The Art of Richard P. Feynman: Images by a Curious Character (Hardcover)

by Michelle Feynman (Compiler), Albert Hibbs (Foreword) "Once I was at a party playing bongos, and I got going pretty well..." (more)
Key Phrases: Richard Feynman, Color Plate, Courtesy of Princeton University Physics Department (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Beginning with his earliest, awkward drawings of the human figure in 1962, the book displays Feynman's fascinating development of a personal artistic sensitivity to line, form and the moods of his subject; as well as his experimentation with various styles and media.
The selected artwork was produced over a 25 year period until 1987, the year before his death. It mainly consists of black and white drawings, his favourite medium, all carefully chosen by his daughter, Michelle.
This book brings together, for the first time, a collection of the artwork of Richard P. Feynman, scientist extraordinaire and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2884490477
• ISBN-13: 978-2884490474
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,697,716 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a find!, August 1, 2002

By	absent_minded_prof (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This is a really terrific collection. In this book are many of the little-known sketches and paintings of the late, great physicist/folk hero Richard P. Feynman. I sought this book out after reading Ralph Leighton's Feynman biography "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" I'm glad I went to the trouble to do so.

The book commences with a foreword by Albert Hibbs, whom many Feynman fans will recognize as Feynman's friend and co-author of "Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals." Don't skip over this foreword. Hibbs has a lot of interesting things to say about how visual Feynman was in all his projects, including his style of doing physics.

After the foreword is a helpful preface by Feynman's daughter Michelle. (Michelle works as a photographer, and was the primary person in charge of selecting these artworks). She describes some interesting features of Feynman family life, such as the fact that many of the models for these paintings became lifelong Feynman family friends. She gives us a fun little window into the experience of "growing up Feynman."

This book also contains Feyman's wry, interesting essay "But is it Art?" from "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!," as well as a selection of biographical sketches from four of Fenman's friends, including three artists and his biographer.

The actual sketches are really pretty good, in my humble opinion. There are about a hundred pages of black and white sketches, including charcoal, pencil, and ink wash drawings. Many are quite simple and direct. Others clearly took quite a bit of time.

Let me give you a friendly warning here, incidentally. Leafing through this section, you will go through page after page of sketches of young, beautiful women, in a variety of attractive poses. This will lead you to a pleasant, happy, blissed out frame of mind. Suddenly, with absolutely no warning whatsoever, you will turn the page and be confronted by the dilapidated, craggy, wrinkled face of an anonymous, elderly male physics professor, frowning under a ponderously furrowed unibrow, glaring out of the book at you. Be warned, O reader, and try not to have a seizure. Also included among these sketches are occasional other topics, such as Feyman's dog Rufus, and a few "one minute line drawings" (a common exercise in art classes)... Personally, I think Figure 87 is pretty neat. It includes small sketches of various subjects -- a woman, faces, a plant, a sleeping dog, and more. But there's more -- the background is full of Feynman's equations! They wind all over the place, throughout the drawing. It makes for kind of a neat juxtaposition. I could definitely see that sketch making a great poster.

After the black and white sketches are a small collection of color paintings, including a sketch of a little town, and Feynman's trusty dog Rufus.

Basically, if you are a Feynman fan, this book will go a long way toward rounding out your appreciation of him. Besides, there are some really terrific pictures in here. Two thumbs up!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another side of Feynman, December 12, 2004

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

The amazing thing about great minds is just how many subjects they encompass. Feynman is known as a physicist and occasional drummer, but he was a fair amateur artist, too.

These drawings and paintings show how quickly he progressed, once he decided to learn drawing. I suppose it gave him yet another way to enjoy the female form, and yet another reason to habituate "gentlemen's clubs." He had other motivations, too, as shown by some very sensitive drawings of his friends and children.

This isn't great art. It is, however, very competent amateur work. Most of all, it's another view, from an unexpected angle, of one of the great minds of our time.

//wiredweird