An examination of the dark side of American painter Thomas Eakins's life and work unveils new facts about the artist's life and makes sense of the enigmas of his work, documenting the bitter personal feuds and family tragedies that affected him, as well as the artist's own tendency toward psychological abuse and sexual harassment.

The first monograph on one of the few women Realist painters, Colleen Browning, who painted streetscapes of Harlem, and Manhattan.

The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery houses one of the most highly regarded collections of twentieth-century American art anywhere, including paintings by Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Marsden Hartley, Robert Motherwell, Robert Henri, Grant Wood, Frank Stella, and many more internationally renowned artists. Calling the Sheldon collection "exemplary," the art historian and critic Barbara Rose notes: "Because the collection does not reflect fashion, the misguided inspiration of much art collecting today, but is rather an effort of connoisseurship, and informed by an art historical viewpoint, it is certain to remain as durable and exciting tomorrow as it is today." The American Painting Collection of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery offers for the first time a full description of the collection, now numbering more than one thousand works, that has been nearly a century in the making. The first part of the book presents full-color reproductions of 101 of the most noteworthy paintings in the collection, each accompanied by a brief discussion of the artist and his or her work. The second part, or catalog, consists of a complete inventory of the collection, including for each painting its physical description, provenance, exhibition history, and publication history, as well as a black and white reproduction. Publication of the book coincides with a year-long celebration of the centennial of the Nebraska Art Association, the Sheldon Gallery's support group and one of the oldest continuous arts organizations in the country.

Juxtaposes color reproductions of samplers, quilts, and needle-pictures with excerpts from the diaries and journals of eighteenthand nineteenth-century women

With an eye for style, Sutherland captures all of the gritty glory and glamour of the graffiti world and its warriors. Collected for the first time in Autograf: New York City’s Graffiti Writers, Sutherland presents a never-before-seen chronicle of the people and places that populate New York’s famed graf scene. Featuring old-school legends FUTURA, STAY HIGH 149, LADY PINK and DOZE, as well as new-school writers COPE 2, CLAW, KR, CYCLE, KAWS, SACER, EARSNOT, SERF, RATE, CINIK, UFO, and DSENSE, among many others, each one of the fifty-three portraits is authentically tagged by the individual writers using the same paint markers that brought them fame. Complemented by one hundred sixty landscape photographs and featuring handwritten text by legendary recluse REVS, Autograf is the only book to showcase New York City’s graffiti scene as it was created and defined by some of the most prolific artists of our time.

The Smithsonian Institution is America's largest, most important, and most beloved repository for the objects that define our common heritage. Now Under Secretary for Art, History, and Culture Richard Kurin, aided by a team of top Smithsonian curators and scholars, has assembled a literary exhibition of 101 objects from across the Smithsonian's museums that together offer a marvelous new perspective on the history of the United States. Ranging from the earliest years of the pre-Columbian continent to the digital age, and from the American Revolution to Vietnam, each entry pairs the fascinating history surrounding each object with the story of its creation or discovery and the place it has come to occupy in our national memory. Kurin sheds remarkable new light on objects we think we know well, from Lincoln's hat to Dorothy's ruby slippers and Julia Child's kitchen, including the often astonishing tales of how each made its way into the collections of the Smithsonian. Other objects will be eye-opening new discoveries for many, but no less evocative of the most poignant and important moments of the American experience. Some objects, such as Harriet Tubman's hymnal, Sitting Bull's ledger, Cesar Chavez's union jacket, and the Enola Gay bomber, tell difficult stories from the nation's history, and inspire controversies when exhibited at the Smithsonian. Others, from George Washington's sword to the space shuttle Discovery, celebrate the richness and vitality of the American spirit. In Kurin's hands, each object comes to vivid life, providing a tactile connection to American history. Beautifully designed and illustrated with color photographs throughout, The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects is a rich and fascinating journey through America's collective memory, and a beautiful object in its own right.

The companion volume to a major retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum offers a richly illustrated overview of American twentieth-century fine art as a reflection of the varied cultural forces--including film, dance, music, literature, fashion, and industrial design--that helped shape it.

For centuries, America's permutations of climate and landscape and its tantalizing suggestion of unlimited possibilities have inspired some of history's greatest minds to embark on both literal and imaginary journeys of exploration, none more so than its visual artists. Contrasting intimate visits to artists' studios with explorations of the country's sweeping landscapes of light and form that have inspired artists since the Luminists and the Hudson River School, here is a privileged look at the dreams, ideas, and thoughts of more than one hundred American artists who are active today. From established figures such as Marina Abramovic, John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Francesco Clemente Chuck Close, John Currin, Rachel Feinstein, Richard Prince, Robert Irwin, Kiki Smith, Bill Viola, and Lawrence Weiner to members of the new guard, including Diana Al-Hadid, Tauba Auerbach, Mark Bradford, Theaster Gates, Rashid Johnson, and Sterling Ruby, this profusely and beautifully illustrated journey through artists' studios provides an unprecedented look into the workings of one of the world's largest artistic communities. From New York's skyline to Southern California's sunny boardwalks, Art Studio America will embolden readers the chance to embark on transformative journeys of their own. The book includes essays by Robert Storr, Mark Godfrey, and Ben Genocchio.

Between 1900 and 1942, New York City was the site of extraordinary creative exchange where artists could share ideas in a global context. The swiftly changing urban landscape before and between the World Wars inspired the erosion of artistic boundaries and fostered a new climate of modernist experimentation. Nexus New Yorkfocuses on key artists from the Caribbean and Latin America who entered into dynamic cultural and social dialogues with the American-based avant-garde and participated in the development of a new modern discourse. Featuring both celebrated and little-known figures of this period, including Carlos Enríquez, Alice Neel, Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Joaquín Torres-Garcia, José Clemente Orozco, Matta, and Robert Motherwell, contributing authors also discuss the specific environments in which they flourished, including the Art Students League, the Siqueiros Experimental Workshop, and the New School for Social Research. A fascinating look at 20th-century modernism, this book provides the first view of the important encounters between artists of the Americas.

Through the prism of America's most enduring African-inspired art form, the Lowcountry basket, Grass Roots guides readers across 300 years of American and African history. In scholarly essays and beautiful photographs, Grass Roots follows the coiled basket along its transformation on two continents from a simple farm tool once used for processing grain to a work of art and a central symbol of African and African American identity. Featuring images of the stunning work of contemporary basket makers from South Carolina to South Africa, as well as historic photographs that document the artistic heritage of the southern United States, Grass Roots appears at a moment when public recognition of the Gullah/Geechee heritage is encouraging a reexamination of Africa's contribution to American civilization. Working with basket makers from Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, historian Dale Rosengarten has been studying African-American baskets for over 20 years and brings her research up-to-date with interviews of artists and the results of recent historical inquiry. Anthropologist Enid Schildkrout draws on her research in West Africa and museum collections around the world to explore the African antecedents of Lowcountry basketry. Geographer Judith A. Carney discusses the origins of rice in Africa and reveals how enslaved Africans brought to America not only rice seeds but, just as important, the technical know-how that turned southern coastal forests and swamps into incredibly profitable rice plantations. Historian Peter H. Wood discusses the many skills that enslaved Africans contributed to the settlement of the Old South and at the same time used to resist the conditions of their servitude. John Michael Vlach, a leading authority on African American folk art, discusses the history of visual depictions of plantation life. Fath Davis Ruffins, a specialist on the imagery of popular culture, sheds light on the history embedded in old photographs of African Americans in the Charleston area. Cultural historian Jessica B. Harris explores the tradition of rice in American cooking and the enduring African influences in the southern kitchen. Anthropologist and art historian Sandra Klopper sketches the history of coiled basketry in South Africa, illuminating its evolution from utilitarian craft to fine art, parallel to developments in America. Anthropologist J. Lorand Matory traces the changing meanings of Gullah/Geechee identity and discusses its appearance as a significant force on the American cultural scene today. Dale Rosengarten is curator of special collections at the College of Charleston library. Theodore Rosengarten teaches history at the College of Charlestona and University of South Carolina. Enid Schildkrout is chief curator and director of exhibitions and publications at the Museum for African Art, New York.