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Five Days Gone: The Mystery of My Mother's Disappearance as a Child
By Laura Cumming. 2019
In the fall of 1929, when Laura Cumming’s mother was three years old, she was kidnapped from a beach on…
the Lincolnshire coast of England. There were no screams when she was taken, suggesting the culprit was someone familiar to her, and when she turned up again in a nearby village several days later, she was found in perfect health and happiness. No one was ever accused of a crime. The incident quickly faded from her memory, and her parents never discussed it. To the contrary, they deliberately hid it from her, and she did not learn of it for half a century. For many years, while raising her in draconian isolation and protectiveness, her parents also hid the fact that she’d been adopted, and that shortly after the kidnapping, her name was changed from Grace to Betty. Cumming unspools the tale of her mother’s life and unravels the multiple mysteries at its core. She investigates this case of stolen identity with the toolset of a detective and the unique intimacy of a daughter trying to understand her family’s past and its legacies. 2019.Kid artists: true tales of childhood from creative legends (KID LEGENDS)
By David Stabler. 2019
Every great artist started out as a kid. Forget the awards, the sold-out museum exhibitions, and the timeless masterpieces. When…
the world's most celebrated artists were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Jackson Pollock's family moved constantly-he lived in eight different cities before he was sixteen years old. Georgia O'Keeffe lived in the shadow of her "perfect" older brother Francis. And Jean-Michel Basquiat triumphed over poverty to become one of the world's most influential artists. Kid Artists tells their stories and more. Other subjects include Claude Monet, Jacob Lawrence, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Beatrix Potter, Yoko Ono, Dr. Seuss, Emily Carr, Keith Haring, Charles Schulz, and Louise NevelsonHenri's scissors
By Jeanette Winter. 2013
In a small weaving town in France, a young boy named Henri-Emile Matisse drew pictures everywhere, and when he grew…
up, he moved to Paris and became a famous artist who created paintings that were adored around the world. But late in life, a serious illness confined him to a wheelchair, and amazingly, it was from there that he created some of his most beloved works—enormous and breathtaking paper cutouts. Grades K-3. 2013.The man who made parks: the story of parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted
By Frieda Wishinsky, Song Nan Zhang. 2009
When the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating "green spaces." Frederick Law…
Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City. Grades K-3 and older readers. 2009.The Way Home
By David A. Neel. 2019
David Neel was an infant when his father, a traditional Kwakiutl artist, returned to the ancestors, triggering a series of…
events that would separate David from his homeland and its rich cultural traditions for twenty-five years. When the aspiring photographer saw a mask carved by an ancestor in a Texas museum, the encounter inspired him to return home and follow in his father’s footsteps. Drawing on memory, legend, and his own art, Neel recounts his struggle to reconnect with his culture and become an accomplished Kwakwa_ka_’wakw artist. His memoir is a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome great obstacles and to the power and endurance of Indigenous culture and art.Birds Art Life
By Kyo Maclear. 2017
A writer's search for inspiration, beauty and solace leads her to birds in this intimate and exuberant meditation on creativity…
and life—a field guide to things small and significant.For Vladimir Nabokov, it was butterflies. For John Cage, it was mushrooms. For Sylvia Plath, it was bees. Each of these artists took time away from their work to become observers of natural phenomena. In 2012, Kyo Maclear met a local Toronto musician with an equally captivating side passion—he had recently lost his heart to birds. Curious about what prompted this young urban artist to suddenly embrace nature, Kyo decides to follow him for a year and find out. A distilled, crystal-like companion to H Is for Hawk, this memoir celebrates the particular madness of loving and chasing after birds in a big city. Intimate and philosophical, moving with ease between the granular and the grand view, it celebrates the creative and liberating effects of keeping your eyes and ears wide open, and explores what happens when you apply the core lessons of birding to other aspects of life. In one sense, this is a book about disconnection—how our passions can buckle under the demands and emotions of daily life—and about reconnection: how the act of seeking passion and beauty in small ways can lead us to discover our most satisfying life. On a deeper level, it takes up the questions of how we are shaped and nurtured by our parallel passions, and how we might come to cherish not only the world's pristine natural places but also the blemished urban spaces where most of us live. Birds Art Life follows two artists on a yearlong adventure that is at once a meditation on the nature of creativity and a quest for a good and meaningful life.The lives of lucian freud: Fame, 1968-2011
By William Feaver. 2021
The first biography of the epic life of one of the most important, enigmatic and private artists of the 20th…
century. Drawn from almost 40 years of conversations with the artist, letters and papers, it is a major work written by a well-known British art critic. Lucian Freud (1922-2011) is one of the most influential figurative painters of the 20th century. His paintings are in every major museum and many private collections here and abroad. William Feaver's daily calls from 1973 until Freud died in 2011, as well as interviews with family and friends were crucial sources for this book. Freud had ferocious energy, worked day and night but his circle was broad including not just other well-known artists but writers, bluebloods, royals in England and Europe, drag queens, fashion models gamblers, bookies and gangsters like the Kray twins. Fierce, rebellious, charismatic, extremely guarded about his life, he was witty, mischievous and a womanizer. This brilliantly researched book begins with the Freuds' life in Berlin, the rise of Hitler and the family's escape to London in 1933 when Lucian was 10. Sigmund Freud was his grandfather and Ernst, his father was an architect. In London in his twenties, his first solo show was in 1944 at the Lefevre Gallery. Around this time, Stephen Spender introduced him to Virginia Woolf; at night he was taking Pauline Tennant to the Gargoyle Club, owned by her father and frequented by Dylan Thomas; he was also meeting Sonia Orwell, Cecil Beaton, Auden, Patrick Leigh-Fermor and the Aly Khan, and his muse was a married femme fatale, 13 years older, Lorna Wishart. But it was Francis Bacon who would become his most important influence and the painters Frank Auerbach and David Hockney, close friends. This is an extremely intimate, lively and rich portrait of the artist, full of gossip and stories recounted by Freud to Feaver about people, encounters, and work. Freud's art was his life—"my work is purely autobiographical"—and he usually painted only family, friends, lovers, children, though there were exceptions like the famous small portrait of the Queen. With his later portraits, the subjects were often nude, names were never given and sittings could take up to 16 months, each session lasting five hours but subjects were rarely bored as Freud was a great raconteur and mimic. This book is a major achievement, a tour de force that reveals the details of the life and innermost thoughts of the greatest portrait painter of our time. Volume I has 41 black and white integrated images, and 2 eight-page color insertsThe lives of lucian freud: The restless years, 1922-1968
By William Feaver. 2019
The first biography of the large life of one of the most important, enigmatic, yet private artists of the twentieth…
century. Drawn from almost forty years of conversations with the artist, letters, and papers, it is a major work written by a well-known British art critic. Lucian Freud (1922-2011) is one of the most influential figurative painters of the twentieth century. His paintings are in every major museum and many private collections here and abroad. William Feaver's daily calls from 1973 until Freud died in 2011, as well as interviews with Freud's family and friends, were crucial sources. Freud's circle was broad, including not just other well-known artists but writers, bluebloods, royals in England and Europe, drag queens, fashion models, gamblers, bookies, and gangsters like the Kray twins. Fierce, rebellious, charismatic, extremely guarded about his life, he was witty, mischievous, and a womanizer. This brilliantly researched book begins with the Freuds' life in Berlin, and the family's escape from Hitler to London in 1933, when Lucian was ten. Sigmund Freud was his grandfather, and Ernst, his father, was an architect. Freud's first solo show was in 1944 and at that time he met Virginia Woolf, Sonia Orwell, Cecil Beaton, W.H. Auden, Patrick Leigh-Fermor and the Aly Khan; nights were spent at the Gargoyle club, his muse was a married femme fatale, thirteen years older, Lorna Wishart. But it was Francis Bacon who would become his most important influence, and the painters Frank Auerbach and David Hockney, close friends. He would meet the artists Picasso, Giacometti, Andre Breton, Alexander Calder and Balthus. He was married twice: to Kitty Garman Epstein, the daughter of the famous sculptor Jacob Epstein, and to Lady Caroline Blackwood; he had two daughters from the first marriage, but he had twelve other children from his many liasons. This is an extremely intimate, lively, and rich portrait of the artist, full of gossip and stories recounted by Freud to Feaver about people, encounters, and work. Freud's art was his life—"my work is purely autobiographical"— and he usually painted only family, friends, lovers, and children, though there were exceptions, like the famous small portrait of the Queen; sittings could take up to sixteen months, each session lasting five hours, but subjects were rarely bored, as Freud was a great raconteur and mimic. This book is a major achievement that reveals the details of the life and innermost thoughts of the greatest portrait painter of our timeSaga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming
By Antonio Michael Downing. 2021
The triumph of Saga Boy is the triumph of Blackness everywhere--the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks…
are prey."--Ian Williams, Giller Prize-winning author of ReproductionAn enthralling, deeply personal account of a young immigrant's search for belonging and Black identity amid the long-lasting effects of cultural dislocation.Antonio Michael Downing's memoir of creativity and transformation is a startling mash-up of memories and mythology, told in gripping, lyrical prose. Raised by his indomitable grandmother in the lush rainforest of southern Trinidad, Downing, at age 11, is uprooted to Canada when she dies. But to a very unusual part of Canada: he and his older brother are sent to live with his stern, evangelical Aunt Joan, in Wabigoon, a tiny northern Ontario community where they are the only Black children in the town. In this wilderness, he begins his journey as an immigrant minority, using music and performance to dramatically transform himself. At the heart of his odyssey is the longing for a home. He is re-united with his birth parents who he has known only through stories. But this proves disappointing: Al is a womanizing con man and drug addict, and Gloria, twice abandoned by Al, seems to regard her sons as cash machines. He tries to flee his messy family life by transforming into a series of extravagant musical personalities: "Mic Dainjah," a punk rock rapper, "Molasses," a soul music crooner and finally "John Orpheus," a gold chained, sequin- and leather-clad pop star. Yet, like his father and grandfather, he has become a "Saga Boy," a Trinidadian playboy, addicted to escapism, attention, and sex. When the inevitable crash happens, he finds himself in a cold, stone jail cell. He has become everything he was trying to escape and must finally face himself. Richly evocative, Saga Boy is a heart-wrenching but uplifting story of a lonely immigrant boy who overcomes adversity and abandonment to reclaim his Black identity and embrace a rich heritage.Mary Seacole: bound for the battlefield
By Susan Goldman Rubin. 2020
Mary Seacole spent much of her life on the front lines of the Crimean War, ministering to the wounded, caring…
for soldiers, and making her mark on the world of medicine. This fascinating biography honors her life, from her childhood in Kingston, Jamaica, and her encounters with racist Americans to her treatment of cholera patients in Panama and her bitter run-in with Florence Nightingale, who declined to work with her in Crimea because she wasn't white. But Mary Seacole knew that the sick and wounded needed her compassion and care, and despite all obstacles, she answered the call to help them. Author Susan Goldman Rubin gives voice to this fearless nurse and healer through captivating details drawn from Mary Seacole's own writings. Inspiring and engaging, this biography introduces a compelling heroine who rose above barriers to earn a place in historyFierce poise: Helen frankenthaler and 1950s new york
By Alexander Nemerov. 2021
A dazzling biography of one of the twentieth century's most respected painters, Helen Frankenthaler, as she came of age as…
an artist in postwar New York "The magic of Alexander Nemerov's portrait of Helen Frankenthaler in Fierce Poise is that it reads like one of Helen's paintings. His poetic descriptions of her work and his rich insights into the years when Helen made her first artistic breakthroughs are both light and lush, seemingly easy and yet profound. His book is an ode to a truly great artist who, some seventy years after this story begins, we are only now beginning to understand."— Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women At the dawn of the 1950s, a promising and dedicated young painter named Helen Frankenthaler, fresh out of college, moved back home to New York City to make her name. By the decade's end, she had succeeded in establishing herself as an important American artist of the postwar period. In the years in between, she made some of the most daring, head-turning paintings of her day and also came into her own as a woman: traveling the world, falling in and out of love, and engaging in an ongoing artistic education. She also experienced anew—and left her mark on—the city in which she had been raised in privilege as the daughter of a judge, even as she left the security of that world to pursue her artistic ambitions. Brought to vivid life by acclaimed art historian Alexander Nemerov, these defining moments—from her first awed encounter with Jackson Pollock's drip paintings to her first solo gallery show to her tumultuous breakup with eminent art critic Clement Greenberg—comprise a portrait as bold and distinctive as the painter herself. Inspired by Pollock and the other male titans of abstract expressionism but committed to charting her own course, Frankenthaler was an artist whose talent was matched only by her unapologetic determination to distinguish herself in a man's world. Fierce Poise is an exhilarating ride through New York's 1950s art scene and a brilliant portrait of a young artist through the moments that shaped herAnything but a Still Life: The Art and Lives of Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak
By Nathan Greenfield. 2021
Molly Lamb and Bruno Bobak shot to prominence as war artists during the Second World War. Marrying shortly after the…
end of the war, they moved first to Vancouver and then, in 1960, to Fredericton, where they settled permanently. Molly’s paintings were vibrant and colourful, featuring dynamic crowd scenes and wildflowers that seem to wave on the page. In contrast, Bruno painted near-abstract cityscapes, stunning landscapes, and distorted bodies wracked with inner torment, work that is unique in Canadian art.In this book, acclaimed author Nathan M. Greenfield brings to light the private and public lives of two of the most important figures in 20th century Canadian art. Combining archival research with Molly’s diaries and letters, interviews with friends and contemporaries, and an analysis of paintings by both artists, he develops an intimate portrait of their life and art: their critical acclaim, commercial success, and a turbulent marriage that lasted over fifty years.The man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, architect of the modern century
By Mark Lamster. 2018
Biography of award-winning modernist architect Philip Johnson (1906-2005), best known for the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Discusses his…
early childhood in Ohio, personal relationships as a gay man, development of his career, and major projects. 2018Noa Noa: the Tahitian journal (Dover Fine Art, History of Art Ser.)
By Paul Gauguin. 1985
Journal of French postimpressionist painter recounting his experiences on the Pacific Island of Tahiti in the early 1890s. Discusses his…
art, the people he meets, and his experiences in the seemingly tropical paradise. Translated from the original French. 1919Vivian Maier: a photographer's life and afterlife
By Pamela Bannos. 2017
Examination of the life of a photographer who supported herself as a nanny and whose work only came to broad…
recognition after her death. Chronicles Maier's years growing up in France, return to America, and eventual life in Chicago. Discusses the disposition of the storage lockers which housed her photography. 2017Between the lines: how Ernie Barnes went from the football field to the art gallery
By Bryan Collier, Sandra Neil Wallace. 2018
Recounts the life of reluctant NFL player Ernie Barnes, who followed his dreams after growing up in the segregated South…
and became one of the most influential artists of his generation--known for his unique style of elongation and movement. For grades 2-4. 2018Maya Lin: thinking with her hands
By Susan Goldman Rubin. 2017
A short biography of Maya Lin, the architect and artist whose design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial won a competition…
while she was a senior at Yale University. She later designed the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Langston Hughes Library in Tennessee. For grades 4-7. 2017The lives of the surrealists
By Desmond Morris. 2018
Profiles of thirty-two surrealist artists by one of the last surviving members of the movement and author of The Naked…
Ape (DB 60529). Subjects include Alexander Calder, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, Joan Miró, Dorothea Tanning, and more. Some descriptions of sex. 2018Berenice Abbott: a life in photography
By Julia Van Haaften. 2018
Biography of photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991). Discusses her early life in Ohio with a fractured family, developing interest in photography,…
work in the United States and Europe, personal relationships, involvement in socialist causes, and more. Strong language. 2018Desnudo
By Jomari Goyso. 2018
Television presenter and stylist recounts his improbable transformation from an overweight farmboy in rural Spain into one of the most…
influential voices in Hispanic fashion--working with stars such as Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek and Kim Kardashian. Strong language and descriptions of sex. Spanish language. 2018