power: The meaning of Flowers in Art. With an Introduction by Anna Pavord; edited by Andrew Moore and Christopher Garibaldi – 704.9434 FLO
The book brings together a wide variety of ravishing illustrations of the cut flower in the history of European fine and decorative art since 1500. The inclusion of non-European traditions, such as those of China, Japan and the Indian sub-continent enrich the visual material and illustrate the differences between cultures.
“Through 50 masterpieces of American painting, this catalogue chronicles the turbulent economic, political, and aesthetic climate of the 1930s. This decade was a supremely creative period in the United States, as the nation’s artists, novelists, and critics struggled through the Great Depression in search of “Americanness.” Seeking to define modern American art, many painters challenged and reworked the meanings and forms of modernism, reaching no simple consensus. This period was also marked by an astounding diversity of work as artists sought styles-ranging from abstraction to Regionalism to Surrealism-that allowed them to engage with issues such as populism, labor, social protest, and urban and rural iconography including machines, factories, and farms. Seminal works by Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O’Keeffe, Aaron Douglas, Charles Sheeler, Stuart Davis, and others show such attempts to capture the American character. These groundbreaking paintings, highlighting the relationship between art and national experience, demonstrate how creativity, experimentation, and revolutionary vision flourished during a time of great uncertainty
American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920-1950 by Bram Dijkstra – 759.1309 DIJ
During the 1920s and ’30s and until the end of World War II, a distinctly American form of Expressionism evolved. Most of the artists in this movement, children of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, African-Americans and other outsiders to American mainstream culture, grew up in the urban ghettoes of the East Coast or Chicago. Their art was sympathetic to the dispossessed and reflected a deep concern with the lives of working people. Providing a look at this art – and the beginnings of a new movement, Abstract Expressionism, which followed it – cultural historian Bram Dijkstra offers insights into the roots of painting in modern America.
Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect by Patricia Junker, Audrey Lewis; with Henry Adams, Karen Baumgartner, et. al. – 759.13 WYE
An insightful and essential new survey of Wyeth’s entire career, situating the milestones of his art within the trajectory of 20th-century American life
This major retrospective catalogue explores the impact of time and place on the work of beloved American painter Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009). While previous publications have mainly analyzed Wyeth’s work thematically, this publication places him fully in the context of the long 20th century, tracing his creative development from World War I through the new millennium.
Independent Spirits brings to vivid life the West as seen through the eyes of women painters from 1890 to the end of World War II. Expert scholars and curators identify long-lost talent and reveal how these women were formidable cultural innovators as well as agitators for the rights of artists and women during a period of extraordinary development.
Catalog of an exhibition shown from Oct. 1986 through June 1987 at Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, David and Alfred Smart Gallery of the University of Chicago, and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University.
Beautifully designed and illustrated, this book includes essays by an international team of scholars who offer a rich analysis of Gauguin’s oeuvre beyond painting. By embracing other art forms, which offered fewer dominant models to guide his work, Gauguin freed himself from the burden of artistic precedent. In turn, these groundbreaking creative forays, especially in ceramics, gave new direction to his paintings. The authors’ insightful emphasis on craftsmanship deepens our understanding of Gauguin’s considerable achievements as a painter, draftsman, sculptor, ceramist, and printmaker within the history of modern art.
Art: Over 2,500 Works from Cave to Contemporary. Forward by Ross King. – 709 ART
Within each time period, provides examples of significant works in painting, sculpture, drawing and other media. Highlights themes that were important at various times such as nudes, landscape, still life, and love. Includes brief biographies of some artists and a “closer look” in depth for the most significant works.
Vincent van Gogh: His Life in Art surveys the artist’s creative evolution across his short but influential career. The narrative begins with Van Gogh’s drawings, which were the foundation of his early practice, and describes how he transitioned into painting by consulting instructional handbooks and copying images.
Websites
Based in Washington D.C., this site allows users to search artists by name, previews of current and upcoming exhibitions, exhibition catalogs, and teaching resources for students and teachers.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This website features virtual previews of art exhibitions, listings of artists by state, “collection highlights” organized by time period and style, and videos presented by art historians and artists.
The Museum of Modern Art, located in Manhattan, New York City, features virtual exhibitions and video streaming projects, online exhibitions and virtual courses.
This website includes an online virtual archive of exhibitions, previews of current and future exhibitions, and showcases art pieces by time period and style.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
For those looking for experimental, challenging art they can view this website. It features virtual views of current and future exhibitions (both outside and inside art), profiles of “artists in residence”, and views of artworks listed by name, time period or style.