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Lädt ... Old Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures (2009. Auflage)von Cynthia Saltzman
Werk-InformationenOld Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures von Cynthia Saltzman
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, wealthy Americans such as J Pierpont Morgan, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry Clay Frick, and the Havemeyer family bought a lot of really wonderful old art from Europe. Changes in British tax laws and economic woes caused paintings that had been hanging in aristocratic houses for hundreds of years to go on the market in a large number. The wealthy Americans were looking to build up their personal collections and donate to museums (like the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Today the majority of the art is hanging in museums to be enjoyed by everyone. Why this is called "a raid," I'm not sure. The paintings were all bought--not stolen--and the owners were paid well. Museums all over the world are full of art from other countries. Saltzman talks about this a few times as a simple fact, but doesn't explain why it's a problem. This is a topic that I find interesting, but the book itself is disappointing. Meticulously researched, the author includes every detail imaginable about each stage of the negotiations. In doing so, she completely sacrifices the narrative. There are interesting bits throughout, but it reads in a very choppy way and is difficult to follow. It's a lot of minutia that doesn't add up to much. Divided into three parts. The first part, which is a set of biographies of American collectors, was interesting and contained a good synthesis of information. The second two parts about time periods of art dealing were not very good. They refer to the same collectors, dealers, and paintings as the first section, but are far less well told. Instead of splitting the book into sections, the author might have done better sticking with one cohesive narrative. However, if you are interested in the subject matter, the first section is quite good and offers a clear view of American collectors. But don't feel guilty skimming the last chunk of the book. Zeige 4 von 4
In Old Masters, New World: America's Raid on Europe's Great Pictures , Cynthia Saltzman takes her readers on an in-depth, striking look at the fever that swept across America in needing to bring both famous and well-known objets d'arts to America. As Henry James called it, and David Michaels references it, Saltzman captures "real people, men and women alike, frantic to lay hands on the power and beauty and immortality – the madness, of art."
A spellbinding account of the rapacious pursuit of the most exquisite paintings in the world In the Gilded Age, newly wealthy and culturally ambitious Americans began to compete for Europe's extraordinary Old Master pictures, causing a major migration of art across the Atlantic. Old Masters, New World is a backstage look at the cutthroat competition, financial maneuvering, intrigue, and double-dealing often involved in these purchases, not to mention the seductive power of the ravishing paintings that drove these collectors-including financier J. Pierpont Morgan, sugar king H. O. Havemeyer, Boston aesthete Isabella Stewart Gardner, and industrialist Henry Clay Frick. Packed with stunning reproductions, this is an ideal gift book for art lovers and history buffs alike. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)759.94075The arts Painting History, geographic treatment, biography Other geographic areas Europe Education, research, related topics Museum activities and services CollectingKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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This book offers nice vignettes of some of the art-stricken robber barons such as Henry Marquand, Pierpont Morgan, Harry Havemeyer and Isabella Stewart Granger as the lone woman among the pack with considerable but more limited means than the rest. In Europe, intermediaries were quick to service and fleece the new money. They had the expertise, the insider knowledge and the connections to uncover works that officially were not for sale but for the right price would be available for the journey across the Atlantic. The First World War ended the first gilded age. A follow-up on the next wave of Americans in Europe (of those palling around with F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 20s and 30s) would be a worthy task. ( )