art

Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) created detailed and elaborate etchings illustrating the antiquities of Rome as well as a fictitious and atmospheric series entitled Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons). The Smithsonian Libraries is fortunate to own several first-editions of Piranesi’s publications, including his book on fireplaces and mantels entitled Diversi Maniere d'Adornare i Cammini and “vedute” or views of Rome, an example of which is this 1761 folio.

The muted colors and illustrative style of the Arts & Crafts movement period are featured in this color trade catalog from 1912-13. The company focused on making large wallpaper friezes, and was one of the first companies to develop a washable color wallpaper printed with oils that could be cleaned with a damp cloth or sponge. It was called San-kro-mura, the “sanitary” wall covering. The company produced wallpaper with panoramic views of mountains, deserts, forests, lakes, and scenic narratives of folklore and history.

This is a rare 1935 portfolio of Art Deco style pochoir printed full-color plates of designs for modern interiors. Among the designers whose work is represented in this portfolio are Francis Jourdain, Pierre Chareau, Georges Djo-Bourgeois, and the author, Henry Delacroix himself. Living rooms, children’s rooms, bedrooms, offices, dining rooms, and libraries are included, along with the room’s furnishings, such as furniture, lighting, and decorative accessories.

Cassandre, pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (1901 –1968), was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer whose inventive graphic techniques show influences of Surrealism and Cubism. He was very popular in Europe and the United States during the 1930s. In 1935, Cassandre signed an exclusive contract with the firm of Draeger Freres for the French editions of his posters. Draeger, a French printer who published some of the masterpieces of French design was a pioneer of advertising.

This beautifully illustrated English version of the German Die Wiener Werkstätte, 1903-1928 : Modernes Kunstgewerbe und Sein Weg, commemorates the artists and design of the Wiener Werkstätte - a production community of visual artists founded by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann which was active in Vienna from 1903 to 1928. The book is an artistic novelty, or "Kachelband," designed by Mathilde Flögl (1893-1950), inspired by Hoffman and incorporating innovative use of typography, layout, and bold colors such as gold, silver, red, and black.

Christophe Huet (1700-1759), French artist of the Rococo period, illustrated this rare first edition depicting examples of “singerie.” Singerie, derived from the French word “monkey trick," a visual genre which features fashionably attired monkeys humorously imitating human behavior became a popular and amusing diversion for the upper classes in 18th century France. Singerie were depicted in paintings by such artists as Jean-Antoine Watteau as well as motifs in marquetry, textiles, and porcelain.

This first and only edition of the earliest book on decorative arts designer Dagobert Peche (1881-1923), written by art historian and Vienna University professor Max Eisler (1881-1937), includes 100 full plates of Peche’s designs for lamps, glass, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, silverware, wallpaper, and interiors. Peche became artistic director of the Wiener Werkstätte in 1915, a production community of visual artists founded by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann in Vienna in 1903.

This is an illustrated catalog of the significant glass collection of Felix Slade (1790-1868), noted philanthropist, bibliophile, and collector of engravings and etchings, whose scholarships formed the London Slade School of Art. He prepared the Slade Catalogue of his glass collection, edited after his death, which he hoped would “be useful in encouraging the study and practice of this country (England)." In the preface, he explains his early attraction to Venetian glass, and expanded his scope to include specimens of various ages and countries.

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library owns over 4,000 photographs by American photographer and journalist Thérèse Bonney, (1894-1978), who documented life in Paris from 1925-35.

This is a first edition of an important pattern book containing 31 chromolithographics designed by Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852) and inspired by design forms found in nature. Pugin, best known as the designer of the interiors of Houses of Parliament (1836-1868) in collaboration with Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860), was a proponent of Neo-Gothic as a national style for England.

Owen Jones (1809-1874), one of the most influential English architects, designers, and design theorists of the nineteenth century, wrote this book. Jones selected 100 full-color plates sourced from the motifs of Chinese ceramics, cloisonné works, and carpet designs. In the preface, Jones notes that these magnificent works of Chinese ornament had rarely been seen before the 1860s, describing them as "remarkable, not only for the perfection and skill shown in the technical processes, but also for the beauty and harmony of the colouring, and general perfection of the ornamentation.”

Contrary to what one might expect a calico button to be, such as a calico cloth covered button, this book refers to a china button with printed calico designs. A calico textile pattern was printed in ink on paper that was then laid on top of a tray of fired china buttons. As the tray made a second trip through the kiln, heat transferred the inked pattern onto the surface of the button and the paper was burned away. The author, Mr. Wilfred Morgan, was the first person to publish a catalog of calico button patterns.

El Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a Russian avant-garde artist, designer, photographer, typographer, and architect whose work greatly influenced the Bauhaus and constructivist movements. His experimentation with techniques and styles went on to dominate 20th Century graphic design. Lissitzky designed this cover of Wendingen, an international Dutch magazine focusing on modern architecture, art, and design from 1918-1931. This issue was dedicated entirely to Frank Lloyd Wright with text by H.P.

This beautifully illustrated and rare--actually, first and only edition folio--is a study of the subject matter depicted on a Roman glass cameo vase (AD1-AD25) called the Portland Vase. The Portland Vase inspired glass and porcelain makers including Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) who produced a duplicate in black and white jasperware in 1790. Discovered in the sarcophagus of Emperor Alexander Severus near Rome in 1582, the vase passed through the Barberini family, British ambassador Sir William Hamilton, and finally to the 2nd & 3rd Dukes of Portland who gave it to the British Museum. Auth

This extremely rare 1940 trade catalog represents the output of 10 state owned ceramics factories in small towns and villages all over the Ukraine after industry was nationalized in 1918. Today, we are more familiar with the graphic arts of Communist Russia as vehicles for propaganda, such as posters. The decorative arts of utilitarian objects, like the tableware featured in this catalog, were also important vehicles for disseminating political concepts of the new social order and Soviet nationalism to the masses in everyday life.

By the 17th century, East Asian art, in particular Asian porcelain and lacquerwork known as japanning, became fashionable, creating a European market of imports as well a demand for replica designs and manufacture. By this time, the use of lacquer in Europe inspired several writings detailing construction, use, and design of these artistic techniques. This 1688 treatise is a detailed European artisans’ guide on the lacquer process by John Stalker and George Parker, featuring the first detailed pattern illustrations.

English architect, George Perry (b. 1771) authored this groundbreaking scientific book on conchology, the study of shells. It is the only shell book illustrated with hand-colored aquatint plates by the engraver John Clarke. The illustrations were based on natural specimens mostly from private collections and the British Museum, including shells from across the globe, from Sri Lanka to New Zealand. Some names assigned to shells by Perry are still in use today.

Kenneth J. Kutz is the former President of Texasgulf Mining Corporation. He is also the former President of the Collectors Club of New York. The Collectors Club of New York was founded in 1896, making it one of the oldest existing philatelic societies in the United States. This book is about the philatelic history of oil. Stamps and covers (envelopes) are interwoven with postcard illustrations in chronological order of when the events depicted occurred. The book begins with Noah making the ark with coats of pitch.

Elementa Ornithologica by Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718-1790), a German philosophy and divinity teacher, botanist, mycologist, entomologist, ornithologist, and inventor, is a detailed, beautifully illustrated ornithological study in which birds are divided into two classes: Nudipedes (those with naked legs) and Plumipedes (with feathered legs). Schäffer, who created this classification system, also developed and named colors on charts that would imitate as closely as possible the natural hues found in plants and animals.

Emperor Kangxi and King Louis XIV of France, also known as Louis the Great, were both considered among the greatest rulers of their respective countries. They have been compared politically and militarily, but few comparisons in artistic achievements have been done. Both rulers came to the throne during childhood. They had excellent skills in riding and archery and both were fluent in a number of languages. As a Manchu emperor, Kangxi had a solid command of Mandarin Chinese and Mongolian whereas Louis XIV was versed in French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin.

In 1913, Yuan Shih-k’ai (Yuan Shikai, 1859-1916) became the first president of the Republic of China after he helped Sun Yan-sen overthrow the last Qing emperor in 1911. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself the Hung-Hsien (Hongxian) Emperor but ruled for only 83 days before being forced to back down from his claim. During his very short imperial reign, Yuan ordered Guo Baochang to re-start the manufacturing of imperial porcelain at Jingdezhen which had ceased production with the fall of the last Qing emperor.

Ailey Spirit is a reflection of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s amazing journey as it has progressed from “a small group of young, African-American dancers traveling the country in a station wagon, to what we now respect as one of the best modern dance companies in the world.”  Photographs from an array of

Although only about two percent of the population of India is Christian, it is common to find both Christian and non-Christian Indian artists who have used Christian themes in their art. The beginnings of Christianity in India are not well known but tradition has it that the apostle Thomas founded a number of churches in Kerala in 52 AD. Vasco da Gama (1469-1524), the Portuguese explorer, landed in Calicut in 1498 and by 1542 the Roman Catholic missionary Francis Xavier (1506-1552) had reached Goa. These contacts with the west brought examples of European art into the Indian subcontinent.

This book is an invaluable tool for art historians, scholars, dealers, and collectors interested in metal sculptures of Northern India, the Himalayas, and Tibet. It is also an important work for scholars studying Chinese bronzes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Published in 1981, it remains the only publication providing a timeline of the evolution of the art of these types of metal sculptures. The author, Ulrich von Schroeder, has been studying Buddhist art and culture as an independent scholar since the early 1960s.

This limited-edition set of 43 vibrant, color printed cards housed in a custom box is parts that together comprise artist Sanford Biggers’ explorations of identity, rituals, and iconography. Divided into three sections—afronomix, fetico, and fides—the images offer moments of both intimacy and surrealism.

Kiki Smith’s Dowry Book is an intimate, palm-sized collection of images, each representing an exhibition Smith had between 1982 and 1995, a time when she was particularly focused on issues of AIDS, gender, and race. The Hirshhorn Library’s copy is from a limited edition of 800 signed copies, issued in a plain, cardboard slipcase, and designed by Smith on a computer. The illustrated cloth boards reproduce Smith’s Dowry Cloth, 1990, made of women’s hair and sheep’s wool felted together.

In the early 1900s, wood sculptures from Africa (long regarded as curios in the West) suddenly caught the attention of Picasso and other artists who were intrigued by the stylized treatment—simple yet powerful—of human and animal figures. Their experiments with this “new aesthetic” announced the beginning of Modernism, the shift from realism to increasing abstraction.

Lectures on Painting contains three lectures given by James Barry (1741-1806), John Opie (1761-1807), and Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), with an introduction by Ralph Nicholson Wornum (1812-1877). The three lecturers were all members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and they were, as well as Wornum, prominent artists of their time. In addition to being an artist, Wornum was also an art historian, administrator, Keeper of the National Gallery in London, and Secretary for the National Gallery's Trustees.