Techniques of the Artists of the American West - Hardcover

Samuels, Harold; Samuels, Peggy; Samuels, Joan; Fabian, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555216625 ISBN 13: 9781555216627

Publisher: Wellfleet, 1992

Synopsis

Dissects and studies twenty-one classic Western paintings, and analyzes the lives and styles of the artists, including Remington, O'Keefe, and Catlin

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Reviews

The thesis that painters of the American West did not form a cohesive, distinct school is cogently argued in this unusual showcase. It features 21 paintings, each accompanied by a biographical profile of the artist plus a minutely detailed analysis of the work aided by photographic enlargements. Albert Bierstadt's sublimely grandiose Cho-looke, The Yosemite Fall stands miles apart from Ernest Blumenschein's hard-edged journalistic genre painting of a sheepherder's trial for murder and from Grace Hudson's Victorian portraits of California's Pomo Indians. The technical analyses demonstrate that the Wild West painters were aesthetic sophisticates, not "cowboy daubers." Equally intriguing are such biographical profiles as the tragic story of mystic Ralph Blakelock, a foremost painter of Indians' primeval woodlands, who became schizophrenic and spent his last 20 years in insane asylums. Also represented are Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic Remington, N. C. Wyeth and George Catlin. Peggy and Harold Samuels are the authors of Frederic Remington ; their daughter Joan Samuels and her husband Daniel Fabian are conservators of paintings in Switzerland.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Detailed analyses of painterly technique are rare for American artists and particularly for Western painters. In this one-of-a-kind book, 21 classic paintings by 21 major artists are illustrated, separated into formal elements, and examined. Each work is broken down into a series of photographs, some taken through a microscope, to show how the artist achieved unique effects. The paintings analyzed cover roughly 100 years, from George Catlin's arrival in St. Louis in 1830 to Georgia O'Keeffe's in New Mexico in 1929. A brief background biography helps to put the work in the context of the artist's career. Although specialized, this collaboration between art historians and painting conservators engenders a broader appreciation of Western artists and the masterpieces selected. The authors are prolific writers on Western art. Recommended for approach, coverage, and price.
- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wellfleet
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1555216625
• ISBN 13: 9781555216627
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 252