David Smith: A Centennial (Hardcover)

~ David Smith (Author), Carmen Gimenez (Author), Rosalind Krauss (Author), David Anfam (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Deemed the ìforemost sculptor of his generationî by art critic Clement Greenberg, David Smith, who lived from 1906 to 1965, is about to be celebrated in his first retrospective since 1969--to be held at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, from February through May of 2006. David Smith: A Centennial features new photographs of nearly every selected sculpture--110 pieces dating from 1932 to 1965, including important examples from each period, many rarely seen in public. Essays from writers including David Anfam, Michael Brenson, Rosalind Krauss and Paul Hayes Tucker tackle key areas, such as Smith's relationship to the painters of the New York School, the dual development of his family life and series sculpture through the 1950s and 60s, and his use of the landscape outside his studio in formulating his late works. Perhaps most importantly, David Smith: A Centennial also features the most comprehensive research on Smith yet published, including a newly compiled and extended bibliography; a comprehensive exhibition history; a chronology; and an illustrated checklist tracking provenance, exhibition history, and bibliographic references for each featured sculpture, finally bringing scholarship on Smith to the level of that on other important American artists of his generation, such as Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. David Smith: A Centennial considers Smith's oeuvre as a totality, and offers readers the chance to understand the complexity of his aesthetic concerns as well as his impact on the course of American sculpture, and American art at large.

About the Author

David Smith was born in 1906, in Decatur, Indiana. After spending time at Ohio University and Notre Dame, he moved to New York, where he studied at the Art Students League. In 1931 and 1932 in the Virgin Islands, Smith made his first sculpture from pieces of coral, and in 1933 he began making completely metal sculptures. His first solo show was held at Marion Willard's East River Gallery in 1938. By the late 1950s, The Museum of Modern Art was presenting a Smith retrospective and organizing a major traveling exhibition. Smith died May 23, 1965 in an automobile accident. His work has since been presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 460 pages
• Publisher: Guggenheim Museum; First Edition edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892073438
• ISBN-13: 978-0892073436
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.8 x 6.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #894,889 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I saw the show and NEED the book!, April 11, 2006

By	Marjorie B Levy - See all my reviews

I just saw the show at the Guggenheim and was stunned by the clarity of Smith's vision and how it evolved. He changed the nature of modern sculpture, one work at a time...and gave new meaning to poise, frame, gesture, implication, and force. I looked at the book there and it was just too much to carry back on the plane, from NYC to Seattle, with all of the other books I picked up. So I am pleased to find it here, and for a great price and no shipping cost. I look forward to receiving it and being awed again and again.

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, April 7, 2007

By	Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Here is an overwhelming book on an overwhelming artist. I was speechless when I saw the exhibit, and I remained so when I opened the catalogue. A definite must-have. The book is a comprehensive survey of Smith's career with an in-depth look at his series (especially notable is the uncompleted Cubi series, large-scale works which, due to their size, are rarely seen together and which constitute the apex of the artist's work).
High-quality reproductions (seldom the case with books dealing with sculpture), breakthrough texts...too bad you can't touch the works!