The Essential: Mary Cassatt (Essential (Harry N. Abrams)) [Hardcover]

Georgette Gouveia (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential (Harry N. Abrams) | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

For readers who are short on time, long on curiosity, and turned off by art-world jargon, Abrams presents a series of hip, entertaining books on artists and pop culture.

* A fascinating account of the artist's life and work

* Fresh anecdotes, both professional and personal

* Concise sidebars on major players and cultural and social movements that shaped the artist's work

* Superb, full-color reproductions

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This series is geared to the needs of the armchair art lover eager to broaden his or her knowledge of the art world without having to wade through lengthy and sometimes pretentious tomes. Past titles have focused on artists as disparate as Hieronymous Bosch, John James Audubon, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman, and all have followed a fairly similar formula. Look here for art history "lite," with no indexing and no attempt to appear scholarly but lots of good illustrations. There are stylistic differences among the individual writers, some of whom have better qualifications than others. For example, Chollet's previous writing experiences have been limited to screenplays (Seven Years in Tibet), and the Cassatt book can be maddening because of the author's preoccupation with feminist issues. Sidebars, called "Sound Bytes," include pertinent quotes by or about each artist profiled including a pitch from actor Brad Pitt speaking as an authority on Louis Comfort Tiffany. Given the books' small size (an easily stolen 6" square) and the likelihood that most libraries would already have material on these artists, none should be considered a necessary purchase. Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810958147
• ISBN-13: 978-0810958142
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #890,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Impressionism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting to know Mary Cassatt, September 29, 2011

By 

RE Krause - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential, The: Mary Cassatt (Essential Series) (Hardcover)

Love this little read! It is obvious that the author, Gouveia Georgette, is an admirer of this great artist. An American born of wealthy parents, she becomes attached to the French impressionists - one of two women accepted into the group. Like many, my recollections about Cassatt bring images of women and children. Georgette quickly dispels that one! Cassatt's first success was with genre paintings which show people doing something rather than sitting for a portrait. The first was 'The Mandolin Player' and while it was not the last, two others are equally appealing - 'Bacchante' and 'Torredor'. Except for her renditions of children, her subjects do not look at the artist. Their eyes, their minds and thoughts are elsewhere. I did not like the technique 'Sound Byte' used throughout the book as it doesn't seem to fit the topic of a Victorian artist nor do I always agree with the interpretation of what the subjects might be thinking. However, the works included are enchanting and the descriptions of the works equally so. Certainly Mary Cassatt was an individual and an artist many would have loved to know, including me. RE Krause