John B. Flannagan

Katherine Rangoon Doyle

ISBN 13: 9798855807929

Published by State University of New York Press, US, 2026

About this Item

The first book on American artist John B. Flannagan, a pioneering sculptor during the 1920s and 1930s who found the meaning of life in stone.Although seen as a progenitor of modern American sculpture, John B. Flannagan (1895-1942) has never been the subject of a book. Flannagan was arguably the most important of the early twentieth-century direct carvers: artists who cut into wood or stone without preliminary models or technical assistants. Uniquely, Flannagan also foresaw central tenets of abstract expressionism, as well as the burgeoning field of animal studies, yet because so little information has traditionally been available, he is now slipping from the record. Flannagan's quest to find "the Image in the Rock" echoed his belief in the near-spiritual quality of directly working with his chosen material. This book uses previously undiscovered primary sources to reveal the sculptor in context. It includes over eighty works by Flannagan, many seldom reproduced, restoring his rightful place as a full participant in the American art scene of the 1920s and 1930s.

Seller Inventory # LU-9798855807929

Bibliographic Details

• Title: John B. Flannagan
• Publisher: State University of New York Press, US
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798855807929
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 567 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The first book on American artist John B. Flannagan, a pioneering sculptor during the 1920s and 1930s who found the meaning of life in stone.

Although seen as a progenitor of modern American sculpture, John B. Flannagan (1895–1942) has never been the subject of a book. Flannagan was arguably the most important of the early twentieth-century direct carvers: artists who cut into wood or stone without preliminary models or technical assistants. Uniquely, Flannagan also foresaw central tenets of abstract expressionism, as well as the burgeoning field of animal studies, yet because so little information has traditionally been available, he is now slipping from the record. Flannagan's quest to find "the Image in the Rock" echoed his belief in the near-spiritual quality of directly working with his chosen material. This book uses previously undiscovered primary sources to reveal the sculptor in context. It includes over eighty works by Flannagan, many seldom reproduced, restoring his rightful place as a full participant in the American art scene of the 1920s and 1930s.

About the Author

Katherine Rangoon Doyle is a former textbook editor and instructor in art history. She is an independent researcher and the scholar of record on the work of John B. Flannagan.