Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
Will impress readers by the seriousness and thoroughness of its essays.
Review
“This catalogue raisonné definitively presents Newman’s entire oeuvre, from paintings, drawings and sculpture to graphics and architectural models; it also includes examples of unfinished works. . . . Shedding new light on many aspects of Newman’s career, the 736-page volume provides insight into the artistic legacy of this important 20th-century figure.”—Art in America
Book Description
Barnett Newman (1905–1970), one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, has captivated critics, scholars, and the general public for decades. This highly anticipated catalogue raisonné presents Newman’s entire oeuvre--paintings, drawings, sculpture, graphics, an architectural model, lost and unfinished works, and ephemera--in one stunning and definitive volume. Featured elements include color reproductions of unparalleled quality; extensive provenance, exhibition, and publication histories; and a listing of the contents of the artist’s library at the time of his death.
In addition to the catalogue raisonné prepared by Heidi Colsman-Freyberger, the book offers revelatory essays on the artist, his career, and his working methods and features fascinating photographs of Newman, his studios, and his installations. Richard Shiff draws on new documentation to explain why Newman chose to create abstract art, how he achieved “fullness” in his paintings, and how his works exemplify the social functions of an artist. Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro reveals extraordinary details about Newman’s studio practice and materials and techniques, information not available to the public before because Newman only allowed his wife to observe him at work. Mancusi-Ungaro also discusses the fate of works that were damaged while traveling to exhibitions or by vandals.
Produced and designed to the highest possible standards, this magnificent catalogue raisonné is a critical purchase for anyone interested in twentieth-century art.
About the Author
Richard Shiff is Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art and Director of the Center for the Study of Modernism at the University of Texas; Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro is Director of Conservation at the Whitney Museum of American Art; and Heidi Colsman-Freyberger is an independent scholar, researcher, and bibliographer.
Barnett Newman: A Catalogue Raisonne FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Barnett Newman (1905-1970), one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, has captivated critics, scholars, and the general public for decades. This volume presents Newman's entire oeuvre - paintings, drawings, graphics, sculptures, an architectural model, unidentified and unfinished works, and ephemera - in a definitive and magisterial review of the artist's career." "Drawing upon extensive documentation at the Barnett Newman Foundation, New York, Richard Shiff explains how Newman attempts to create an abstract art as a moral reaction to the horrors of World War II. Rejecting figuration and decoration alike, the artist became convinced in the mid-1940s that content emerges through the act of painting. As a result, the content of his works of the 1940s and 1950s is conveyed in what was at that time an entirely new way." "The majority of the illustrations in Shiff's essay are of works by European and American artists that Newman may personally have been familiar with. Also included is a selection of installation views and studio shots that cast interesting light on the artist and his practice." The catalogue raisonne, compiled by independent scholar Heidi Colsman-Freyberger, includes a color reproduction of each of Newman's works, along with its provenance, its exhibition history, and its publication history. This information was gathered from a multitude of sources, including the documentation assembled by the artist's wife over a period of more than fifty years and now archived at The Barnett Newman Foundation, New York.
Art & Photography
Book Info
