Rediscoveries in American sculpture : studio works, 1893-1939 /

The sadly neglected traditional sculpture of human, animal, portait, garden, and fountain figures, as well as architectural decoration spanning the period from the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 to the New York World's Fair of 1939, is the subject of this book. A succinct yet comprehensive cultural, artistic, and social history of the time is followed by the author's selection of 20 representative sculptors, among them Jo Davidson, Abastenia Eberle, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, Herbert Haseltine, and Malvina Hoffman. For each artist there is a detailed biography, liberally interwoven with the sculptor's work as a running catalogue raisonne that illustrates the artist's development yet leaves readers to make their own critical judgments and assessments. Other than an artist's teachers or immediate peers, the authors rarely cite artisitc or historical influences witnessed in the various scuptures. Lucid and well written, the highly informative text is supported by copious notes, extensive bibliography, and inclusive index. This is a book that has been sorely needed for decades and should be acquired by any academic library. -R. R. Henry, Pine Manor College

Conner and Rosenkranz here intend to showcase the smaller studio works of 20 American sculptors, once widely known for larger pieces commissioned for world's fairs, expositions, etc., whose large public works obscured their studio pieces or whose reputations have simply diminished over time. They largely succeed in reacquainting us with these sculptors. The photography of the sculptures, some in color, is outstanding and essential for placing both the artists and their work within an American tradition of sculpture purchased for the home environment. Showing the shift in scale from conceptions of grandeur to service on a tabletop also demonstrates the creative range of these artists. Recommended for larger academic, museum, and public libraries.--David Bryant, Belleville P.L., N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.