Foulk, Ray and Caroline. Picasso’s Revenge: the Art Detective Story.

Medina Publishing, February 2020. c391p. illus. ISBN 978-1911487340 $23.95.

In this ambitious debut novel, father and daughter co-authors Ray (architect, curator, and author on French Art Deco masters and twentieth century decorative arts) and Caroline Foulk (playwright and teacher) set forth “art’s greatest untold story,” the intersection of the lives of two celebrated men around one of the “most influential” but “barely known” paintings. (“Q & As,” Media Pack) In the early 1920s, French couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet (1853-1929), the founder of the renown, immensely- successful, Belle Epoque, Parisian fashion house bearing his name and a pillar of the establishment in France, acquired one of the world’s most shocking paintings, Pablo Ruiz Picasso’s (1881-1973), Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon, a representation of brothel prostitutes. Believing the work had a connection to his former lover Madame Sonia Roux, who died 14 years earlier when her husband poisoned her, the fashion designer embarked upon an obsessive quest to better understand his lover’s death, the painting, and his previous descent in the world of the Parisian surrealists and occultists. Nearly destroying his health, marriage, reputation, financial well-being, and other aspects of his life, Doucet discovered modern art’s incredible genesis and built a Temple of Arts-- his “Studio”-- in his Rue St. James home in a Parisian suburb that showcased the painting and his significant collection of western and non-western fine and decorative arts objects. On his deathbed, he put to “rest his own demons.” (“Synopsis,” Media Pack) While some readers may find this appropriately subtitled “art detective story” to be overly lengthy and difficult to follow for a number of reasons, it has a lot to recommend it. Firstly, it is based upon the lives of real and convincing characters. The authors tried to stay as faithful as possible to Picasso’s story and to all that we know about the real characters of the time, some of whom were quite obscure or unknown. (“Q & As,” Media Pack) Secondly, the themes of the book— relating to unrequited, lost love, a mysterious death, protracted grief, madness, artistic struggle, man’s struggle with God, the occult world, Belle Ėpoque Paris, developments in the fashion industry, avant-garde art, impotency, suicide, scandal, and more (“Q & As,” Media Pack)—make for compelling, fascinating reading. Based upon significant research undertaken by the authors over the course of thirty years and resumed and continued for over a decade beginning in 2005 (Holloway, Cheryl, “Guest Author Interview-Ray Foulk and Caroline Foulk”), this masterful novel by an expert father and daughter team will interest art aficionados, scholars, historical fiction buffs, fashion enthusiasts, architects, and others. It belongs in many large public and some academic and special libraries with extensive or highly focused art book collections. Strongly recommended. Advance Review Copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Medina Publishing.com

King, Ross. Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies.

Bloomsbury. 2016. c407p. illus. bibliog. appendix. index. ISBN 978-1-63286-012-5. $30.00. (hardback) ISBN 978-1-63286-013-2. $19.00. (paperback) ISBN 978-1-63286-014-9. $19.99. (ePub) ISBN 978-1-53666-713-4. $9.99 (audio MP3-CD).

In this nicely-presented and generously-illustrated (58 black-and-white and 20 color reproductions) book, Canadian bestselling author and lecturer Ross King (Ph.D., English Literature, York University, Toronto, Canada) recounts the extraordinary story of how the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) struggled during World War I to paint the series of water lily paintings that came to be known as the Grand Decoration. These paintings eventually were installed in the Orangerie Museum in Paris, France in 1927 shortly after the artist died. One of the world’s most beloved, best-known, wealthiest, and celebrated French painters during his lifetime and afterwards, Monet was an iconic figure in world culture. During the 1890s, Monet began to paint, the flowers, trees, and other objects in his garden in Giverny, France, but it was not until after the loss of his second wife Alice in 1911 and his eldest son Jean in 1914 that Monet returned to painting and began to again vigilantly paint motifs from his garden. Chronicling Monet’s paramount achievement during a period of personal loss, political upheaval, and cultural turmoil, King recounts the personal and historical dramas unfolding around the artist as he created his last, and some would say, greatest masterpiece. In addition to setting forth the details of Monet’s lavish lifestyle, tempestuous personality, and longstanding relationships with family members, friends, and others, including those pertaining to his friendship with George Clemenceau (1841-1929), France’s two-time prime minister, King also retells how Monet was affected by cataracts, self-doubts, advancing age, World War I, and more. Intimate and revealing, this well-documented and scholarly publication by an award-winning (2017 RBC Taylor Prize Winner; Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist), bestselling author of literary nonfiction books about artists and their masterpieces significantly contributes to writings in the fields of art history and cultural history. It is very highly recommended for students, scholars, ambitious general readers, and others. It belongs in many large public, academic, and special library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Coonin, A. Victor and The Florentine Press. From Marble to Flesh. The Biography of Michelangelo's David.

B'gruppo. 2014. c272p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9788897696025 (paper) $25.13. B00LB8AWD0 (kindle ebook). $17.99. 9788897696100 (Nook book). $20.99.

The gigantic marble statue of the biblical King David (c. 1501-1503) by the sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) indisputably is one of the most famous statues in the world. Originally intended to stand atop one of the spurs of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, for more than three hundred years it stood on a pedestal in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria close to the door of the town hall known as the Palazzo Vecchio, where it became a political symbol of Florence and then of Italy. Now an artistic and popular icon of nearly worldwide import, David is acclaimed as a superlative example of Renaissance art created by one of the most gifted artistic geniuses who ever lived. Inspiring millions of people over the course of its centuries- long existence, Michelangelo’s David also may be one of the most reproduced masterpieces the world has ever seen. In this publication, which was crowd funded and produced by means of the assistance of The Florentine Press, Coonin (James F. Ruffin Professor of Art History at Rhodes College, Memphis, TN; Ph.D, Art History, Rutgers University; the author of dozens of articles, essays, and catalogue entries as well as the editor of two books on Renaissance Art), a distinguished art historian who specializes in Italian Renaissance Art, writes the first ever “biography” of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, while attempting to answer the fundamental questions: What makes David so famous? Why does a 500-year-old statue of a religious figure continue to almost universally resonate with viewers? Examining his subject by means of a humanizing approach that adopts various methodologies and gives the statue and its history many lifelike qualities, the author covers the Origins, Adolescence, Maturity, Midlife Crises, and Golden Years of David. Beginning his story of the colossus long before Michelangelo secured its commission and continuing it into the 21st- century, Coonin recounts how what started simply as a monumental block of marble from a quarry in the mountains near Carrara, Italy, became in Michelangelo’s hands an embodiment of human accomplishment, perfection, magnificence, and beauty. Before and following the death of the artist in 1564, the statue endured a precarious existence on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence until it was moved to Florence’s Accademia Gallery of the Accademia delle Belle Arti during the summer of 1873, at which time it occupied what would become a specially- built space called the Tribune. During the 19th and 20th centuries, David came to be widely copied and reproduced. It appeared as and in various forms and media including casts, statutes, advertisements, body tattoos, and other commodities. Its imagery was appropriated, adapted, and/or modified by various groups, causes, and contemporary artists. Today while Michelangelo’s statue has achieved iconic status, it still remains threatened by environmental, physical, social, and other phenomena. Retelling the complete history of Michelangelo’s David up to present times, Coonin discusses all aspects of David's life and many topics, not limited to the statue’s predecessors, symbolism, and naturalism as well as the cultural, political, and social contexts in which it was viewed. He addresses many subjects about David and Michelangelo that still may be considered controversial such as their sexualities and the statue’s nudity. The author also sets forth a considerable amount of information about David’s restorations and the perils that he continues to face into the future. Scholarly yet very accessible and engaging, this noteworthy, well-presented, cleverly- conceived, first publication of its kind to consider Michelangelo’s masterpiece over the course of many centuries and in terms that humanize the statue and consider it as a living art object will be of significant interest to art lovers, students, scholars, and others. It is very highly recommended for many academic, special, and public libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, The Florentine Press

Minardi, Joseph. Historic Architecture in Northwest Philadelphia, 1690-1930s.

Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2012. c272p. bibliog. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-7643-4198-4. $50.00.
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In this very profusely-illustrated publication (744 color and black-and-white reproductions), Minardi, an award-winning photographer and the author of several books on the architecture of Philadelphia (Historic Architecture in West Philadelphia, 1789-1930s; Historic Architecture in Philadelphia: East Falls, Manayunk, and Roxborough), examines the architecture of the Wissahickon Valley and the individuals who made it possible, oftentimes with the locally-sourced building stone known as Wissahickon schist. The author presents brief histories of German Township and the neighborhoods of the Wissahickon Valley, Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. Covering the colonial period to the 1930s and discussing a wide variety of styles and influences, not limited to the Georgian, Colonial, Federal, Second Empire, Romantic Eclectic, and Victorian Eclectic, Minardi provides an ambitious, wide-ranging architectural history and review of 450 structures, many of which are extant and well-preserved. He features churches, inns, museums, residences, schools, and other building types while meticulously documenting his survey with captions, endnotes, a bibliography, and biographies of selected architects and their firms. Overall Minardi’s presentation of the material is thoughtful, well-organized, nicely formatted, and professional. Unfortunately, this publication lacks a good map or maps of the neighborhoods. Scholarly yet accessible, this book will be of significant interest and value to historians, architects, preservationists, residents, and some general readers who may be delighted by its superabundance of contemporary and archival images. It is very highly recommended for large public, academic, and special libraries, particularly for those located in the Delaware Valley region. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Schiffer Publishing

Jaques, Susan. A Love for the Beautiful: Discovering America’s Hidden Art Museums.

Globe Pequot Press. 2012. c288p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-7627-7950-5. $19.95.

In this lavishly-illustrated (more than 250 full-color photographs) guide, Jaques (Bachelor of Arts, History, Stanford University; Master of Business Administration, University of California at Los Angeles), a journalist specializing in art and travel and a gallery docent at The J. Paul Getty Museum, introduces readers to art collections in fifty lesser-known American museums. Covering museums in thirty-one states with “geography” factoring into her selection process, the author showcases “diverse” museum collections that remain “hidden” or “under-the-radar” to many museum goers, even though they may be located on the “beaten path” or in “plain sight.” (p. xii) Not known for their blockbuster exhibitions or encyclopedic holdings, these “unsung,” “largely unknown” museums constitute “collecting” museums that display “extraordinary” art from their permanent collections and “tend to be exceptional in specific areas.” (pp. xii-xiii) They typically offer “unique” art-viewing experiences that are “genuine, intimate, and uncrowded.” (p. xii) Jaques organizes her book into fifteen chapters, each of which features three or four museums that have extraordinary collections in certain areas. She titles chapters: African, Pre-Columbian & Oceanic Art; American Art; Ancient Art; Asian Art; Contemporary Art; Decorative Arts, Design & Craft; European Painting, Eighteenth to Twentieth Century; Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque Art; Modern Art; Native American & Western Art; Photography; Sculpture; Single-Artists; and Spanish & Latin American Art. In each entry for a museum, Jaques describes the museum, its founder(s), buildings, collections, and history. The author also sets forth each institution’s address, contact information, website, hours of operation, and admission fee(s) as well as briefly highlights a few of its “must see” pieces. Of interest mostly to art lovers and travelers, this accessible, artfully- designed, engaging, informative, nicely- written, thoughtful, and well-presented publication by an experienced writer, traveler, and museum aficionado may be read from cover-to-cover and/or consulted by chapter and/or entry. While Jaques’s selection criteria and classification scheme may seem too arbitrary, inexplicit, personal, subjective, and/or superimposed for some readers, this book nevertheless belongs in many public, academic, and special libraries. It is recommended for individual readers as well as for library reference collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com

Stevens, Ann and Kelly, Giles. Diplomatic Gardens of Washington.

Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.. 2012. c128p. illus. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-7643-3978-3. $34.99.

In this generously-illustrated (168 color images) publication, Stevens, a widely published photographer, and Kelly, a retired US dipl

omat and naval officer, take readers on an exclusive, armchair traveler’s tour of twelve embassy gardens in Washington, DC. In twelve chapters, each of which showcases a different garden, they cover the best- kept embassy gardens of Washington, which are rarely open to the public. Focusing on the Ambassadors’ gardens of Australia, Britain, Denmark, the European Union, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Royal Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, Stevens and Kelly provide historical facts about the properties, the Ambassadors’ residences, and chanceries. They detail the unique, cultural and diplomatic histories of the gardens, their designs, features, trees, and plants. Stevens and Kelly illustrate their text by means of color photographs, many of which are full-page and further document the features, trees, and plants of the gardens. Each chapter includes many photographs, with fourteen being the average. Visually engaging, artfully designed, thoughtfully written, and intuitively presented, based upon the organization of each garden within its embassy compound, this book may interest garden lovers, horticulturalists, students, scholars, professionals, and others. Including a one- page foreword by the Executive Director of the United States Botanic Garden, Holly H. Shimizu, a table of contents, photographic captions, and bibliography, it constitutes a sufficiently well-documented addition to the literature on gardens and garden history. As a basic resource on some of the diplomatic gardens of Washington, DC, it is highly recommended for many types of libraries, not limited to large public and special libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

Restemeyer, Virginia and Weiner, E. I.. Hip & Hidden Philadelphia: the Unexpected House in a City of Tradition.

Probasco Haus Press. 2012. c176p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-9766626-2-4. $29.95.

Approaching their subject from two rubrics-- a lot can be learned about the inhabitants of a city from the buildings in which they live and the personality of a city is reflected in the architecture of inhabitants’ houses-- two longtime residents and “flaneurs” of Philadelphia, who write and edit several websites and blogs dedicated to art, architecture, landscape, and the study of placeness (hipandhidden.com , arslocii.com , hipandhidden.wordpress.com , arslocii.wordpress.com), take readers on an armchair traveler’s tour of the “other” Philadelphia, the “other” Philadelphia that can be found “inside” the Philadelphia we know from the news and its towering constructions, including condominiums, apartment buildings, and skyscrapers. Restemeyer—-an artist, designer, publisher, and writer-- and Weiner—-an author, editor, journalist, photographer, and writer-- showcase the “other” Philadelphia that may be characterized as “amazing,” “daring,” “different,” extra-“ordinary,” “hidden,” “one-of-a-kind,” “one-off,” “random,” “subtle,” “subversive,” “sudden,” “unique,” and “unusual.” (Probasco Haus Press Release) They define the “other” Philadelphia as the “hip and hidden” one that defies simple definition (pp. 5-7) yet is comprised of “unexpected” homes in a “city of tradition.” In an introduction and eleven chapters, the authors attempt to reveal houses in Philadelphia that fall outside the norms of 18th, 19th, and 20th century architectural styles and developments evidenced by the familiar brick row houses and twins that can be found throughout the city. Spotlighting nearly 100 properties, all of which are located within the city’s limits (p. 6), Restemeyer and Weiner group the residential structures into chapters according to eleven “hip and hidden” categories they developed while walking the city and researching their book: the Classics, Adaptive Reuse, Incorporated Past, Facelift, Pioneers, Quirky Individualism, House=Site, Artistic Assertion, Modernist Assertion, The Referenced Past, and Unique Comparables. As addenda, in lieu of a back-of-the-book index, they include a Neighborhood Guide, citing the pages upon which houses in particular neighborhoods are discussed, as well as an Architects and Builders List, referencing the pages upon which the works by certain architects and builders are mentioned. Whether the authors successfully fulfill one of their goals to document Philadelphia’s “essential hip and hidden” houses remains to be adjudged by readers, who must grapple with the authors’ categories as well as the plethora of stylistic concepts and terms that they use to present the “hip and hidden” houses in Philadelphia. In need of at least a glossary defining artistic styles and terms, the strength of this publication rests on its original, artful, individualistically- focused examinations of various residential structures in Philadelphia. Each house is described in considerable detail by the authors by means of insightful commentary and oftentimes by three or more color photographs illustrating its features on double-page spreads. Generously-illustrated, with more than 400 high-quality, color photographs, and professionally- presented, with careful attention to design, layout and prose, this publication will interest some general readers, students, and others. A subset of readers, most likely those with little free time to walk through the city and/or those possessing a rudimentary to intermediate knowledge of the city’s complex architectural palimpsest, may find the absence of addresses or even a map documenting the presences of structures frustrating and contrary to the authors’ intentions of encouraging readers to “explore” and “find” the houses in the “general Philadelphia neighborhoods” in which they are situated. (p. 9) Due to its original approach to its subject and its significance as a book documenting the more unusual residential structures in a large, northeastern, American city with a distinguished architectural history, this book is highly recommended for large public and special library collections, particularly for those found in the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region. Purchased review copy. Availability: Probasco House Press and selected fine bookstores

Spencer, Donald D.. Greetings from Sarasota, Florida: Bradenton & Surrounding Communities.

Schiffer Publishing Ltd.. 2009. 128p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7643-3213-5. $24.99

In this generously- illustrated (375 color images) publication, the base of which was formed from the author’s postcard, photograph, and memorabilia collections, Spencer (Ph.D., Computer Science), a renowned educator and writer, who has written over 200 books, many of which pertain to Florida, takes readers on a predominantly visual tour of Sarasota, Bradenton, and their surrounding communities. In the preface and part one of four, Spencer covers the early history of postcards, Florida, and the Sarasota-Bradenton area. In parts two and three, each of which is comprised of three chapters and forms the heart of the book, the author provides overviews of Sarasota and Bradenton as well as showcases their attractions, beaches, bridges, hotels, parks, public buildings, schools, streets, transportation networks, and more. Featured mostly by means of postcard reproductions and their captions, “places to go and things to do,” many of which still exist, include Braden Castle, Bradenton Beach, Cars of Yesterday (now the Sarasota Classic Car Museum), Circus Hall of Fame, De Soto National Memorial, The Gamble Plantation, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Winter Quarters, Lido Beach, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota High School (the future home of the Sarasota Museum of Art), Sarasota Jungle Gardens, Siesta Key Beach, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. In part four, consisting of six very short chapters, averaging three pages each, Spencer sets forth descriptions and images pertaining to nearby communities, not limited to Anna Marie Island, Arcadia, Punta Gorda, Sebring, and Venice. Postcard reproductions are captioned, with their dates and values also noted, thereby making this a valuable resource for collectors. Of interest to general readers, residents, tourists, collectors, and others, this colorful, nicely-presented book, with a bibliography, index, and more, belongs in public and special libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Schiffer Books

Couch, Dale L., ed.. Neighboring Voices: the Decorative Culture of Our Southern Cousins: the Fifth Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, January 29-30, 2010.

Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia. 2011. 111p. illus. ISBN 978-0-9159-7776-5. $25.00.

Marking the occasion of the Fifth Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, hosted by the Georgia Museum of Art in 2010 in Athens, GA, this generously-illustrated (more than 50 color reproductions) compilation of selected papers and commentaries pertains to the theme of “neighboring voices,” the nexus of the decorative arts and craftsmanship in Georgia and its nearby "southern" states. Nine contributors, including art dealers, curators, independent scholars, museum professionals, university professors, and others, present seven essays on pertinent subjects. In his essay entitled, “Georgia on Our Mind,” Robert A. Leath features decorative arts objects and installations that comprise the collections at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Winston-Salem, NC. Carol Crowe Carraco and Linda Crowe Chesnut showcase White Oak Plantation house and its furnishings as they previously existed in Oglethorpe County, GA. Charlotte M. Crabtree discusses the career and works of the Methodist silversmith John Mood (active 1859-1891), who eventually settled in Charleston, SC. Robert Doares and Barbara Wood examine the connections of Haviland porcelain to the Antebellum southern states while Joey J. Brackner sets forth his findings on the influence of Georgians on Alabama folk pottery. Finally, June Lucas presents a recently-discovered, paint-decorated, chest from North Carolina (c. 1850-1860) that bears aesthetic similarities to pieces from the Georgia Piedmont. Dale L. Couch compares the Johnson chest discussed in Lucas’s article to a well-documented, painted Georgia chest (c. 1839) that belonged to Mary Cronic. Filled with colorful photographs, this well- presented book will interest students, scholars, museum professionals, and others. It belongs in large public, special, and academic, research-oriented book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Georgia Museum of Art Shop

Callahan, Ashley. Georgia Bellflowers: the Furniture of Henry Eugene Thomas.

Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. 2011. c107p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780915977772. $16.00

Accompanying an exhibition by the same name, held at the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, GA until the 15th April 2012, this small (8 ¼ X 6 ¼ ins.), generously- illustrated (more than 40 black- and- white and color illustrations), attractive catalog presents the life and work of Henry Eugene Thomas (1883-1965), a Georgia antiques dealer and furniture maker, who rose to prominence during the early decades of the twentieth century, first as an Athens’s antiques dealer or picker and then as a cabinetmaker, restoring and reproducing antiques from the Piedmont area of Georgia for local and nonlocal customers. Known to have shaped the collecting and understanding of the Georgia decorative arts, Thomas became a significant craftsman, who created a recognizable, regional, Colonial revival style from the 1920s through the 1950s. Featuring an essay by independent scholar and guest curator, Callahan, as well as an unpublished manuscript about the artist, written by his only son Jack Thomas, this book, like the exhibition, is the first to highlight the career and works of Henry Eugene Thomas. Among many topics, Callahan sets forth previously unpublished information about the history of the study of the decorative arts in the Southeast and Henry Eugene Thomas’s roles in the Colonial Revival in the Southeast. While showcasing the artist’s works, not limited to his breakfronts, chests, clocks, desks, end tables, cabinets, coffee tables, and more, she seeks to elucidate Thomas’s approach to restoring and reproducing the antiques that he discovered and made as well as contextualize his creations within their aesthetic, social, and cultural milieus. Of interest to students, collectors, museum professionals, scholars, and others, this book also includes endnotes and a Checklist of works and selected ephemera featured in the exhibition. Nicely- presented and well- written, it is highly recommended for large public, academic, and special libraries as well as for Southeastern library collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com

Minardi, Joseph. Historic Architecture in West Philadelphia, 1789-1930s.

Schiffer Publishing. 2011. c192p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-7643-3771-0. $50.00.

For many residents of Philadelphia, PA, West Philadelphia, the area situated west of the Schuylkill River that once was Blockley and Kingsessing Townships, is comprised of a cluster of at least seven neighborhoods, including the Woodlands, University City, Spruce Hill, Cedar Park, Squirrel Hill, Garden Court, Walnut Hill, and Powelton Village. Originally a collection of farms and hamlets along the Schuylkill River, West Philadelphia grew into a streetcar suburb of Philadelphia during the mid-19th century, when it was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia. Today West Philadelphia is a thriving locality, made up of residents, businesses, and esteemed institutions of higher education, not limited to Drexel University and The University of Pennsylvania. In this architectural history of West Philadelphia and the architects who made it happen, one of the first, nearly comprehensive, largely pictorial examinations since the comparable West Philadelphia Illustrated by Vieira M. Laffitte was published in 1903 (p. 5), Minardi, a graphic designer (p. 5), award-winning photographer (recipient of the 2007 Preservation Initiative Award, University City Historical Society), and resident of Philadelphia (inside back book cover), takes readers on a historical, visual tour of West Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and its buildings, constructed between the late eighteenth and early twentieth-centuries. In nine chapters, the author presents brief historical overviews of West Philadelphia’ s neighborhoods as well as more than 500 images illustrating the various architectural structures comprising them. Minardi showcases apartment buildings, churches, charitable institutions, clubs, colleges, housing developments, homes, inns, libraries, monuments, universities, row houses, schools, stadiums, train stations, and more. In chapter nine, the author features alphabetically-arranged biographies of selected architects and their firms. Thoughtfully-presented and very generously-illustrated, with archival images, maps, and many color photographs taken by Minardi, this well-written, easy-to-read, accessible, engaging publication provides an excellent introduction to the historical architecture of West Philadelphia. Sufficiently well-documented, with image captions, including building names, addresses, and styles, back-of-the-book endnotes, a bibliography, and an index, it only lacks a chronology, maps keying the various architectural landmarks on them, an index of buildings by street addresses, and appendices containing suggested, brief, walking or driving tours of the featured neighborhoods, all of which further would have enhanced the subject and the its presentation. Constituting a visual feast of exterior and interior views of many historic edifices in West Philadelphia, this book is sure to delight, inform, and educate Philadelphians, general readers, students, scholars, architects, urban planners, historians, professionals, and others. It is very highly recommended for local and large public libraries as well as for academic and special libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Graham, Wade. American Eden: From Monticello to Central Park: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are.

HarperCollins. April 2011. c480p. bibliog.. illus. ISBN 978-0-06-158342-1. $35.00. Google eBook. $16.99. Kindle eBook. B004IWR37Y. $16.99.

In this publication, Graham (Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature, Columbia University; Master of Arts and Ph.D., U.S. History, University of California, Los Angeles; teacher of urban and environmental policy, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University), a renown, Los Angeles- based garden designer, landscape architect, historian, writer, journalist, and environmental activist, presents a fascinating yet erudite history of American gardens. According to the author, for more than two hundred years, Americans have revealed themselves in their gardens, which have been rooted in time and place and have reflected our national spirit and concerns. To prove his thesis, Graham melds various methodological approaches, including biography, history, cultural commentary, literature, and horticultural studies, into a lengthy, discursive narrative, thereby resulting in a multivalent examination of American gardens and the people who have created them from the eighteenth century to the present. In seven chapters, Graham discusses what he considers to be the various types of American gardens in terms of broad historical categories: the Founding Gardens (1600-1826), parks and suburban gardens (1820-1890), Golden Age gardens (1880-1914), Arts and Crafts gardens (1850-1925), Californian gardens (1920-1960), post-modern gardens (1940s-2000), and contemporary gardens (2000- ). Within each era, he shows how the geometric and naturalistic aesthetic paradigms from the Renaissance and 18th century continued and were modified to suit the tastes of mostly wealthy and middle-class, American-born individuals, who sought to express themselves and their ideals through their gardens. Overall, Graham successfully distinguishes American gardens from their counterparts in other countries. While the author’s thesis that American gardens are unique yet reflective of various aesthetic, cultural, ethical, political, psychological, and social influences may not be entirely new, the original value of Graham’s text rests in its comprehensive, scholarly analysis of the subject and its vast, encyclopedic overview. Well-documented, with endnotes, a bibliography, and an index, this publication may need more reproductions (75 black-and-white reproductions and a 16- page color insert are included), to the extent that they further may illustrate and clarify the author’s main points for readers, who may get sidetracked by his approach. Enlightening, interesting, engaging, and accessibly-written, but not necessarily easy-to-follow, this foundational book, which serves as an intelligent guide to American gardens, will be of considerable interest to some garden lovers, students, scholars, professionals, and others. It is highly recommended for large public, academic, and special library collections. Uncorrected Proof. Availability: Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle eBook, Barnes & Noble.com,Google eBook

Foulkes, Julia L.. To the City: Urban Photographs of the New Deal.

Temple University Press. 2011. c142p. bibliog.. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-59213-998-9 (paper). $24.95. ISBN 978-1-59213-997-2 (cloth). $74.50. ISBN 978-1-592213-999-6 (Adobe Digital Edition PDF e-book). $24.95. Google eBook. $14.72.

As the United States was transformed from a rural to an urban nation during the 1930s and 1940s, many individuals were lured to cities, which became destinations of hope, opportunity, and renewal. (pp. 3-4) Photographers participated in this urban migration that was as much a movement of peoples as a shift in the locus of the American imagination. (p. 5) In this generously- illustrated publication, showcasing more than 100 halftone photographs from the Farm Security Administration (FSA)/Office of War Information (OWI) project along with extracts from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) guidebooks and oral histories, Foulkes, an Associate Professor of History at The New School (PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and the author of Modern Bodies, corrects the commonly held view that the FSA/OWI photographers only were concerned with documenting rural life in the 1930s and 1940s. She shows that the “propulsion to the city” was an equally important theme in their works, many of which captured views of cities, their inhabitants, and happenings. Featuring images by notable photographers such and Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Gordon Parks as well as those by lesser- known ones, Foulkes illuminates the changes in landscapes, habits, and aspirations that the march to American cities encompassed. Dividing her publication into five chapters, organized around the broad themes of intersection, traffic, high life/low life, the city in the country, and citizens, she includes images of intersections, roads, street corners, cars, traffic signs, lights, people, trains, buses, buildings, houses, public places, parks, theaters, stores, newsstands, nightclubs, dance halls, entertainment venues, bus stations, highways, motels, restaurants, summer camps, homes, suburbs, meetings, campaigns, picket lines, demonstrations, support for the war effort, parades, flags, and more. The cities represented span the geographical area of the United States from New York in the North, to New Orleans in the South, San Francisco in the West, and Washington, D.C. in the East. Photographs taken in more than thirty places are compiled by the author in a collection that captures the increasing urbanization of the United States, its cultures, and peoples, who lived in cities, suburbs, and towns throughout the country. Nicely-presented, thoughtfully-written, well-argued, and sufficiently-documented, this easy-to-read, engaging book, consisting mostly of photographs and comprising the series Urban Life, Landscape, and Policy (ed. Zane L. Miller, David Stradling, and Larry Bennett), will be of significant interest to general readers, students, scholars, and others. It is highly recommended for many public, academic, and special library collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Temple University Press (distrib. by University of Chicago), Google Books.

Parvaiz, Kashif. Russia’s Prestige: Historical Architecture.

Outskirts Press. 2010. c412p. bibliog.. illus. ISBN 978-1-4327-6611-5. $34.95. B004DERHDW (Kindle Edition e-Book). $12.99. Outskirts Press e-Book. $5.00.

In this generously- illustrated publication (more than 200 black-and-white reproductions), which is intended to serve as the “starting place” for the “study of Russian architecture” (Foreword, ii), Parvaiz, who owns a construction firm located in Brooklyn, NY (Riyaan Developers), takes readers on a historical tour of Russian architecture from medieval times (988 C.E.) to the present. In eight chapters, organized chronologically, the author describes structures built during various time periods and shows how they reflected the nation’s state of affairs. He presents a wide variety of buildings, including Russian Orthodox churches, gates, kremlins, monasteries, convents, palaces, squares, monuments, prisons, dormitories, hotels, government edifices, and apartment buildings. At each chapter’s end, Parvaiz provides brief biographies of prominent architects of the era and a glossary of seemingly unfamiliar terms used in the chapter. After chapter eight, the author sets forth three additional sections showcasing the synagogues and the religious buildings of Buddhist and Islamic denominations in Russia as well as the stylistic periods of Russian architecture. While Parvaiz’s text may be characterized as easy-to-read, “rich, compelling” (Publisher’s press release), and “evocative” (Foreword, ii), it may need to be better presented. Firstly, the last three sections of this book may be incorporated into the first eight chapters. Secondly, the architects’ biographies and glossaries may be consolidated as appendices. Architects’ names and glossary terms may be boldfaced in the text when they first appear, thereby alerting readers to their entries. Thirdly, this publication’s reproductions should be enlarged and presented in color, whenever possible. Fourthly, this book’s illustrations ideally should reference their sources in their captions or a list of illustrations with photographic credits should be included. Fifthly, a back-of-the book index and a selected bibliography that separates textual sources from photographic ones are crucial. Sixthly, footnotes or endnotes may be necessary, due to the relatively “enigmatic” (Foreword, i), unpublished (Author’s courtesy interview sheets) aspects of Russian architecture and its history. A detailed chronology would be welcome. Seventhly, chapters may need to be distinguished better in terms of their layouts and by means of numbered, clearly-delineated chapter headings. Finally, all grammatical, spelling, and/or typographical mistakes should be corrected. This book will be of interest to students, travelers, art lovers, general readers, history aficionados, and others. In light of the aforementioned, some libraries may want to carefully consider this publication. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Amazon.com (Kindle edition), Barnes & Noble.com, Outskirts Press Bookstore

Toole, Robert M.. Landscape Gardens on the Hudson: a History.

Black Dome Press. 2010. c.192p. illus. bibliog.. index. ISBN 978-1-883789-68-8. $24.95.

In this generously- illustrated (over 140 reproductions) publication, Toole, a practicing landscape architect (1975- , private practice, Saratoga Springs, New York), who specializes in historic landscape study and restoration while also providing landscape design services on a variety of projects, retells for the first time the story of landscape gardening and architecture along the Hudson River during the “Romantic Age.” In fifteen chapters, each averaging eleven pages, Toole covers landscape gardening and architecture along the Hudson River from the end of the colonial era in the late eighteenth century until the last decades of the nineteenth century, a period during which American landscape gardening and architecture were born amidst the Nation’s quest to discover and sometimes assert its unique, cultural, political, and social identities amidst the natural resources and wonders of the American continent. In introductory chapters, the author sets forth the cultural, historical, and literary backgrounds as well as describes some early colonial gardens along the Hudson River, in order to distinguish them from later aesthetic and design components, influenced by but not limited to the Beautiful, Picturesque, and Gardenesque modes. Extensively referencing the writings and works of the landscape gardener Andrew Jackson Downing (1815- 1852) and the architect Alexander Jackson Davis (1803- 1892), both of whom figured prominently in the history of nineteenth- century landscape gardening, architecture, and design along the Hudson River and were notable for helping to establish the Picturesque mode of landscape gardening and architecture in the United States, he then examines specific Hudson River landscape gardens of the Romantic age, mainly focusing on those of Hyde Park, Montgomery Place, Blithewood, Sunnyside, Knoll (Lyndhurst), Millbrook, Kenwood, Locust Grove, Highland Gardens, Springside, Wilderstein, Idlewild, The Point, Wilderstein, and Olana. Not only does the author showcase the significant aspects of each garden’s design, layout, historic buildings, ornamentation, indigenous features, and plantings, but he also distinguishes each in terms of the various aesthetic ideals and influences that shaped its development. Including a list of illustrations, two appendices pertaining to visiting landscape gardens along the Hudson River and in England, endnotes, and a bibliographical essay, this publication is well-documented and thoughtfully- illustrated, with many historic images, not limited to ground plans, photographs, bird’s eye views, paintings, engravings, and other reproductions. Toole uses his own sketches and ground plans to further clarify and enhance the text, which is well- organized and fairly effectively written. Students, scholars, professionals, and some general readers interested in “touring” (Foreword by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, p. vi) the showcased, historic gardens with Toole will be interested in reading this book. As the first comprehensive study of the Hudson River gardens of the Romantic age and their legacies, it constitutes an important, scholarly contribution to the study of garden history in the United States as well as a “feat of garden archaeology” (Foreword, p. vii), since many of the gardens do not exist any longer or are experienced in ways “at variance with the historic situation.” (p. 168). This publication is very highly recommended for large public, academic, and special library collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Book Review: Heinzen, Nancy M.. The Perfect Square: a History of Rittenhouse Square.

Temple University Press. 2009. 203p. illus. index. bibliog. ISBN 9781592139880. $29.50. ISBN 9781592139903 (e-book). $29.50.

For two centuries, Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has captured the hearts and minds of Philadelphians, visitors to the City of Brotherly Love, social climbers, urban planners, novelists, and others. One of the five squares that William Penn (1644-1718) established when he founded Philadelphia in 1681, the southwest-situated Rittenhouse Square developed from a marshy plot surrounded by brickyards and workers’ homes into an urban oasis that evidences its unique and varied history. In this generously- illustrated (more than 50 black-and-white reproductions) and painstakingly- researched publication, with endnotes and a bibliography, Heinzen (formerly a counselor in the Philadelphia School District), a longtime resident of Rittenhouse Square, who enthusiastically is committed to preserving it, provides the first, full-length social history of one of America’s greatest, public, urban spaces. In nine chapters, covering the Square from its beginnings until the present, the author showcases the residents, groups, organizations, and businesses that made the Square a vital place over its continuing lifetime. She sets forth the social, cultural, and political developments that influenced the landmark’s development from a neighborhood on the margins of the city of Philadelphia into a thriving residential, business, and cultural district. Replete with many reproductions, historic photographs, and drawings, this thoughtfully-conceived, coffee table-like publication also is artfully- designed, being sized as a perfect square (8 X 8 in.). It will interest general readers, students, scholars, and others. Highly recommended for many large public and academic library book collections, particularly for those located in Philadelphia and its surrounding regions. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com

Brilliant, Virginia. Gothic Art in the Gilded Age: Medieval and Renaissance Treasures in the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling Collection.

With contributions by Paul F. Miller & others. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in collaboration with The Preservation Society of Newport County, dist. by Gutenberg Periscope Publishing, Ltd.. 2009. c.232p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-916758561. $55.00.

Accompanying a museum exhibition by the same name, being held at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (16th December 2009- 4th April 2010) and The Preservation Society of Newport County (8th May 2010- 31st October 2010), this lavishly-illustrated (over 150 reproductions mostly in color) publication examines the collection of fine and decorative arts objects forming the core of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s Medieval and early Renaissance holdings. Comprising around 350 paintings, sculptures, and works of the decorative arts, including metalworks, wax miniatures, furniture, ceramics, timepieces, painted glass, and cameos, made in Europe chiefly between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling collection originally belonged to Émile Gavet (1830-1904), a Parisian architect-decorator, art collector, and art dealer, who sold 340 pieces in his private museum, near the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, France to Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt (born Alva Erskine Smith, 1853-1933) during 1889 when she journeyed to Paris to purchase furnishings for her summer residence, Marble House, in Newport, RI.. Mrs. Vanderbilt would display the collection in the reception room-library of Marble House, the “Gothic Room,” which became acclaimed nationally and internationally. By 1926, living abroad, having divorced and then remarried, Mrs. Vanderbilt Belmont consigned her collection to the art dealer Joseph Duveen, who sold it in 1927 to John Ringling (1866-1936), one of the world’s richest men. Purchasing the collection for the bargain price of $125,000 (equivalent to about $1.5 million today) (p. 39), Ringling may have been seeking to enrich his winter residence in Sarasota FL as well as expand the Old Master holdings that would comprise his newly formed museum there (p. 45). Featuring an introduction by Virginia Brilliant (Associate Curator, European Art, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL; Ph.D, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, UK) and three essays on the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling collection and its owners, written respectively by Alan Chong (Curator of the Collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA; Ph.D), Paul F. Miller (Curator, The Preservation Society of Newport County, RI; B.A., M.A.), and Brilliant, this book also contains a fourth contribution by Flaminia Gennari-Santori (Curator, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami, FL; Ph.D) and Charlotte Vignon (Associate Curator, Decorative Arts, The Frick Collection, New York, NY; Ph.D), who discuss the practices of collecting Medieval art in America from 1890 to 1940. Additional topics covered in this publication’s essays include, but are not limited to, renown art collectors, their tastes, the aims and objectives of the art dealers and collectors, the arrangement of objects in the private and public collections, the history of Medieval and Renaissance art in American during the Gilded Age, and significant collections of Medieval and Renaissance Art in Europe and America. While the first part of this catalog consists of the aforementioned scholarly essays focusing on the history of the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling collection and its display, the second section showcases the objects that constitute the collection, many of which were previously lost and never published. Signed catalog entries by the previously mentioned and other esteemed contributors examine the objects in considerable detail. They include analyses, color reproductions, and bibliographies. A back-of-the-book bibliography and authors’ biographies conclude this meticulously-researched, beautifully-presented, and noteworthy publication by an international team of experts. Of interest to museum visitors, graduate students, scholars, museum professionals, and others, this first comprehensive study of the Gavet-Vanderbilt-Ringling collection and its display is very highly recommended for large public libraries as well as for academic and special libraries. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Museum Store.

McCann, Patrick. Faces in the Sky: the Gargoyles and Grotesques of Philadelphia.

Blurb. 2009. 36p. illus. NO ISBN. $17.95 (Softcover). $26.95 (Hardcover, Dust Jacket). $27.95 (Hardcover, Image Wrap).

In this small, square book (6 ¾ X 6 ¾ in.), McCann, a bartender from New Orleans, LA., who likes “to take pictures of stuff,” compiles his photographs of the “gargoyles and grotesques” in the city of Philadelphia, “one of the great collections of public art … that mostly goes unnoticed.” Hoping that his publication will encourage passersby to “look up” and “appreciate” the “gems of a nearly forgotten art,” the author provides a brief one-page introduction and sets forth more than two-hundred and fifty images of stone kings, animals, jesters, monsters, dragons, children, musicians, clowns, fair maidens, gargoyles, grotesques, masks, Indians, and other types, all of which ornament various structures in the city, including City Hall, the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University campuses, private residences, and other commercial buildings. While a few reproductions may feature portraits of famous people, such as Benjamin Franklin, others may constitute photographs of purely ornamental forms, thereby perhaps rendering the subtitle of this publication slightly misleading. Each page of images is arranged in groups of four, six, or nine thumbnail photographs, with nine being the most common. Lacking an author’s biography, table of contents, pagination, captions, a selected bibliography, list of locations, map, and an index, this book constitutes an entirely visual study. Some viewers hoping to find the pictured art forms in Philadelphia may be frustrated by the author’s approach. Nicely designed, although its logic and organization may not be apparent, this publication will appeal mostly to general readers and others. It is recommended for some local and large, public library collections as well as for special libraries. Personal copy. Availability: www.blurb.com

Grimberg, Salomon. Frida Kahlo: the Still Lifes.

Merrell. 2008. 175p. illus. photogs. bibliog.. index. ISBN 978-1-8589-4437-1. $45.

In this book, which has been described in the publisher’s marketing material as “groundbreaking” and “indispensable,” child psychiatrist and psychoanalytical art historian Grimberg, who has written extensively on the popular Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) [Frida Kahlo (1988); Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself (2008); I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray (2006))], publishes the first detailed examination of the artist’s still lifes. Having completed about 200 paintings during her short lifetime, 80 or so of which were known to be self-portraits, Kahlo also painted a significant number of still lifes, about 40 of which are documented. Here Grimberg closely scrutinizes and interprets Kahlo’s still lifes, some of which only recently have come to light, in terms of her emotional states and relates them to her private feelings or “musings,” positing that the artist oftentimes projected her thoughts onto the objects she was painting. Grimberg maintains that unlike her self-portraits which served as means for representing how Kahlo wanted to be seen and remembered, Kahlo’s still lifes are “hermetic” and “harder to read.” According to the author, Kahlo’s still lifes functioned as “visual representations” of the artist’s “struggle to master the fear of loneliness and of confronting death.” Grimberg concludes that throughout her life, Kahlo suffered from “separation anxiety” and that this disorder is reflected in her life and works. While Grimberg’s interpretations of Kahlo’s still lifes oftentimes are arresting and convincing, his predominantly psychoanalytical viewpoint subverts other methodologies that could have been used to further decode Kahlo’s complex masterpieces. Chronologically organized and written as a scholarly essay rather than a monograph, this well-documented publication with end notes and a bibliography lacks chapter and topic headings that would have aided readers. Also, Grimberg’s psychoanalytical jargon oftentimes remains to be explained. Otherwise beautifully illustrated, presented, and conceived, this expert study provides a strong foundation for futher study and research. Not the last word on its subject, it nevertheless will prove to be significant, useful, and popular. Highly recommended for academic and large public library book collections as well as for students, scholars, museum professional, and other interested readers. Personal copy. Availability:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com

Scalera, Michelle A.. Cà d’Zan: the Restoration of the Ringling Mansion.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. 2006. c.66p. Ed. by Deborah W. Walk. illus. photogs. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-916758-53-0. $14.95.

In this concise, nicely-illustrated book, Scalera (Chief Conservator, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art) tells the story of the six year, three-phased, $15 million restoration of John and Mable Ringling’s winter dream home in Sarasota, Florida. Known as the Cà d’Zan, the “House of John” in Venetian dialect or the “House of Zany,” the mansion, which today is a museum owned by the state of Florida and administered by Florida State University, was commissioned by John Ringling (1866-1936) and his wife Mable (1875-1929) during the 1920s. Built for $1.5 million, it was designed by the architect Dwight James Baum in an eclectic style and was completed in 1926 with 41 rooms, 15 baths, four stories, and an 8,000 square foot front terrace and dock overlooking Sarasota Bay. It fell into gradual disrepair after the death of John Ringling, when the fate of the Ringling estate continued to be litigated and ownership passed to the state of Florida. In six chapters, three of which provide historical background and three of which describe the conservation efforts in considerable detail, Scalera takes readers on a stage-by-stage, room-by-room tour of the mansion and its restoration projects. While the sections of the book detailing the three phases of the restoration, which started in 1996 and were completed in 2002, are quite technical, the author manages to describe them in attractive and appealing ways. The before and after pictures by Giovanni Lunardi Photography of Sarasota as well as archival photographs further make the text understandable and interesting to general readers captivated by the magnificent story of the restoration of an architectural masterpiece and historic landmark. Including appendices consisting of a floor plan, project donors, restoration facts, a list of companies and professionals involved, as well as a selected bibliography, this publication is highly recommended for academic, special, and large public libraries with research collections in art and architecture. General readers and museum visitors who merely are interested in a room-by-room tour of the mansion may prefer to consult the Cà d’Zan: Inside the Ringling Mansion by Aaron H. De Groft and David C. Weeks (The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. 2004. ISBN 978-0-916758-47-9. $14.95). Personal copy. Availability: www.ringling.org