Barnett Newman [Hardcover]

Ms Ann Temkin (Editor), Ann Temkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Barnett Newman (1905-1970) was one of the most profound and influential artists of the twentieth century. A master of expansive spatial effects and evocative color, he pioneered painting that was both abstract and emotive, suffused with powerful philosophical and spiritual meaning. This landmark book surveys the breadth of Newman's career from his founding role in the New York School in the 1940s to his key influence on both minimalism and conceptual art in the 1960s. Featuring more than 100 of his paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures, the book also offers significant new scholarly findings based on the archives of the Barnett Newman Foundation. Despite the apparent simplicity of his signature, the "zip," Newman's art is richly complicated and unexpectedly diverse. His works include such masterpieces as Onement 1 (1948), the series Stations of the Cross (1958-66), and the monumental sculpture Broken Obelisk (1967). Each work of art in this book is reproduced in full color and accompanied by its own entry. A comprehensive chronology of the artist's life based on new documentation, a selected bibliography, and a selected exhibition history complete the volume.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Time has served to make the laconic visual language of Barnett Newman (1905-70) ever more enigmatic. While the size of his paintings grants them powerful presence, and they fairly throb with voluble potential, Newman's specific messages remain decidedly unspoken. Temkin, curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Richard Shiff (C‚zanne and the End of Impressionism) do much to give these works a distinct historical voice. They also illuminate Newman himself, the man who, though a forceful figure in the art world, was often eclipsed by his contemporaries Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. Intended to accompany the first retrospective exhibition of Newman's work since the 1970s (at the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art until this July), the catalog provides a rich reconstruction of Newman's life, placing special focus on his early curatorial synergy with Betty Parsons, his related efforts to promote the artists we now recognize as the New York School, and the strong principles that informed the appearance of his paintings and sculptures. A detailed, picture-rich chronology follows the catalog. Recommended for all art collections. Savannah Schroll, Smithsonian Institution Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Newman (1905-70), the son of Jewish Polish immigrants, worked slowly and contemplatively, unlike his frenzied friend, Jackson Pollock. He made a modest number of paintings and had few major exhibitions, yet by virtue of his "shockingly minimal" paintings and eloquently radical theories about art (he was as loquacious as his paintings were quiet), was a phenomenally influential creative force. Curator Temkin, whose last book resurrected the painter Alice Neel, oversaw the first-ever posthumous retrospective of Newman's work, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and put together this marvelously evocative catalog in which stunning reproductions are matched with biographical and critical essays and other valuable documentation. Temkin and her contributors illuminate the thought and emotion that went into Newman's deceptively simple paintings, large fields of deep, textured color dramatically divided by vertical lines, or "zips." Newman's restrained yet vibrant paintings are just the sort of modern art people love to mock--in fact, he drolly collected cartoons poking fun at abstract painting--but his work, essential and transcendent, embodies a genuine quest for liberty and spiritual insight. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1st Ed. edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300094299
• ISBN-13: 978-0300094299
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 10.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest art books ever written., January 20, 2001

By 

John Veltheer (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barnett Newman (Hardcover)

Armin Zweite's chronology of the life and work of Barnett Newman is absolutely fantastic. Written in a compact style hitherto unknown by art commentators the book flows from one anecdote to another. Complete and well referenced, the book is as complete as one would wish without ever being overbearing. Given the limited scope of Newman's work I would have hope that all prints were in color but alas only about 50% are color. Still the works are presented logically and connections are made throughout the book. HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended for anyone. HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended for the abstract art enthusiast.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great catalogue, April 8, 2007

By 

Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barnett Newman (Hardcover)

Apart from the Catalogue Raisonné, this is the best contribution to the understanding of Newman's work in recent years. It is the catalogue for an exhibition held at the National Gallery in London and, therefore, carries no surprise: All the masterpieces are there, arranged in a chronological order, beautifully illustrated and accompanied by an enlightening text.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive Barnett Newmann overview, March 15, 2010

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Ivor E. Zetler (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barnett Newman (Hardcover)

As the saying goes "you need to have a gimmick if you want to get ahead". Well, for Barnett Newmann, a major figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement and a precursor of Minimalism, the gimmick was the "zip"; a vertical line dividing the canvas. This feature is observed in many of his later works. Opinions are divided about Newmann's work. Clement Greenberg was an early enthusiast, Robert Hughes however is far less enthusiastic. Hughes caustically observes that "this minimal form came to be invested with powers one might hesitate to attribute to Paradise Lost or Beethoven's Ninth Symphony".

This volume, a catalogue of an exhibition held in Philadelphia in 2002, gives a comprehensive overview of Newmann's life and artistic output. The book begins with scholarly essays about Newmann and his work. This is followed by color illustrations of 109 exhibits. These are mainly paintings but there are a few sculptures and etchings. It is very interesting to observe the development in Newmann's painting style over the course of time. This book is is very well printed with high quality full page illustrations. This catalogue would serve very well as a comprehensive Barnett Newmann overview.