Overview

The long-awaited definitive work on master wood engraver Paul Landacre (1893–1963), a key figure of California modernism. With his virtuosic prints of rolling California hills, classically inspired nudes, and natural and manmade forms-from a seashell to his own printing press-Paul Landacre elevated wood engraving to a high art form in twentieth-century America. Landacre's ceaseless stylistic innovation placed his work in dialogue with California contemporaries like Edward Weston and Henrietta Shore; he was, in fact, central to an artistic milieu that has been described as a “small Renaissance, Southern California style.” It is fitting, too, that the velvety blacks and dazzling whites of Landacre's prints can recall the images of the silver screen-for the artist's rustic bungalow on a Los Angeles hill was but a stone's throw from Hollywood, and his early patrons and supporters included such luminaries as the director Delmer Daves and the actress Kay Francis. This handsome two-volume set, illustrated with generously sized, high-quality reproductions, offers a definitive catalogue not only of Landacre's individual wood engravings but also of his early linocuts, his celebrated book illustrations, and his experimental works in other media, including painting, drawing, and lithography. Yet this is much more than a catalogue raisonné - the fruit of more than thirty years of research, it brings to life the bohemian world in which the artist lived, and the rich cultural and artistic context of his work. Landacre's prints are already prized by curators and collectors; this landmark publication will give him his rightful place in the firmament of American art. AUTHORS: Jake Milgram Wien is a cultural historian who has curated important exhibitions on Thomas Hart Benton, Rockwell Kent, and Bernarda Bryson Shahn. His writings appear in Print Quarterly, Archives of American Journal, Common Knowledge, Studio International, and The Magazine Antiques. John Bidwell is curator emeritus at the Morgan Library and Museum. Dana Gioia is the former poet laureate of California. SELLING POINTS: . Paul Landacre (1893-1963) is a major American artist, and this long-awaited catalogue raisonné will help bring him the recognition he's due. . Primarily a printmaker, Landacre elevated wood engraving to a high art in the United States. . He was also a key figure in early California modernism, alongside figures like photographer Edward Weston and poet Robinson Jeffers. . This is not just a catalogue raisonné but a beautiful art book, with generously sized reproductions. . Delving into cultural and social history as well as art criticism, it brings alive the artist's bohemian milieu.

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9780789214928

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Reviews

Magisterial. . . Not only is this two-volume catalogue raisonné the finest and most comprehensive study of the artist; the book is so beautiful in its design, typography, and illustrations that it constitutes a work of art in itself.--From the afterword by Dana Goia, former California poet laureate Meticulously detailed. . . A major resource for the understanding and appreciation of this artist.--From the foreword by John Bidwell, former Astor Curator of Printed Books and Bindings, Morgan Library & Museum 'There was nothing small about [Paul] Landacre's vision, ' writes Dana Gioia in his afterword to the two-volume catalogue raisonné of California's greatest wood engraver. 'Despite their modest dimensions, his best prints are monumental and perdurable.' The same might be said of this finely chiseled box set produced by Abbeville Press. Landacre (1893-1963) looked to the open spaces and open possibilities of the landscape of the American West and luxuriated in its sensuous forms. As researched and written by Jake Milgram Wien, with a foreword by John Bidwell, this definitive catalogue covers 350 works while also including entries on Landacre's preparatory studies. --The New Criterion

Author Information

Jake Milgram Wien is a cultural historian who has curated important exhibitions on Thomas Hart Benton, Rockwell Kent, and Bernarda Bryson Shahn. His writings appear in Print Quarterly, Archives of American Journal, Common Knowledge, Studio International, and The Magazine Antiques. Dana Gioia is the former poet laureate of California. John Bidwell is curator emeritus at the Morgan Library and Museum.

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