Alias Olympia, A Woman's Search for Manet's Notorious Model and Her Own Desire  •  Eunice Lipton BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES Not just another naked woman in a painting (to quote the author), Victorine Meurent figured in nine of Manet's paintings during the years 1862-1874, bewildering contemporary audiances with her frank gaze. Lipton, an art historian with feminist flair, combines biography, art history and memoir in this intriguing detective story. (FRN220, $17.95)
Art Book Van Gogh: A Profound and Tormented Genius - His Life in Paintings  •  Anna Torterolo ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES A colorful survey of the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh in the always-appealing DK style. While the text is informative, the focus here is the wonderful color reproductions. (NTH51, $12.95)
Artists and their Museums on the Riviera  •  Alan Halpern  •  Barbara F. Freed GUIDEBOOK •  1998 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES For a good part of the 20th century, the French Riviera was home to some of Europe's most celebrated artists. This book covers 28 museums on the Riviera, discussing the works of such masters as Picasso, Renoir, Matisse and Cocteau. Museum hours, telephone numbers and historical information are combined with black-and-white and color photographs of many of the works you will see. (FRN133, $19.95)
Cezanne  •  Mary Tompkins Lewis ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A well illustrated introduction to Cezanne's life and works in the stimulating Art and Ideas series by Phaidon. Lewis highlights the influence of 19th-century French society and Provence in particular, on Cezanne's art. With 193 color and 13 black and white illustrations, a chronology, glossary and suggestions for further reading. Lewis is a professor of art history at Trinity College. (FRN508, $19.95)
Cezanne in Provence  •  Evmarie Schmitt ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 117 PAGES A compact overview of Cezanne with a focus on his images of Provence, featuring color reproductions of 50 oil and watercolor paintings. With commentary introducing his life and works. (FRN507, $9.95)
Cezanne, Father of 20th Century Art  •  Michel Hoog  •  Rosemary Stonehewer ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1994 •  PAPER  • 175 PAGES A pocket-size biography of Cezanne, this volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series discusses the Impressionist's monumental influence on the development of 20th-century art. It features many color illustrations and excerpts from the artist's letters and other writings. (FRN168, $12.95)
The Chronicle of Impressionism  •  Bernard Denvir ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES The personal lives of artists such as Monet and Manet are captured within the historical context of the Impressionism movement in this illustrated history. (FRN230, $29.95)
Claude Monet  •  William Seitz ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1983 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES A short survey of Monet's greatest works, with analysis of individual paintings and 48 color plates. (FRN249, $24.95)
Claude Monet, The Color of Time  •  Virginia Spate ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A critically lauded analysis of Monet and his art. Professor Virginia Spate provides in-depth interpretations of individual works, taking into account technique, the evolution of themes and styles, historical and biographical information, exhibition, reception, and letters written by Monet, himself. What results is an impeccably researched, convincing and beautifully illustrated overview of a much more complex artist than previously thought. (FRN311, $39.95)
The Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh  •  Vincent Van Gogh BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 1864 PAGES A handsome three volume set containing all the available letters written by Vincent Van Gogh. Mostly addressed to his brother Theo, these are an illuminating glimpse into the life of an artist and a heart-breaking account of mental illness. A replica of the set published in the 1950s by the New York Graphic Society, this is the most comprehensive collection available, illustrated with reproductions of all the original drawings that appeared in the letters. It is a "must-have" for all Van Gogh enthusiasts. (NTH35, $100.00)
Degas  •  Keith Roberts ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES A quick illustrated survey of Degas' work in "The Colour Library" series published by Phaidon. (ART26, $9.95)
Degas and the Dance  •  Jill Devonyar  •  Richard Kendall ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 304 PAGES A gorgeous exhibition catalog and the most comprehensive collection of Degas' portraits of dancers. Obviously, the paintings are all here, but so too are the pastels, drawings and sculptures. (ART27, $49.95)
Degas, Impressions of a Great Master  •  Gerhard Gruitrooy ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES An attractive portfolio of Degas' best works. (ART25, $16.98)
Eyewitness Art: Monet  •  Jude Welton ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 64 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A slim, oversize biography of the painter, targeted to middle schoolers and featuring hundreds of drawings and color reproductions of Monet's most famous work. (GEN192, $15.99)
Eyewitness: Impressionism  •  Jude Welton ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 64 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A visual survey of Impressionism for kids ages 9-12, including hundreds of images and ingeniously arranged facts. (GEN194, $15.99)
Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Renaissance and Modern Art  •  Fred S. Kleiner  •  Helen Gardner  •  Horst De la Croix  •  Richard G. Tansey ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 624 PAGES A classic college text, now in its 10th edition. (GEN214, $68.00)
Gauguin  •  Robert Goldwater ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES A nice series of 116 reproductions of Gauguin's major works, nearly half of which are in color. Paintings, woodcuts and letters by the artist are all represented. (FRN281, $19.95)
Gauguin Tahiti  •  Francoise Cachin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 372 PAGES This illustrated catalog features gorgeous reproductions and authoritative essays on Gauguin and his time in Tahiti. With 260 color and 80 black-and-white illustrations of paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints and sculptures. (PAC92, $65.00)
Gauguin's Skirt  •  Stephen F. Eisenman HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES A fascinating (if rather academic) look at colonialism, sex and death in colonial and present-day Tahiti, the seat of so many European fantasies. With 110 reproductions (seven in color) of Gauguin's works and of photos circa 1900. (PAC95, $24.95)
Gauguin, The Quest for Paradise  •  Francoise Colchin BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1993 •  PAPER  • 195 PAGES Concise and beautifully illustrated, this overview of the artist, his work and life features a significant section on his time in Tahiti. The book includes many paintings as well as excerpts from his journals and other writings. Part of the acclaimed "Discoveries" series. (PAC27, $12.95)
The Hermitage, Masterpieces  •  Scala Masterpieces ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 157 PAGES A slim guide to the extraordinary collection, this little book, featuring 80 color reproductions, is an excellent overview of what to see at the Hermitage. (RUS90, $29.95)
Impressionism  •  James Henry Rubin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 446 PAGES An excellent illustrated survey of Impressionism in the "Art and Ideas" series. (FRN223, $24.95)
Impressionism, Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society  •  Robert L. Herbert ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 324 PAGES A magnificently illustrated social history, this book shows the cafes, opera houses, dance halls and other places of entertainment and leisure that inspired the great Impressionist paintings. He brings mid 19th-century Paris to life with his insightful analysis and in 240 well chosen color illustrations. Scholarly and well written. (FRN117, $35.00)
Impressionism: Origins, Practice, Reception  •  Belinda Thomson ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A short, readable account of the French Impressionist movement and its most notable artists, illustrated with color reproductions. Part of the "World of Art" series, this book's thoughtful analyses of individual works are illuminated by solid historical and cultural background. (FRN310, $16.95)
Letters of Vincent Van Gogh  •  Vincent Van Gogh  •  Mark Roskill ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER A glimpse into the mind of tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh, this collection of his letters is a fascinating, often sad view of his thoughts on life and art. Most of the letters are written to his brother Theo, who supported Vincent up until his tragic suicide. (NTH22, $14.00)
The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (Penguin Classics)  •  Vincent Van Gogh  •  Ronald De Leeuw  •  Arnold Pomerans ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 560 PAGES There are many versions of Van Gogh's letters, but this one, part of the "Penguin Classics" series, is as good as any, a thorough selection of writing that highlights the artist's love for his art and family. (NTH52, $16.00)
Letters on Cezanne  •  Rainer Maria Rilke  •  Joel Agee ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 84 PAGES • FAVORITE The great German poet discovered the art of Paul Cezanne during a Parisian sojourn in 1907, just two years after the artist's death. "All reality is on his side," Rilke wrote of Cezanne's paintings. This collection of short letters, written by Rilke to his wife Clara, is often cited as among the most insightful works of western art criticism. The letters chronicle Rilke's daily pilgrimage to a Cezanne exhibition at a gallery in Paris over the period of one year. Rilke's distinctively poetic language and attention to detail make this collection a brilliant and beautiful meditation on Paris, art, and life. (FRN300, $13.00)
Lust for Life  •  Irving Stone LITERATURE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 487 PAGES Emotionally charged, controversial and utterly readable, this well known, fictionalized biography probes the life of Van Gogh from his auspicious beginnings as a London art dealer to his death at 37. A real page-turner, this novel evokes the painter's struggles with madness and poverty. (NTH18, $17.00)
Mary Cassatt, Painter of Modern Women  •  Griselda Pollock ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES This fully illustrated monograph in the "World of Art" series traces the life, art and influence of Cassatt, the American painter who became a "French" impressionist. The author, a renowned art critic and feminist, teaches at the University of Leeds. (FRN303, $18.95)
The Masterpiece  •  Emile Zola LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 428 PAGES Zola's novel tells of the downfall of a painter in 19th-century Paris, based on his childhood friend Cezanne. This classic is evocative of the artistic life in turn-of-the-century France. It was also the novel that would end their friendship. (FRN227, $12.95)
Masterpieces in the J. Paul Getty Museum: Paintings  •  Getty Trust Publications ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES Published by the Getty Trust this volume illustrates and describes the greatest paintings in the museum's collection, including the work of Masaccio, Mantegna, Breughel, Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne. (CAL24, $22.50)
Monet, the Ultimate Impressionist  •  Sylvie Patin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 175 PAGES A pocket-size biography of Monet, this volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series traces a revolution in painting brought about by Monet and the other impressionists. It features over 250 illustrations and a full account of Monet in Paris and Giverny. With excerpts from the artist's letters and other writings. (FRN35, $12.95)
Moon and Sixpence  •  Somerset Maugham LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES Maugham's well regarded 1919 novel, inspired by the life of Gauguin. It's the powerful story of a man who relinquishes his family to pursue his dream of becoming a painter, eventually moving to the South Pacific. Like Gauguin, his sensual paintings are never appreciated in his lifetime. (PAC16, $12.00)
Noa Noa, The Tahiti Journal  •  Paul Gauguin  •  John Miller CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 168 PAGES Gauguin's journals from Tahiti, originally published by the author in 1919. His French publishers thought the material was too racy. With gorgeous reproductions of watercolors and etchings alongside the artist's impressions of two years in French Polynesia. (PAC13, $19.95)
Paul Cezanne  •  Meyer Schapiro ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1988 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES A short analysis of the Impressionist painter Cezanne and his work, from a noted art historian. It contains 100 illustrations (40 in color). (FRN250, $24.95)
Paul Gauguin ,1848-1903: The Primitive Sophisticate  •  Ingo F. Walther ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 95 PAGES In this short, illustrated introduction to Gauguin and his paintings, color reproductions are paired with commentary on the works. (FRN280, $9.99)
Post-Impressionism  •  Bernard Denvir ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES The Post-Impressionist work of Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne helped usher in the modern art of the early and mid-20th century. This illustrated volume in the "World of Art" series looks at Post-Impressionism and how it was a bridge between French Impressionism and the art movements that followed. (FRN279, $14.95)
Renoir, My Father  •  Jean Renoir BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 437 PAGES The director of such cinematic masterpieces as The Rules of the Game and Grand Illusion, Jean Renoir was also an accomplished writer and a devoted son. His portrait of his father Pierre-Auguste remains the standard biography of the Impressionist master -- personable, informative and supremely affectionate. With 12 color plates. Originally published in 1958. (ART10, $18.95)
Sisley  •  Alfred Sisley  •  Richard Shone BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES A survey of the life and work of Alfred Sisley, one of the principle advocates of Impressionism. The book examines some of Sisley's most cherished landscape paintings, from snow scenes in the Paris suburbs to regattas on the Thames. With discussions on his early death as well as the unjustifiable neglect of his work. (FRN243, $35.00)
Van Gogh and Gauguin, Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams  •  Bradley Collins ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 264 PAGES A scholarly study by a art historian of Gauguin and Van Gogh, focusing on the time they spent together in Arles. Not just for the specialist, Bradley's psycho-biography is vividly written and persuasive. The two painters were close friends, but held different philosophies on art, which lead to many clashes that served as a great influence on each man's paintings. With a few illustrations. (FRN283, $30.00)
Van Gogh and Gauguin, The Search for Sacred Art  •  Debora Silverman ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 512 PAGES Art historian Debora Silverman analyzes the paintings of Van Gogh and Gauguin in relationship to their religious backgrounds and beliefs, offering fresh insight into some of the works they produced while living together in Arles. (FRN274, $60.00)
Van Gogh in Arles  •  Alfred Nemeczek ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES This short book is a very fine narrative account of Van Gogh's year in Arles and the work that he produced there, complemented by 66 color illustrations. (FRN248, $9.95)
Vincent Van Gogh, The Passionate Eye  •  Pascal Bonafoux ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 175 PAGES • FAVORITE From Paris to Asnieres, Amsterdam and "dazzling Provence," this jewel of a book traces the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh, the spirited, self-destructive painter who celebrated the golden light of the south of France. With hundreds of color and archival photographs. A volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series. (FRN29, $12.95)
The Yellow House, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side  •  Susan Goldman Rubin  •  Joseph A. Smith ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) An illustrated book depicting the two months Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin spent together in Provence. Intended for children, but appropriate for anyone with an interest in the painters and their friendship. (FRN285, $18.95)