Arthur Wesley Dow and the American Arts and Crafts Movement (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jessie Poesch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement, Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922) was a prolific artist and an inspiring teacher. His creative genius is celebrated in this elegant study of his work and its impact on generations of painters, photographers, printmakers, potters, woodworkers, and weavers.

The book explores the full range of Dow's artistry, including painting, photography, and printmaking. Dow's profound influence on numerous students and colleagues, among them Georgia O'Keeffe, Max Weber, Edward Steichen, and Alfred Stieglitz, is seen in vivid reproductions of their work.

In his teaching and writing, Dow stressed the Arts and Crafts aesthetic of beautifully rendered, well-crafted works that balance decorative design with functionality. This volume clearly illustrates those principles and illuminates Dow's continuing relevance to craft in America.

NANCY E. GREEN has held positions at Williams College and Christie's, New York, and is now chief curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University.

JESSIE POESCH, an authority on American pottery, is professor emerita in the history of art at the Newcomb Art Department, Tulane University

164 illustrations, 142 in full color, 91/2 x 87/8"

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: The American Federation of Arts (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810942178
• ISBN-13: 978-0810942172
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,693,623 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a thoughtful and well-produced arts and crafts reference, April 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Arthur Wesley Dow and American Arts & Crafts (Hardcover)

This is a valuable book for anyone interested in the decorative arts, especially for understanding the impact of the respected artist and teacher, Arthur Wesley Dow within both the American Arts and Crafts movement and American visual culture. It is a book suited both for the serious academic as well as the art enthusiast. Nancy E. Greene an Jessie Poesch have achieved a fine balance between their insightful scholarly text and the beautiful illustrations of prints, watercolors, photographs, pottery and furniture by Dow and other well-known exponents of this aesthetic shcool. This is truly a visual feast, a great book all around!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and inspiring, September 30, 2005

By	HWJ3 (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Lots and lots of visual reference material. You get to see Dow's work and then see the way his ideas and techniques bore fruit in the imaginations of his students. A perfect combination of useful text and outstanding color illustrations. This is a great example of the beautiful variety and creatifity at work during the few short years of the arts and crafts movement. Arts and Crafts was much more than a heavy dark brown Stickley table.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, perfect condition, sent by priority mail, February 26, 2008

By	vilnius researcher "Ginny" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book arrived in perfect condition, was still shrink-wrapped and sent by priority mail. The vendor could not have done better by me, the customer.The book itself contains so many of the works by Dow and others whom he influenced that it will be many weeks before I have been able to study them all. And that was the purpose of my buying this book--an opportunity to study works by master artists. What I generally learn--after careful observation of master works-- sinks in and soon establishes itself overtly; for example, I find myself more able to recognize quality or the absence of it in decorative items around me. Even my gardens benefit from the expertise that I have absorbed. So, I am absolutely delighted by the book itself and by the superior service evidenced by the seller. And thank you, Amazon, for providing the available options for purchasing this magnificent book.