Stuart Davis: In Full Swing

This is a great book with magnificent reproductions of Stuart Davis's paintings, insightful essays and the most comprehensive chronological timeline for an artist that I've ever read. (The first 50 pages or so are the introduction and essays, with small color reproductions of the paintings. Then the next 100 pages or so are color plates, with one painting per page. Then the chronology is about 75 pages, with again small reproductions of relevant paintings.) Most paintings in the book are so colorful they are like visual Vitamin C. Just opening this book makes me feel more energetic. Production quality is excellent. If you like Stuart Davis's work, this book is a must-own.

Stuart Davis is one of my favorite American painters so I wanted a book on his art. I was not disappointed in this book; I read all the the reviews and chose this one because I wanted large illustrations and a lot of them. This book did not disappoint. There are several works featured here that I had never seen, and many of the paintings were depicted in full color. To my delight, one of my favorite paintings by Davis, Midi, was included in the book. But what was most surprising is how much I enjoyed reading the book; it is well written. There is a detailed and complete Chronicle at the end of the book as well, which paints a more complete picture of Davis, his independence in thought and deed, and his commitment to following his own path from an early throughout his life.

Harry Cooper, the author of the chapter 'Unfinished Business - Davis and the Dialect-X of Recursion', writes brilliantly about the concept of 'sublation' as it relates to the drawing - painting opposition. This concept is clarified with specific paintings by Davis. I would highly recommend the book for this chapter alone. As a painter I have been working with the visual issues of color and line all my life and it is a truly appreciated when visual thinkers are able to articulate our fundamental concerns as painters. Also, the book as a whole is beautifully illustrated with a great chronology.

Very comprehensive overview of his work with lots of large, color photos. Recommend.

Beautiful book, makes me wish I'd been able to view the exhibition!

Lots of good color illustrations. I wish I’d been able to see the exhibition in person, but this’ll have to suffice.

Excellent critical essays accompany this Exhibition Catalogue. Full page, high quality, full color reproductions of all works from the exhibit. The highlight is the first fully fleshed out timeline of Davis's life and career.

I read the entire text and came away with a deep appreciation of the artist's intellect as well as his talent.

This is the hardback catalogue for the recent major exhibition of Davis`s work that has been touring the USA – the first serious show of this artist for quite some time.The book is a substantial and beautifully produced volume that will surely count as a key reference on Davis for the future; there are useful essays, a really detailed chronology - but most importantly – a gloriously large selection of work, chronologically presented in over 100 colour plates, plus a number of additional images, photos and drawings.One aspect of his work is apparent through having such a wide range of his paintings to hand; Davis re-visited his ideas, re-using and reworking his sources to create new compositions often over many years; there is a remarkable series of small working drawings reproduced across nearly three pages revealing his process of composition for the painting “Package Deal” (1956) and one can trace elements from these in subsequent works, which is truly fascinating.The title of the book makes reference to the inspiration he found in Jazz and the parallels to the music his work openly represented.Often considered a precursor to Pop Art and a seminal figure in the development of abstract painting, his work still has huge influence, particularly in current American painting.A fine, useful and (at time of writing) easily available book on this important 20th century artist.

Great book with a fantastic range of illustrations.

Beautifully produced book of an artist almost unknown in Britain and underestimated in the US

Numerose eccellenti riproduzioni di opere eseguite da Stuart Davis, accompagnate da un testo adeguato. Ottima veste tipografica, prezzo molto conveniente. Consegna veloce, imballaggio robusto. Non si può chiedere di più. Libro ispirante, una festa per gli occhi e per la mente.

Really good book, great selection of art works from this artist