Books by Jeremy Lewison
Alice Neel: Painted Truths
by Barry Walker, Jeremy Lewison, Robert Storr, Tamar Garb
Spanning nearly seven decades, a comprehensive consideration of the psychologically acute and surprisingly honest portraits of Alice Neel
Widely regarded as one of the most important American painters of the 20th century, Alice Neel is internationally recognized for her contributions to Abstract Expressionism, especially her perceptive portraiture. Neel (1900–1984) was a portrait painter at a time when this was traditionally the role of a male artist. After ascending to prominence in the 1960s as the feminist movement gained momentum, she has remained an iconic figure in the history of American painting.
A self-proclaimed “collector of souls,” Neel often painted friends and family, as well as the celebrated artists and writers of her day, such as Andy Warhol, Frank O’Hara, and Meyer Shapiro, delving into personalities and idiosyncrasies with a rare frankness. Alice Neel: Painted Truths brings together paintings that demonstrate Neel’s range and ability, along with insightful commentary from four leading art historians. Although the book focuses on her portraits, it also covers the artist’s early social realist paintings and cityscapes, tracing the evolution of Neel’s style and examining themes that she revisited throughout her career.
Published in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Exhibition Schedule:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (March 21 – June 13, 2010)
Whitechapel Gallery, London (July 9 – September 19, 2010)
Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden (October 10, 2010 – January 2, 2011)
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Abstract Expressionism
by Carter Ratcliff, Jeremy Lewison, David Anfam, Susan Davidson
The definitive study of the most important movement in postwar American art, now in paperback
Now available in paperback, this is the definitive book on abstract expressionism, with superb color plates of major works by the protagonists of the movement as well as lesser-known figures, and essays by key scholars. Working primarily in New York and San Francisco from the 1940s on, a generation of American artists injected a new sense of confidence in painting, experimenting with improvisation, spontaneity and color. This bold publication reevaluates the movement, making the case that, far from being unified, abstract expressionism was in fact complex and ever-changing. Included here are full-color plates of works by Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Arshile Gorky, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Tobey, Bradley Walker Tomlin and Jack Tworkov, among others. Among the abundant archival materials are images of Hans Hofmann’s famous classes; artists such as Krasner, Frankenthaler, Pollock and de Kooning in their studios; installation shots of some of the key international exhibitions of the era, both internationally and at the galleries of Betty Parsons and others; and photos of famous locations where these artists thrashed out their aesthetic concerns, such as the Cedar Street Tavern. Also featuring a superb chronology of the period, this landmark publication is a thrilling survey of an incredibly energetic moment in American art.
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Helene Schjerfbeck
by Jeremy Lewison, Rebecca Bray, Désirée de Chair, Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff
Though little known outside her native country, Helene Schjerfbeck (1862–1946) is one of Finland’s best-loved artists, and has influenced artists far beyond its borders. Her career, which stretched from the late 1870s to the end of World War II, spanned both impressionism and modernism.
Helene Schjerfbeck is published to accompany a major survey exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of the Arts, the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK since she exhibited in London in 1890. The full range of her exceptional work is presented, with 70 paintings in all genres, including portraits and self-portraits, landscapes and still lifes. With essays about Schjerfbeck’s technique, her social and cultural context and her influence on later artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach, this volume offers a thorough introduction to the artist’s work and legacy.
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