Reviews (3)

4 Stars for every one else, 5 for hardcore Warholians
This book is a genuine pleasure to read, and a trove of insights into an Andy Warhol that really hasn't been masticated to death in every other book about Warhol.It was compiled by two relatively late-comers to the Warhol scene (Ming Vase, and one of the Artistic Directors of 'Interview'), but it encompasses aspects of Andy from his first days in New York right up to the end.The construction of the book is such that each chapter is based around the discussion of experiences and impressions of Andy and the Andy 'scene' by various individuals who worked with, socialized with, or dealt with Andy.Some of these narrators are people so peripheral to Andy's orbit that only the hardcore Warholphiliac will recognize their names.Others are people whose names come up in even the most casual examination of Andy Warhol's life and work, and a couple are people whom no one has heard of.Because the authors know many of the subjects of the book the discussions can take on the aspect of intimate conversation.This is nice, especially to one who has vicariously lived the events spoken of through deep immersion in the literature and media surrounding Andy Warhol and the Pop Art Explosion he detonated.This is one of the best books about Andy that was not written by him, and if you are right into his art and life then it is a must read.If there is any theme that the authors of the book wish to stress it is that Andy was a spiritual person.I'm unsure if their efforts convinced me, but I must say that they revealed facets of the Andy Warhol experience that heretofore I was not aware of.

Touched by an Andy
The editorial review is misleading. This book is not a catalogue of "unseen Warhol work". Many of the examples used are well known pieces. The unseen Warhol implied by the title, comes from the different sides of his personality that are revealed by the numerous people interviewed. Most everyone interviewed manages to reveal something about themselves as well as about Andy. Tama Janowitz tells the inside story of Andy's Blind Date Club and reveals the loneliness of being single. Maura Moynihan, the rebel punk girl, from Democratic royality, finds a father figure in Andy. Ronnie Cutrone, Andy's painting assistant for many years, explains what it was like to be there and participate in the creation of so many of Andy's masterpieces. Most everyone speaks with gratitude and appreciation on how much their lives have been enriched by their relationship with Warhol. But then there's Bob Colacello, obsessing about the "wonders" of Nancy Reagen and complaining how the original idea for the musicalEvita was stolen from him by Robert Stigwood. In the end, the praise and gratitude win and the bitterness is kept to a minimum in this well designed and enlightening book.

get smart here
There are lots of people who are very stupid about andy warhol.I am in love with him.I am so excited to find this book because along with the philosophy of andy warhol it seems to be getting at his personality.And this book is a bit easier to understand than the philosophy because it is interviews with people who tell stories about what they thought was important about their friend.So, get it and get andy warhol a little bit better. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1928-    2. 1928-1987    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Contemporary Art    6. Criticism and interpretation    7. Individual Artist    8. Interviews    9. Psychology    10. Subculture    11. Warhol, Andy,    12. Art / Individual Artist    13. Art styles: c 1960 -    14. Individual artists    15. The Arts: General Issues    16. Warhol, Andy   

Reviews (5)

Captivating
Wyeth, Pyle and the others captivate my imagination and this book captures their mastery.Strongly recommended!

Beau livre
i m french so i say it with my word : c'est tr�s beau !

One of the best books on American Artists / Illustrators
This book covers very well some of the most important people in American History. N.C. Wyeth,Howard Pyle, Dean Cornwell,Harvey Dunn, Frank Schoonover and Philip Goodwin have illustrated the turn of the 1800's to 1900's with the same spirited passion that bred our great country. It's this great passion that is given to the pictures that they created that seperates their work from photographs which are just taken. Looking at the Illustrations shows you that Pyle was successful in creating an American art which will always be a foundation for Illustrators to follow. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Adventure stories    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Commercial - Illustration    6. Criticism    7. History - General    8. Illustration Of Books    9. Illustrations    10. Painting, American    11. Techniques - Drawing    12. Techniques - Painting - Specific Subjects    13. United States   

Editorial Review

No other painter better embodies the idea of the torturedartist than Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful images heightened by unusual binding
This unusual book was quite a find.It was made using a binding process I've never seen before.The pages actually unfold in a variety of ways to present images of Van Gogh's best loved paintings in a highly effective manner.Some pages fold out horizontally and present four works side-by-side, others fold out twice forming small posters.The quality of the graphics is excellent--especially the minute details shown in some of the enlarged reproductions.A beautiful volume and an asset to anyone who loves art. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1853-1890    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Gogh, Vincent van,    5. Individual Artist    6. Art / Individual Artist    7. Individual artists    8. Painting & paintings    9. Post-Impressionism   

Reviews (11)

Engaging and disturbing
I did not intend to read this book.I read the first chapter because my wife told me to, and couldn't put it down.The book is like watching a train wreck.I kept hoping that somebody would stand up and inject some sanity into the lives of these people, but they just kept heading toward disaster and oblivion.While I found that the gossipy nature of the book get in the way of the story, I must admit that Bob Colacello made that time in that place seem both glamorous and horrible.I think it is worth a read, if for no other reason than to be able to sit back and say "I'm so glad my life isn't like that!".

Ages well
I didn't intend to reread this book, but I opened it while searching for an obscure New York address and didn't put it down again until I'd finished reading every page. When it first came out, I remember critics mostly tsk-tsking Colacello because they seemed to think he'd gotten to the place he was through Warhol and no doubt he did...What I failed to notice when the book was first published, was how Colacella and every single "Warhol" person who's written a book had a nervous breakdown as they were spinning (or trying to spin) out of his orbit. I want to read the book that tells WHY these intelligent creative people threw themselves so totally into Warhol's world...a world that couldn't have existed without them.....All I can say is, if your intent is to try and understand Warhol, then Bob Colacello's book is the absolute best take...besides yourself.

Informative with juicy details
Bob Colacello's book is not only very informative on Warhol's (and those around him) life and career, but it is also full of juicy gossip and luscious details that makes Andy Warhol who he is. This book is special too because Colacello was so close with Warhol that he paints him in a totally different picture than other biographer could. Other biographers tend to talk of Andy as a supreme god that can hardly do any wrong. Don't get me wrong, Warhol was very special, but Colacello's book tells you about Andy, as if he was your goofy friend too. That makes this book much more relatable than any other Warhol book and my choice as the best Warhol biography. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1928-    2. 1928-1987    3. Artists    4. Artists, Architects, Photographers    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    10. Individual Artist    11. Individual Painters - 20th Century    12. United States    13. Warhol, Andy,    14. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    15. Biography: film, television & music    16. Individual artists    17. Op art    18. The Arts: General Issues   

Subjects:  1. 1906-    2. 1906-1997    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Contemporary Art    6. Exhibitions    7. France    8. History - Contemporary (1945- )    9. Individual Artist    10. Optical art    11. Vasarely, Victor,    12. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    13. Individual artists    14. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (9)

ISBN: 0894682199 is a better choice
ISBN: 0894682199 is a better choice, because it was highly prized and awarded like no other book about Vermeer.Colors here are rendered not very accurately.This book, like others by Harry N Abrams, tends to show the light background in the upper left hand corner of the "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter" painting as light blue.In fact, that background is multicolored in a kind of pinkish summary tone.Similar problems have other pictures, though all Vermeer's paintings are reproduced as plates.

Good brief volume
A fine book on Vermeer with good repros and short but to the point commentary on each painting by the author. I've seen Vermeers in the Rijksmuseum in the original, and although no color plate can do justice to them, these are pretty decent. Vermeer's rich, saturated colors and use of transparent and translucent glazes are impossible to really reproduce in print, at least at a reasonable cost, not to mention his amazing treatment of specular highlights. But the plates in this book are still pretty good.
The best vermeer book.
If you're looking for a vermeer book, this is definitely the one to go for. It has everything: LARGE, beautiful, full color reproductions of all of Vermeer's work, a biography of his life, and very good commentaries on each painting. Plus, it's affordable. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1632-1675    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Biography    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    6. Dutch painters    7. History - General    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Painters - 17th Century    10. Netherlands    11. Painters    12. Vermeer, Johannes,    13. Art / Individual Artist    14. Baroque art    15. Individual artists    16. Painting & paintings    17. Themes, motives    18. Vermeer, Johannes    19. c 1600 to c 1700   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. European    4. History - Baroque & Rococo    5. Individual Artist    6. Art / History / Baroque & Rococo    7. Art / Individual Artist    8. Baroque art    9. Rococo art   

Editorial Review

N.C. Wyeth's wondrous paintings of Read more

Reviews (10)

Talent within the studio & the home
The forementioned "Biography at its best" is fitting. David Michaelis went the extra mile to gather coupious historical data on Wyeth and his background. The evidence given paints a picture of the very soul of this man, almost to the point of smelling his oil-stained hands.
Biography At Its Best
Although I was familiar with the paintings of Andrew & Jamie Wyeth, I wasn't aware of N.C. until I read his letters in Dorie McCullough Lawson's wonderful collection, "Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children." The brilliant writing in those letters, and the story of the tragic accident that killed him and his little grandson, made me want to know more. It led me to this book. I've just finished it, and can't stop thinking about it. If a novelist made up this saga, one might say it was just too fantastic. And yet the most fantastic thing of all is that it's true. David Michaelis weaves the tale, not just of N.C. Wyeth, but of his family and his times. Although so many people are introduced, the writing is clear and vibrant, and one never loses track of who's who. No novel could be more compelling than this saga, with twists and turns that almost had me gasping. Biography just doesn't get any better than this. Whether or not you're interested in Art, it is well worth your time. Bravo to Mr. Michaelis!

Even for those who have no idea who the Wyeth family is.
I don't know if there is another Family that has continuously contributed to the world of art, and done so with such skill, as the 5 generations of Wyeths whose story is told in this work.Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Artists, Architects, Photographers    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Individual Artist    7. Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers   

Subjects:  1. 1931-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Contemporary Art    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. Individual Artist    7. Wesselmann, Tom,    8. Art / Individual Artist    9. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    10. Wesselmann, Tom   

Reviews (2)

A 'must' for any serious Warhol collection
SUPERNOVA: STARS, DEATHS, AND DISASTERS 1962-64 gathers Andy Warhol's works from a narrow period of time, with a focus on Warhol's paintings of disasters, crashes, and more. Essays by Warhol critics accompany this survey of his works in a range of media, providing a visual catalog of his artistic methods and influence and presenting holdings from the Walker Art Center, which began its relationship with Warhol in 1967. ANDY WARHOL/SUPERNOVA accompanies an exhibition but stands well on its own, packing in large-size black and white and color photos from Warhol's works and including the background commentary and criticism essential to understanding them. A 'must' for any serious Warhol collection.
Warhol catalogue
Catalogue from Walker Art Center.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Celebrities    4. Exhibitions    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. History Of Fine Arts    7. Individual Artist    8. Popular Culture    9. Portraits    10. Printmaking    11. United States    12. Violence in art    13. Individual artists    14. c 1960 to c 1970   

Reviews (2)

The Greatness is in the Simplicity
Andy Warhol remains a true Icon of the art world. His famous '15 minutes of fame' was a terrific statement, but in Warhol's case his words and his art linger on in museum retrospectives, in art history studies, and in books on photography, fine print making, and art whether drawn, painted, of screened.
A Really Exquisite Book!
What a great little book of delights! Here is a really beautiful collection of art by Andy Warhol, many of the works apparently published for the first time. There are color photographs here of men's body parts-- chests, feet, butts, etc.-- a series of color portraits of drag queens labelled "Ladies and Gentlemen", photographs of a few celebrities including Mick Jagger and the artist himself eating a banana. But most of the book is taken up by beautiful line drawings of men-- figures, faces, body parts, even the feet of Christopher Isherwood. Alan Cumming in right on the money in his foreward: "just a simple collection of lines on paper that magically produce a sense memory of something so visceral it can actually arouse." And Mr. Warhol had this thing about body hair! This is a very erotic collection beautifully produced that you will go back to again and again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Individual artists   

Reviews (1)

Good art, bad art history
Almost nothing has been written on the pictorialist movement in California in the early 20th century, yet every well know photographer in California was active in it.This book is an imaginative look at one of the best and most mysterious practitioners.Mather and Weston found themselves in L.A. at the time in history when the movie industry was taking shape and a lot of creative and adventurous people came out here.This book captures some of that atmosphere.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1886-1958    2. Artists, Architects, Photographers    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. History    6. Mather, Margrethe    7. Photo Essays    8. Photographers    9. Photography    10. Photography As An Art    11. Relations with men    12. United States    13. Weston, Edward,    14. Women    15. Women photographers    16. Biography: general    17. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (2)

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun - not "an extremely uppity chick"
I would like to correct the lady reviewer of Waltham, Massachusetts who does equal disservice to Mme Vigee Le Brun and to the writer of 'The Exceptional Woman : Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun and the Cultural Politics ofArt' in labelling the artist an "extremely uppity chick".Thewriter would also be the first to correct the reviewer's odd notion thatshe has rescued Mme Vigee Le Brun from oblivion.Elisabeth-Louise was notonly the finest portraitist of her day, and generally acknowledged as such,despite early salon criticism - compare the charm of her double portrait ofTherese-Elisabeth-Charlotte, Madame Royale with her brother the firstDauphin, with the pedestrian work by Drouais for example - but also a womanof letters.Her diary, which is also available, not only catalogues thepeople for whom she worked but describes them in a way that would summonthem to life even did we not possess the canvasses she painted of them. See her work at the National Gallery of Art
Wandering goggle-eyed through Washington's National Gallery of art, I was arrested by the most lively, lush, *real*, and striking depiction of women in the whole gallery.Imagine my delight upon inspecting the plaque and discovering the artist was one of us!No wonder her subjects -- two rich French court ladies enjoying an afternoon in the garden with their children -- were not *objects*, as were the drab, blurred, unhappy-looking women in most male painter's work. Researching the artist, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, whom I had never heard of (but of course -- she was a *woman* artist!) I discovered Mary Sheriff had just published a book about her.I waited for the paperback and have ordered it, and can't wait to find out more.From what I can tell she was an extremely uppity chick, the best kind, and a survivor (usually a contradiction in terms in Elisabeth's day: she managed to scram out of France with her head and her money intact as the Revolution descended, although her buddy and patron Marie Antoinette fared less well, as we know.)Sounds like a great costume drama for Jane Campion, starring a strong, knowing, and savvy personality.Holly Hunter, Judy Davis have the strength.Elizabeth Shue has the look. Add Vigee-Lebrun to your collection of women who prevailed against the odds.Retrieve her from obscurity.Most of all: look at her work! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. History - General    4. Women's Studies - General    5. Biography: general    6. Cultural studies    7. Individual artists    8. Painting & paintings    9. Social Science / Women's Studies    10. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. General    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Individual photographers   

Subjects:  1. 1834-1903    2. Graphic Arts - General    3. Individual Artist    4. Sale Books - Adult    5. Whistler, James McNeill    6. Whistler, James McNeill,    7. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    8. Individual artists    9. Non-Classifiable    10. Sale Books   

Reviews (1)

The cake below the frosting
I certainly agree with the above editorial, except it's more than candy.
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Subjects:  1. 15th century    2. 15th-16th Century Art    3. 16th century    4. Art    5. Art & Art Instruction    6. European    7. Exhibitions    8. History - Medieval    9. History - Renaissance    10. Individual Artist    11. Painting, Dutch    12. Painting, Flemish   

Reviews (2)

Try Thinking of This Like Jane Fonda Joining F.T.A.
I bought this book as a political act, if an attempt to relate on a personal level can be considered political.I was living in Minneapolis at the time and went to a major chain bookstore in the city of Saint Paul toorder it, in a reversal of my usual (new wave vs. old hat) stereotypes ofthose two cities.If anyone considers the cover too shocking to reveal tointernet shoppers, be glad that the back cover is not what is shown.Mostof the book is about male sexual objects, and the back cover has malethighs forming a V with no attempt to hide what Rilke called"manhood's crest" in a famous poem about an archaic torso ofApollo.(The poem appears in 20 German Poets, translated by WalterKaufmann,p. 221.)Plate 33 in Andy's "Paintings of the 1970s"has six repetitions of what appears to me to be the display of a fist as asexual object, given its proximity to what is typical in this book.Whathelped me most to gain my appreciation for the contents of this book wasthe text at the beginning, which begins with a direct Andy Warholquotation, "Sex is So Abstract."Some of the information in thetext is extracted from a book by Bob Colacello called "Holy Terror:Andy Warhol Close-Up."On the actual quality of the artwork, the textsays, "His secret is his profound and enduring aestheticism, . . .burning with a hard, gemlike flame, but veiling this taste in a cool,laconic front of Coke bottles, soup cans," and the bodies in thisbook.The final page of text before the drawings explains Warhol's use offingerpainting on Polaroid photographs, which appear to me on Plates 44,45, and 46 to be the artist's way of searching for erogenous zones.On apolitical level, Jane Fonda must have thought that F.T.A. shows would beentertaining, as well as conveying a particular message about militaristicthinking.Whoever thought of calling those shows "F.T.A." musthave realized that the best communication involves some form of ecstaticflow, which gives people something somewhere between what people are usedto and what they would really desire.Art stands up under this kind ofscrutiny, while politics might mean getting involved with the kind ofpeople who would like to treat it as unmentionable.This book seems to beabout art, but writing helpful reviews may involve a lot more politics thanshoppers would want to know.Don't let me tell you where this book doesn'tbelong.

you need this on your coffee table
sorry that i'm reviewing this.I'm somewhere between the gay and the artist...but it's wonderful to flip through.I didn't pay as much as most and am very happy with about $32.00 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Graphic Arts - General    4. Individual Artist    5. Art / Individual Artist   

Subjects:  1. 1632-1675    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Artists, Architects, Photographers    5. Biography    6. History - Baroque & Rococo    7. History - General    8. Individual Artist    9. Netherlands    10. Painters    11. Vermeer, Johannes,    12. Art / Individual Artist    13. Art and Architecture    14. European History    15. Individual artists    16. Painting & paintings    17. Renaissance art   

Subjects:  1. Biography: general    2. Impressionism    3. Individual artists    4. Post-Impressionism    5. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Individual Artist    5. Exhibition catalogues and specific collections    6. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    7. Individual artists    8. Installations    9. Art - Individual Artist