From Publishers Weekly
Artist, critic and wife of painter Willem de Kooning, Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) was both the interpreter and the voice of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Published primarily in Art News between 1949 and 1967, these 28 articles display her acumen and impassioned commitment. Included are a wonderfully personal biographical-critical profile of Arshile Gorky, an analysis of the alchemy of Franz Kline's paintings and perceptive appraisals of artists as diverse as Andrew Wyeth, Stuart Davis, Jackson Pollock and Esteban Vicente. An eloquent 1955 essay on how an artist chooses, or is chosen by, his or her subject seems just as relevant today as when it was written. Slivka, who teaches art criticism at New York University, examines de Kooning's underrated career as a painter, and Luyckx, the artist's sister, provides an affectionate profile. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Elaine de Kooning (1918-89), artist, art critic, educator, and wife of the prominent abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning, receives appropriate recognition in this collection of 28 critical essays, mostly from Art News and previously unpublished sources. Granted access to the studios of her friends and colleagues--Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Buckminster Fuller, and other notables--she provides firsthand observations of their distinctive techniques and temperaments. Her perceptive, witty articles include accounts of her experiences at the innovative Black Mountain College, a commission to paint President Kennedy's portrait, and her husband's influences upon her work. Noteworthy introductions by the author's sister and an associate reveal the personal side of the woman who so intelligently articulated the abstract expressionist movement's ideals. A necessary purchase for contemporary art collections.
- Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
