Eric Zafran

"Seeking to bring Gallic sophistication and worldly elegance into their galleries and drawing rooms, wealthy Americans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries collected the work of William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) in record numbers. This revelatory volume offers an in-depth exploration of Bouguereau's overwhelming popularity in turn-of-the-century America and the ways that his work--widely known from reviews, exhibitions, and inexpensive reproductions--resonated with the American public. While also lauded by the French artistic establishment and a dominant presence at the Parisian Salons, Bouguereau achieved his greatest success selling his idealized and polished paintings to a voracious American market. In this book, the authors discuss how the artist's sensual classical maidens, Raphaelesque Madonnas, and pristine peasant children embodied the tastes of American Gilded Age patrons, and how Bouguereau's canvases persuasively functioned as freshly painted Old Masters for collectors flush with new money"--

"The High Museum is very proud to have organized this exhibition of one of America's few remaining outstanding private collections of drawings. Collectors, both private and institutional, have an almost parental concern for their treasures, and we are therefore especially grateful to Dr. Baer and his family for allowing their collection of master drawings, for which they care so deeply, to be show so widely. We hope the rare opportunity to see such a varied and interesting collection will be both an educational and an enjoyable experience for the viewers and will perhaps inspire some future collectors."

Tramp art describes a particular type of wood carving practiced in the United States and Europe between the 1880s and 1940s in which discarded cigar boxes and fruit crates were notched and layered to make a variety of domestic objects. These were primarily boxes and frames in addition to small private altars, crosses, wall pockets, clock cases, plant stands, and even furniture. Whittling objects such as chains and ball-in-cage whimsies was a common hobby -- including among rail-riding hobos -- and for many years tramp art was believed to have been made by these itinerants as well. Although this notion has been widely dispelled, the name has stuck. In recent years efforts have been made to identify makers by name and reveal their stories. While some examples of tramp art may be attributed to itinerants, this carving style was more commonly a practice of working-class men creating functional objects for their households. The book presents over one hundred and fifty tramp art objects collected mainly from the United States and also including pieces from France, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil -- demonstrating the far reach this art form has had. 00Exhibition: Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, USA (12.03.2017-16.09.2018).

"Perhaps the most influential of all twentieth-century sculptors, Alexander Calder worked primarily in Connecticut for several decades after settling in a Roxbury farmhouse in 1933. Connecticut provided a richly stimulating creative environment for him in the critical years when he developed his unique mobiles and stabiles and established his artistic reputation. This portrait of Calder, at work and at play, offers new insight into how his art was shaped by the state's landscape, his home and studio, his family, and the circle of artists, writers, curators, and collectors who befriended him."--BOOK JACKET.