Jane Livingston

Joan Mitchell (1926-1992) was one of the few women among the first-rank Abstract Expressionist painters. She outpaced all but a handful of her male mentors and counterparts, while only Lee Krasner stands as a possible rival among her female counterparts. Although well regarded by critics, fellow artists, and the general public, Mitchell's achievement has never received full recognition; her work has not been shown in New York for more than twenty-five years. This exquisitely illustrated show more volume and the exhibition that it accompanies restore the artist to her rightful place in the history of American painting. Spanning Mitchell's entire career, from early works of 1951 until the year of her death, The Paintings of Joan Mitchell includes a wealth of breathtaking paintings, both intimate and grand in scale, that reveal Mitchell's fierce dedication to her art and reflect both the struggles and the artistic triumphs she achieved with her distinctive vision of Abstract Expressionism.

Jane Livingston draws on the artist's personal papers, including her journals and extensive correspondence, to provide an illuminating interpretation of the artist and her work. Linda Nochlin, who was a friend of Mitchell, discusses the artist's experience working in a field dominated by men. A third text by Whitney Curator Yvette Lee explores a distinctive and little-known suite of paintings entitled La Grande Vallée, created in 1983-84. Mounted with the full cooperation of the estate of Joan Mitchell, the exhibition contains many paintings rarely seen before--and in some cases never publicly exhibited. This book includes an exhibition history; an extensive artist bibliography of related monographs, reviews, and filmed interviews; and color plates and listing of all the works appearing in the exhibition. show less

Published to accompany the exhibition "Richard Diebenkorn" at the Whitney Museum of American Art 1997-98, this book provides an insight on the artist's work along with numerous illustrations.

The main essay by Jane Livingston provides a biography of Diebenkorn along with a discussion of his work and its progress over the years, it makes fascinating and informative reading. There are two further essays: "Reality: Digested, Transmitted and Twisted" by Ruth E Fine; and "Leaving Ocean Park" by show more John Elderfield in which he considers the aesthetic psychology of the Diebenkorn's approach to his work. The essays are illustrated with the pictures appearing on or near the pages on which they are discussed, and include a few examples of the work of other relevant artists.

The book concludes with a "Selected Exhibition History"; "Selected Bibliogaphy"; and a detailed list of "Works in the Exhibition".

The section of plates occupies pages 116 to 259 and portrays many examples from Diebenkorn's realist period and his abstract periods, including a good number of the Ocean Park paintings. There are 216 illustrations in total: 191 in full colour, 25 duotones; the paintings in the plates section are shown one to a page and the majority are shown as large as the page reasonable permits in this very large format book. The standard of reproduction is good, the colours are vibrant, however sometimes the dark areas of the painting are dense and lacking detail.

This is a well designed and produced book, however I have not had the opportunity to compare it with "Richard Diebenkorn" by Gerald Nordland Richard Diebenkorn, which might be worth checking out. show less

As a photographer, I enjoyed this book and am always looking for ways to improve my craft.

Joan Mitchell (1926-1992) was a leading Abstract Expressionist artist, and, with Lee Krasner, one of the movement's only women painters. Jane Livingston, curator of the accompanying traveling exhibition, uses Mitchell's personal papers to discuss the artist's life and career. Linda Nochlin writes on Mitchell's experience working in a predominantly male field.