American Visionaries: Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art - Softcover

Whitney Museum Of American Art; Anderson, Maxwell Lincoln

9780874271270: American Visionaries: Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874271274 ISBN 13: 9780874271270

Publisher: Whitney Museum of Art, 2002

American Visionaries is a landmark publication highlighting masterworks in the Whitney Museum's extensive and unparalleled collection of 20th-and 21st- century American art. Organized by artist, the book features over 280 artists and over 390 works in all media. Although each artist has at least one illustration, many are represented by images of several works in different media. Unlike other museum handbooks, this book underscores one of the Whitney's unique characteristics - its philosophy of collecting in-depth, across media boundaries- and distinguishes it from other museum collection books. In addition, each artist has a text of 200-500 words that discusses the artist, career, work, and provides a context for understanding each artist's work within a larger art historical framework. These texts are written by the Whitney's curatorial staff as well as outside writers, experts in the field of 20th century American art. An introductory essay by Maxwell L. Anderson, Director of the Whitney and identifies important moments in the story of 20th century American art as they relate to the Museum. This book is written for a general audience and serves as both a primer and required reading for anyone interested in American art.

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From Library Journal:

The past ten years have seen a wealth of good publications devoted to American art and, in particular, the formation of a uniquely American artistic identity. Expanding that list are two new publications, one from that bastion of American art, the Whitney Museum, and one from an unlikely source: an exhibition created and shown solely in France. Fresh, intelligent, informative, and wide-ranging, the Whitney's American Visionaries illuminates the work and careers of over 280 artists in the collection, from its earliest exhibitors to the big names of postwar American art to contemporary new media artists. Each entry includes a full-color reproduction of a work and a short text that considers both the specific work and the artist's larger role in American art. The introductory essay by Maxwell L. Anderson, the Whitney's director, traces the growth and evolution of this premier collection. This handbook adds nicely to the array of focused collection catalogs recently produced by the museum. Beginning in the early 20th century, American Art surveys its subject through the often-critical eyes of European (primarily French) art historians. The exhibition itself, one in a proposed series, was organized by FRAME (French Regional & American Museums Exchange), a loose organization of 18 French and American museums. The catalog presents 200 works (paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs), with essays that provide important viewpoints on the development of a unique American art form as seen from a distinctly European perspective. Although the translation is a little awkward at times, the essays are beautifully and liberally illustrated with images from the exhibition. Both books are recommended for all libraries with American art historical collections, though American Art is best for academic and museum libraries, and American Visionaries will be most valued by libraries that do not have other recent collection catalogs from the Whitney. Kraig A. Binkowski, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Maxwell L. Anderson, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, recaps the history and mission of the museum. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was a prescient, generous, and indefatigable advocate for progressive artists and was instrumental in helping American art find its identity, and she founded the first museum dedicated not only to exhibiting American art but to collecting it in depth. To illustrate the fruits of the museum's inclusiveness, works by 280 artists in the museum's permanent collection are presented in an alphabetical role call, accompanied by concise but gratifyingly informative summaries of the artist's life and oeuvre. From performance and video artist Vito Acconci to painter Andrew Wyeth, this handy resource covers the wild terrain of twentieth-century American art from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again. Donna Seaman
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

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