Books by Mark DeSaussure Mitchell

The Art of American Still Life Audubon to Warhol

by Bill Brown, Katie A. Pfohl, Carol Troyen, Mark DeSaussure Mitchell

An engaging survey of American still-life painting that reinterprets beloved works and introduces lesser-known ones, providing a compelling new synthesis of the subject

The Art of American Still Life reconsiders the development and cultural significance of still-life painting in America, exploring renowned treasures alongside recently discovered works--some previously unpublished--in unexpected ways.

Taking an innovative approach to the genre, this captivating survey newly divides American still life into four discrete eras, each characterized by a predominant form of vision: describing, indulging, discerning, and animating. Works are grouped in "conversations" and explored in accompanying texts to reveal wider cultural meaning. Introductory essays investigate the many interactions between still life and American culture, examining the close connections between still-life painting and other visual discourses, including natural history, illustration, and commercial photography; the roles objects have played in American literature and art; the Philadelphia region's defining and lasting impact on the genre; and the reception of still life in American art and art history.

The first major study of American still life in a generation, The Art of American Still Life is destined to become a standard reference on the subject.

Published in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition Schedule:

Philadelphia Museum of Art
(10/27/15-01/10/16)

The Dance of Life Figure and Imagination in American Art, 1876-1917

by Mark DeSaussure Mitchell, Josephine W. Rodgers, Kelsey Wingel, Bryan J. Wolf

An exploration of the human figure and artistic imagination in public art of the American Renaissance, from the nation's centennial to World War I



In an era of sweeping change following the devastation of the Civil War, an ambitious generation of American artists focused on the human figure in civic art. This richly illustrated publication showcases more than one hundred studies related to major commissions for the Boston Public Library, Library of Congress, Pennsylvania State Capitol, and other key civic institutions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From intimate pencil sketches and clay maquettes to half-scale oil paintings for massive murals, these compelling expressions of ideas in formation reveal how artists such as Edwin Austin Abbey, Violet Oakley, John Singer Sargent, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and others shaped their vision, recorded their influences, and developed a visual language that captivated a divided nation. Thematic sections offer discussions of related works, and essays address wider creative and cultural contexts, from the laboring body in an age of expanding industrialization to the relationship between the natural environment, art, and technology. This timely volume reassesses a neglected chapter in American art and shows how artists engaged with the struggles and forces of their time.



Distributed for the Yale University Art Gallery



Exhibition Schedule:



Yale University Art Gallery

(September 6, 2024-January 5, 2025)