Columbus Museum

American Federal furniture and decorative arts from the Watson Collection.

In the years following the American Revolution, a new style that incorporated colorful veneers and inlays, refined carving, and geometrical shapes transformed designs for furniture and other decorative arts. This volume presents color photographs of some 80 items from the Watson Collection that exemplify this American Federal style. It also features expert commentary by curator and art historian Philip Zimmerman. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Lines of discovery; 225 years of American drawings, the Columbus Museum.

Published in conjunction with a 2006 exhibition, this volume presents 225 drawings and works on paper and a survey of the history of American art from the Colonial period to the early 21st century. Ninety-seven works are shown full-page and are accompanied by full provenance and commentary; numerous smaller images are interspersed throughout. Organization is chronological, beginning with European traditions and ending with postwar modernism and the resurgence in realism. A bibliography of general texts on American drawings and books pertaining to each artist round out the volume. Museum director Charles T. Butler provides a foreword describing the Columbus Museum's active involvement with American drawings, thanks, in large part, to the collecting efforts of Philip L. Brewer (who contributes an essay on collecting). Theordore E. Stebbins, Jr. (Fogg Museum) wrote the introductory essay, and commentary is provided by several contributing art historians. The book measures 11.25x9.25 inches. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)