From Publishers Weekly
In her trademark bandanna and exotic garb, flamboyant, self-assertive Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) posed as high priestess of modern sculpture. This persona, according to Lisle's solidly researched biography, was the convenient mask of a woman torn by lifelong depression and inferiority feelings, crippling guilt over the son she neglected and the desire to pursue personal independence at any cost. Born Leah Berliawsky in czarist Russia, she escaped a penurious girlhood in Maine by marrying shipping broker Charles Nevelson (whom she later divorced) and moving to New York City in 1920. During her years of bitter struggle for recognition, she took many lovers (among them Diego Rivera) while avoiding emotional commitment to any one man. As Lisle, biographer of Georgia O'Keeffe, charts Nevelson's trajectory from obscurity to celebrity, the reader is left with the impression of a sad, guarded woman for whom art was life. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The subject of several biographies, coffee-table books, and a book-length interview ( Dawns and Dusks , Scribner, 1976), American sculptor Nevelson (1900-88) is here presented in a well-researched, in-depth biography that can be enjoyed by a general readership. With little interest in domesticity or motherhood, though she was the mother of a son, Nevelson served a long and struggling apprenticeship before she found her style and her success. Lisle, also author of a biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, writes candidly about the unconventional Nevelson, a flamboyant figure on the New York art scene. For large general collections and modern art history libraries. Photos not seen.- Hara Seltzer, NYPLCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Washington Post Book World
"Lisle has conscientiously investigated the numerous bizarre events in Nevelson's long life."

Washington Post Book World
"Lisle has conscientiously investigated the numerous bizarre events in Nevelson's long life."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The only biography of this important American sculptor, Louise Nevelson is the story of an artist who became a legend in her time. Born in a Russian village, she grew up in Maine and married a wealthy New Yorker. As her dedication to art grew, she abandoned her husband and neglected her son. She found inspiration in old wood, creating a rich iconography of blackened images. After achieving success at the age of 60, she adopted an exotic persona while continuing to add to the magnificent body of work that is today found in public parks and major museums throughout the world.

SYNOPSIS

"Lisle has conscientiously investigated the numerous bizarre events in Nevelson's long life."
— Washington Post Book World

"Lisle's book is impressive in its thoroughness...its eclectic introduction of psychological analysis..."
—Woman's Art Journal

FROM THE CRITICS

Washington Post Book World

Lisle has conscientiously investigated the numerous bizarre events in Nevelson's long life.

Publishers Weekly

Masking overwhelming negative feelings with her flamboyant attire and assertive demeanor, the sculptor desperately sought recognition and independence. ``As Lisle . . . charts Nevelson's trajectory from obscurity to celebrity, the reader is left with the impression of a sad, guarded woman for whom art was life,'' said PW. (Apr.)

Library Journal