St. James Guide to Black Artists Edition 1. [Hardcover]

Thomas Riggs (Author), Schomburg Center for Research in Black C (Editor)

Book Description

Series: St James Guide to Black Artists | Publication Date: June 13, 1997

Published in association with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, St. James Guide to Black Artists features biographical and career information, as well as brief critical essays, on nearly 400 of the most prominent black artists. Approximately 75 percent of the artists profiled were alive at the time of publication. Also included are a small number of important artists from the nineteenth century.

All the entrants in the book are visual artists who work primarily as painters, sculptors and printmakers. But important artists in other media, such as photography, have also been included. Though the great majority of the entrants are from the U.S., about 100 are from Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and elsewhere. Each entry provides:

• Biographical and career information
• Selected exhibitions
• Collections
• Publications
• Comments by the artist (when available)
• A signed, critical essay by an authority in the field

Illustrating the book are 300 photographs of artists and their works. Other value-added features include a selected bibliography on black artists as well as medium, nationality and illustration indexes. (19980901)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An essential acquisition for all art and academic libraries, and highly recommended for general public library collections."
-- Library Journal (09-15-97) (19980201)

"Unique not only in its depth of coverage but its inclusion of a number of artists from Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and other countries that have not had good coverage. Highly recommended for all larger academic and public libraries with specialized collections. And at the same time it should be of value for smaller academic, public, and school libraries that wish to select a good biographical source for black artists."
-- ARBA 1998 (19980116)

"Unique not only in its depth of coverage but its inclusion of a number of artists from Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and other countries that have not had good coverage. Highly recommended for all larger academic and public libraries with specialized collections. And at the same time it should be of value for smaller academic, public, and school libraries that wish to select a good biographical source for black artists."
-- ARBA 1998

(19971015)

"College and university libraries and large public libraries need this survey of black artists."
-- CHOICE (February 1998) (19970901)

One of the "most valuable additions to our branch collections" list. [One of only 25 titles selected by New York Public Library for its annual (1998)].

"Covers all the historically important artists highlighted in these tow books [Lewis' American Art and Artists and Bearden and Henderson's A History of African American Artists], as well as many contemporary black artists these two books do not mention."
-- RBB/Booklist (October 15, 1997)

"Ground-breaking. Providing biographical and critical information on underrepresented black artists from around the world. That the St. James Press has produced another authoritative, high-quality guide in the arts is no surprise; what is startling, however, is that even at this late date the book has no real competitor."
-- Rettig on Reference (September 1997)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 625 pages
• Publisher: St. James Press; 1 edition (June 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558622209
• ISBN-13: 978-1558622203
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,692,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Art Collector's Dream, June 18, 2000

By 

Richard D. Weedman (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: St. James Guide to Black Artists Edition 1. (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding educational and resource book for those interested in collecting or learning about African American Art as well as works by Black artists from other countries. While many important and well known African-American artists are not included, it remains an essential resource for the serious collector. The format affords the reader the ability to learn of the education and exhibition history of the artist along with noting the artist's inclusion in various collections. A biogrpahical review and comment on each artist is extremely helpful.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, July 8, 2002

By 

Kirsten Buick (Albuquerque, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: St. James Guide to Black Artists Edition 1. (Hardcover)

The biographical dictionary is an important first resource for scholars beginning a project on an artist and/or for people curious about a particular subject. I am disappointed to say that the entry on Edmonia Lewis has been plagiarized. It is a matter of public record now since I have gone through a very costly and torturous trial in Federal Court. My article, first published in 1995 in the journal "American Art" was later anthologized under the bibliographic reference Kirsten P. Buick, "The Ideal Works of Edmonia Lewis: Invoking and Inverting Autobiography," Milroy and Doezema, eds. Reading American Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. The woman who wrote the entry plagiarized my work from the original 1995 publication and did not cite me in her bibliography at all. Meanwhile, the press was uncooperative and refused to include an errata sheet. I had to take them to court. After years of heartache I won the suit June 28, 2002. I just wanted to set the record straight for all who may purchase this work.