Dictionary of contemporary American artists

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312002327 ISBN 13: 9780312002329

Publisher: St. Martin's, 1988

A completely revised and updated sixth edition of the most useful and detailed directory of America's leading artists. Over 900 comprehensive entries including biographical data, exhibitions, special commissions, collections, and a bibliography. With 149 newly selected illustrations.

From Booklist:

Since 1966 the works of artists have been chronicled in this dictionary. More than 900 artists are detailed in this new edition.

The bulk of the volume is composed of the biographies. A new addition is the inclusion of cross-references to earlier editions for artists who have been dropped from this edition. Entry lengths vary from three pages for Jasper Johns to not quite a column for Ben Kamihira. Forty-one artists have been added to this edition and 65 dropped. Of those added, eight were born since 1950. The essays include birth and death dates, education, teaching experience, awards, commissions, exhibitions, and collections holding the artist's works; some include bibliographies. The medium in which the artist works is noted specifically only in the index of artists. About 150 black-and-white illustrations are provided. The dictionary opens with a list of illustrations followed by the index of artists, pronunciation guide, and a key to symbols used in the essays to represent schools and museums. The book closes with a 55-page bibliography, stemming in part from the citations in the essays.

For those libraries owning Who's Who in American Art (Bowker, biennial) there is considerable overlap, although that book is limited to living artists and Cummings includes deceased artists as well. His entries for artists like Johns, Guston, and Warhol are considerably longer than any entries in Who's Who. Who's Who in American Art, while twice as expensive as the dictionary, includes 11,824 artists versus the dictionary's 900. The dictionary is recommended for active public and academic library art collections.