Matisse: Father and Son

New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1999. Cloth, 415 pages, [48] pages of plates, illustrations (some colour); 24 cm. Tight, clean copy. Dust jacket, price-clipped on front flap, protected in a mylar book cover. OVERSIZE! No priority/air, except by special arrangement. "'Russell brings Matisse and his family to life more vividly and sympathetically than any previous writer. His presentation of the 800 letters between the artist and his son makes for a wonderfully readable and enlightening book. The year's best.' -John Richardson, Picasso biographer 'This book was one long revelation.' -The Art Newspaper. 'Opens another window on the private world of Henri Matisse.' -Vogue. 'Splendid.achieves a special immediacy." -New York Times Book Review. 'It is not often that a great subject is handled by a writer equal to the task, but here we have such an event.' - Art Times The relationship between the great Post-Impressionist artist Henri Matisse and his son, influential art dealer Pierre Matisse (1900-1989), is at the heart of this deftly revealing and moving biography. Pierre Matisse moved from France to New York in his 20s to establish a gallery, where he introduced such major European artists as Miro, Giacometti, Balthus, and Dubuffet to the United States. Renowned art critic John Russell has created a seamless narrative based on exclusive access to Pierre Matisse's vast unpublished archives, which hold 30 years of near-daily letters between father and son as well as a vast correspondence with the artists he represented. The result is an insider's look at the lives and creative efforts of some of the 20th century's most important artists. / JOHN RUSSELL, former chief art critic of the New York Times, is one of this country's most respected writers on the arts. The author of many books, including Abrams' London and Paris, he has been honored by the governments of Britain, France, Germany, and Austria, and is a recipient of the Mitchell Prize for Art Criticism. He lives in New York." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. 8vo.