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Artists & Art History Books
Rebuilding my booklists for this new website, I was disturbed to find that many of my most treasured art books---the one I recommend constantly as the book on an artist---have now gone out of print and are hard to find.
So since I can't find enough good books on these people, look for any books you can find on the work of:
Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin, and the other late 19th century Russian painters, Franklin Booth, Joseph Clement Coll, Joaquin Sorolla, the Barbizon school, and Odd Nerdrum.
Easier to find, but I haven't actually seen the books, look for anything you can find on the California Impressionists, Childe Hassam, and Lucien Freud; all excellent painters.
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Rembrandt: The Painter at Work
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Ernst Van de Wetering
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Written by the head of the RRP (Rembrandt Research Project) the book shows (with great details) what modern technology and research can tell us about how Rembrandt worked. One of my favorite books on ANY painter.
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Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau
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Jiri Mucha
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An excellent book on Mucha written by his son. I like that it shows some of the photo reference and other prep work. This book is apparently out of print so it may be hard to find.
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California Impressionists
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William Gerdts
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Great painters and really underrated. (Along with the 19th century Russians, and Italian Impressionists.)
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Andy Goldsworthy
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Andy Goldsworthy
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I like to pull out Andy Goldsworthy's work when talking to people who don't feel they appreciate contemporary art. I have yet to meet a layperson who isn't bowled over by his work. This is what art SHOULD do to an audience.
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Hal Foster
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Brian Kane
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A biography of the "crown prince" of the comic strip. A whole generation of mid-20th century comic greats IDOLIZED Foster...and with good reason.
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Tom Friedman
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Jack Hainley
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A thought-provoking contemporary fine artist. A collection of his work.
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The Drawings of Heinrich Kley
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Heinrich Kley
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A spectacular draftsman. I think one of the best gestural artists ever. Delightfully odd.
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Childe Hassam
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Ulrich Hiesinger
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A really good early 20th century painter. His early work especially is grossly underappreciated. This book shows a lot of it. (May be hard to find.)
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The Shock of the New
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Robert Hughes
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The only art critic I bother reading. He GETS it. This is a great book he wrote on Art in the early 20th century. Very readable, very thought-provoking.
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