Hudson Hills Press

Charles Biederman.

Artist Charles Biederman (1906-2004) had a long life and a long career during which he wrote 14 books and many articles and created art that attracted the support of Pierre Matisse, Katherine Kuh, and Clement Greenburg, among others. Despite travels in Europe and connections in Paris, he decided to settle in Chicago, and then in Red Wing, Minnesota. This oversize volume (10.5x12.5 inches) features a narrative describing every phase of Biederman's life, photos of the artist, and abundant full-page color plates of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. A friend and colleague of Biederman, Neil Juhl Larsen (1956-2006), initiated the writing but died before completion; Susan C. Larsen, an independent curator based in Maine, completed the manuscript. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Storied past; four centuries of French drawings from the Blanton Museum of Art.

The collection of Italian drawings at the Blanton Museum of Art at the U. of Texas Austin is well known; the Museum's collection of French drawings is smaller and less known. The exhibition organized in 2011, and scheduled to travel to several venues, is a corrective. This volume presents 54 drawings created between the 16th century and 1902. Each is shown full page, with thoughtfully and gracefully written commentary. Three essays support the presentation — on the stories told in the drawings, the history of the collection at the Museum, and the forensic examination of drawings (three case studies in technical observation of works on paper). The volume is oversize: 10.25x11.25 inches. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)