The Art of Gambling Through the Ages [Hardcover]

Arthur Flowers (Author), Anthony Curtis (Author), LeRoy Neiman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

This coffee-table art book is one-of-a-kind. From hundreds of portrayals created over centuries by celebrated artists, such as C anne, Picasso, Munch, Leger, de la Tour, Remington, and Neiman, the best 120 were chosen to appear in this provocative visual documentation of the evolution of gambling. Much more than a compilation of subject-specific art, The Art of Gambling is a scholarly look at the history of gaming. Each image is accompanied by a facing page of text, providing readers with a thumbnail sketch of the artist, then zeroing in on the image itself. The renderings, as seen through the artist's eye and preserved on canvas or in stone, serve as a form of "photographic" chronicling that weaves a history of gambling through the ages - for the benefit of art lovers and gambling enthusiasts alike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Arthur Flowers a former research audiologist specializing study of the brain's capacity for speech, learning; language development, Arthur Flowers turned his formidable talents as a researcher toward identifying and locating this vast body of artwork. Flowers is the author of the book Auditory Perception, Speech, Language and Learning. He was Associate Professor of Audiology at the State University of New York at Albany, and Clinical Consultant for the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. A resident of Las Vegas, Flowers is a long-time student of gambling and art, and is an avid art collector. Anthony Curtis is one of the world's most recognized gambling authorities. He has appeared as an expert on "Dateline", "48 Hours," A&E, E! Entertainment, Discovery, and The Learning Channel, and has been the subject of articles in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Los Angeles Times Magazine, among other print media. Curtis is the author Bargain City--Booking, Betting, and Beating the New Las Vegas and is the publisher of the consumer newsletter, the Las Vegas Advisor.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Huntington Press; 1st edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929712900
• ISBN-13: 978-0929712901
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, October 18, 2002

By 

CARDSHARK Online (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Gambling Through the Ages (Hardcover)

This book did not quite meet my expectations. Since I have more reason to criticize I shall start my review by listing the flaws.

First thing that strikes me as a mistake is the fact that the works are not arranged in any order, but rather just thrown in at random. Although the authors make it clear in the introduction that this was done deliberately it still strikes me as a poor decision.

Next, neither one of the two authors is an art historian. Too bad, because a lot of the works merit better descriptions.

In my opinion the authors included too many works by LeRoy Neiman, and at the same time failed to include some very important works of art that should really have been included to make this book complete. LeRoy Neiman also wrote the Foreword, which is fine, except that he made a big mistake in his description of the world famous painting "The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs" by Georges de La Tour. He says, "Women gambling pops up frequently in this collection. Georges de La Tour's painting of a woman being cheated..." The famous painting in question shows a young man being cheated by small conspiratorial group of two women and a man. How could such big mistake slip through the cracks and end up in print? Sloppiness?

While at the subject of La Tour's masterpiece, "The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs". The authors do mention that this painting is a virtual clone of another work by the same artist, "The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds", however they did not include a color plate of the other one. Why not? Furthermore the authors have totally failed to provide an accurate description of this masterpiece. According to the authors this painting is about a cheat switching cards. Yes, a cheat is seen holding out two aces behind his back, however there is more to it; the main foundation for this painting is a moral essay on the three main temptations of the 17th century - women , gambling and wine. A quick glance into a few art books would have made this fact known to the authors.

Although the authors did note that the above-mentioned work was strongly influenced by Caravaggio's "The Cardsharpers", they failed to include any paintings by Valentin de Boulogne, a celebrated artist, also influenced by Caravaggio, and the only one said to come close or even surpass Caravaggio's talent. The two masterpieces by Valentin that should have been included are "Cardsharpers" and "Soldiers Playing Cards and Dice" (aka "The Cheats").

Other paintings that should have been included are works by Theodor Rombouts, such as "Card and Backgammon players" (aka "Fight Over Cards"), and two renditions of "The Card Players". The exclusion of the above-mentioned works makes this book incomplete.

As I had already mentioned, the descriptions of the paintings tend to be a bit incomplete, sometimes inaccurate, and often tend to focus on irrelevant subjects. For example, in the description of "The Dice Playes" by Georges de La Tour, which was painted in 1650, the authors slip away to a description of an event that happened in 1984 when a Texan (unnamed) made a one million Dollar bet at the Craps table, at Binnion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. Although this is undoubtedly a good story, what does that have to do with the painting that La Tour painted in the 17th century?

As an example of an inaccurate description I could mention the Carl Kronberger's "Surprised". At first glance one can see a scene in which three card players, seated under a bridge are distracted by a carriage that happens to be passing over the same bridge. The authors are attempting to guess which three-handed game of card the players could be playing. However, what they failed to notice is that the players are seated on top of their bags, around a make-shift table, and that there is an abandoned fourth bag over which the absent fourth player laid his hand of five cards to rest. Furthermore this fourth player left his wager (a few coins) on the card table. At the same time he is seen begging for change, hat in hand, on top of the bridge, as the rich man seated in the carriage in tossing spare change into the man's hat. The painting obviously shows an interrupted four-handed game, and not a three-handed game, as the authors are guessing.

On the good note, I still find the book interesting. It is probably the best gaming-related art book with good color reproductions. Despite its flaws it is till obvious that the authors did do a substantial amount of research and I do recommend this book for anyone interested in gaming and/or gambling, and art.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appears to be Good, December 21, 2001

By 

Michael T. Johnson (Northeast Harbor, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Gambling Through the Ages (Hardcover)

I bought this as a gift, and I only had time to thumb through it. I figured that I would write a quick note since it has not been rated and others might at least want an idea.

This book is full of interesting and colorful art work. From card games to horse racing it has it all. If you think you will be interested you will like it. I was very happy with the purchase.

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoroughly enjoyable browse for anyone who has ever played a hand of cards, June 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Gambling Through the Ages (Hardcover)

Gambling and gaming have been passionate and popular pursuits throughout recorded history and in every culture. It is also the subject of artist who sought to portray gaming in all of its social diversity. Collaboratively compiled by the team of Arthur Flowers and Anthony Curtis, "The Art Of Gaming Through The Ages" is a beautifully produced collection of drawings, paintings, and sculptures depicting card games played in a variety of diverse settings and cultures ranging from 16th century Europe, to the American frontier, to the modern day. These are museum quality paintings superbly reproduced along with dates, artists, the gallery or museum collection, and a succinctly informative caption. A unique and seminal work, "The Art Of Gaming Through The Ages" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to academic and community library Art History collections, and a thoroughly enjoyable browse for anyone who has ever played a hand of cards.