Overview

This is the quintessential guide to the work of American artist Prentiss Taylor. Throughout his artistic career, lithographer Prentiss Taylor found his subject matter in the broadest spectrum. Many of his lithographs are autobiographical; reflecting his loves, interests, concerns, background, and hopes. Many of them also reflect Taylor’s interest and engagement in the cultural panoply of American history and culture and his profound insight into mankind’s capacity for good and evil, its talents to create through architecture, industry, music and religion, and its ability to destroy through war, prejudices, and injustice. Taylor began his study of lithography in 1931 at the Art Students League in New York City. ""With the first magic feeling of the crayon working in the fine grain of stone, I knew I was at home in lithography,"" the artist was to later write. Taylor’s first lithograph was ""Negro Head,"" composed in 1931. His last composition was ""Church at Trampass,"" composed in 1983. In his 52 years as a lithographer, Taylor created 137 lithographs – many of which follow the parameters of realism. Taylor was involved in and influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and collaborated with Langston Hughes, illustrating the poet’s volume: The Scottsboro Poems. Taylor also traveled extensively, particularly in the American Southwest and Mexico, whose landscapes and culture heavily flavor and influence his perspective. This splendid catalogue raisonne of Taylor’s lithographs is an important contribution to the growing body of resource materials documenting the history of America’s graphic arts and artists of the twentieth century. Along with a selection of 142 lithographs by the artist, are six essays discussing the artist’s life and work, a chronology, list of public collections and exhibitions, and bibliography.

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9780823216727

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Reviews

Taylor was a well-known American printmaker in the thirties and forties. He was a young regionalist who, unlike Curry and Grant Wood, traveled the country, so he covered Charleston, SC, for example, as well as Roxbury, MA. Along with writer Carl Van Vechten, he was one of the few white artists to be involved with the Harlem Renaissance, and he collaborated with Langston Hughes on the printing of illustrated books and pamphlets; the latter Hughes sold at lectures he gave at black colleges. This is a thorough catalogue raisonne with an index of print titles, selected bibliography, exhibition list, and annotated bibliography. The essays tend to be anecdotal and admiring. It is hard to understand why Taylor should have this elaborate treatment when many far more sophisticated and influential printmakers (such as Gabor Peterdi) have not. This book belongs in libraries that have special collections on printmaking. It is perhaps of interest to American art history students, since the essay by Bruce Kellner gives some interesting background to the Harlem Renaissance. Professional. * —Choice *

Taylor was a well-known American printmaker in the thirties and forties. He was a young regionalist who, unlike Curry and Grant Wood, traveled the country, so he covered Charleston, SC, for example, as well as Roxbury, MA. Along with writer Carl Van Vechten, he was one of the few white artists to be involved with the Harlem Renaissance, and he collaborated with Langston Hughes on the printing of illustrated books and pamphlets; the latter Hughes sold at lectures he gave at black colleges. This is a thorough catalogue raisonne with an index of print titles, selected bibliography, exhibition list, and annotated bibliography. The essays tend to be anecdotal and admiring. It is hard to understand why Taylor should have this elaborate treatment when many far more sophisticated and influential printmakers (such as Gabor Peterdi) have not. This book belongs in libraries that have special collections on printmaking. It is perhaps of interest to American art history students, since the essay by Bruce Kellner gives some interesting background to the Harlem Renaissance. Professional. GCoChoice

Taylor was a well-known American printmaker in the thirties and forties. He was a young regionalist who, unlike Curry and Grant Wood, traveled the country, so he covered Charleston, SC, for example, as well as Roxbury, MA. Along with writer Carl Van Vechten, he was one of the few white artists to be involved with the Harlem Renaissance, and he collaborated with Langston Hughes on the printing of illustrated books and pamphlets; the latter Hughes sold at lectures he gave at black colleges. This is a thorough catalogue raisonne with an index of print titles, selected bibliography, exhibition list, and annotated bibliography. The essays tend to be anecdotal and admiring. It is hard to understand why Taylor should have this elaborate treatment when many far more sophisticated and influential printmakers (such as Gabor Peterdi) have not. This book belongs in libraries that have special collections on printmaking. It is perhaps of interest to American art history students, since the essay by Bruce Kellner gives some interesting background to the Harlem Renaissance. Professional. * -Choice *

Taylor was a well-known American printmaker in the thirties and forties. He was a young regionalist who, unlike Curry and Grant Wood, traveled the country, so he covered Charleston, SC, for example, as well as Roxbury, MA. Along with writer Carl Van Vechten, he was one of the few white artists to be involved with the Harlem Renaissance, and he collaborated with Langston Hughes on the printing of illustrated books and pamphlets; the latter Hughes sold at lectures he gave at black colleges. This is a thorough catalogue raisonne with an index of print titles, selected bibliography, exhibition list, and annotated bibliography. The essays tend to be anecdotal and admiring. It is hard to understand why Taylor should have this elaborate treatment when many far more sophisticated and influential printmakers (such as Gabor Peterdi) have not. This book belongs in libraries that have special collections on printmaking. It is perhaps of interest to American art history students, since the essay by Bruce Kellner gives some interesting background to the Harlem Renaissance. Professional. * -Choice *

Author Information

Ingrid Rose is a member of the Washington Print Club. Roderic Quiroz, a print collector

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