Judith Barter

Lovely, interesting, and scary. A mix of paintings well known and well-loved (American Gothic, Hopper's movie usher, Thomas Hart Benton's pastorals) and artists less familiar and terrific (Joe Jones, Aaron Douglas). Some brilliant comparisons that had never occurred to me that felt spot on when someone points them out (Grant Wood and Memling, for example). Scary because of the common socioeconomic threads and threats between the 1930s and now... excerpts from Sinclair Lewis's "It Can't Happen Here" took my breath away. The layout could be frustrating - a lot of flipping back and forth between essay mentions and the reproductions, but overall a very profitable couple of evenings of reading and looking.… (mehr)

Succeeds in being a gorgeous book full of full page nicely done color reproductions including much of her lesser known work and photos and ephemera from her life. But doesn't stop there, with essays by different writers on her life in the art world, relationships. with other artists (juicy art gossip alert,) and more. Unless you are as student of Cassatt I think you will come away amazed at what you learn. Once the token female impressionist this book proves her work and life make the fellows look downright pedestrian.
This huge tome was released in conjunction with the Art Institute of Chicago's exhibit in 1998.
… (mehr)