Pictures & Tears, by James Elkins (2004, Routledge, $22.95, 9780415970532) examines personal accounts of being moved to tears by art, -- from his own experiences and from some 400 letters and emails he received after an open call to share similar experiences. In his characteristically embracing and open style, Elkins tries to make sense of the seemingly increasingly rare phenomena of being moved to tears by visual art and chart its place in the more dry tradition of art scholarship. From the second chapter:

 

Having first opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston last summer, the big Edward Hopper exhibition is now finishing its run at the National Gallery of Art in DC (closing January 21) and will open for its final run, at The Art Institute of Chicago next month (February 16-May 11).

Along with the new exhibition catalogue, and Gail Levin's authoritative biography (details on both below), don't overlook Hopper, by Mark Strand (2001, Knopf, $15, 9780375709715). First published in 1994 and coming in under 100 pages, this thin volume is a master-class on how concentrated observation and simple description can lead to meaningful discovery and understanding.

It's a wonderful little book formed simply with a couple dozen 1-2 page meditations on various Hopper paintings. Strand is perhaps best know for his poetry, but the fact that his prose here is so nice to read is made even more remarkable by the fact that its simple vocabulary and direct telling resonate so perfectly with Hopper's work. The words tell a story not only in their content, but in their form as well.

Other Books of Note:
· Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography, Gail Levin (2007, Rizzoli, $40, 9780847829309). Revised from the 1995 biography.
· Edward Hopper, Carol Troyen, et al. (2007, MFA Publications, $65, 9780878467129). Catalogue for the exhibition.

 

The great power of books is to educate and to entertain. And while many of the books we read toward these ends are on subjects we're already interested in, it's important to try to slip in a few books on things you might not normally consider. Take for example, a book on an 18th-century American portraitist, and another on a Medieval ivory cross.

Gilbert Stuart, by James Thomas Flexner is a brief biography on the painter most famous for his portraits of George Washington. A serious subject, but as it turns out Stuart was a bit of a hell-raiser and you can see a carousing and rebellious side in the surface of the best of his many portraits, even those of stodgy old Washington. James Thomas Flexner is Washingon's Pulitzer-winning biographer and this Stuart biography is the kind that will send you to the nearest museum to look again at portraits you'd previously passed over for having seemed lifeless and dull. Read more about this project and download a sample of the text.

King of the Cofessors, by Thomas Hoving is as much an art thriller as one could hope for, yet again, its subject is one not many would normally find themselves drawn to: a Medieval ivory cross. Hoving, then curator and later director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has written a number of very popular books on art and art history, and this, among his first, is a gripping story and a compelling look at a museum antiquities acquisition. A topic that remains most certainly in the news today. Read more about this project and download a sample of the text.

If you're interested in working on one of our Project Books, read more about joining a project team as a sponsor or in another role, and about starting your own project book.

   

Every year end brings innumerable "Best Of" lists. And though quite a few books about art were recognized in all (you can find them the sidebar of our site whatishol.com) three stood out:

The first two made appearances on half a dozen different lists: A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932, by John Richardson (2007, Knopf, $40, 9780307266651), the third volume of Richardson's celebrated biography of the artist; and on the fiction end, The Shadow Catcher, by Marianne Wiggins (2007, Simon & Schuster, $25, 9780743265201), a novel surrounding photographer Edward Curtis.

The third not to be missed is Life Class, by Pat Barker (January 2008, Doubleday, $23.95, 9780385524353), which received nods from both the Globe and Mail, and The Guardian. What's most interesting about this title it that it's only being released in the U.S. for the first time this month. So U.S. readers will be getting their first crack at a title that's already generated great interest elsewhere. Watch for it.

Update: Life Class has just been announced as a Book Sense pick for February. "In this story, Pat Barker has captured it all -- the sounds, smells, and mystery of love and relationships during a time of newfound art and war in 1914. Her characters come alive with their passion and human behaviors -- a wonderful read by a noted author!" --Kathleen Dixon, Islandtime Books & More, Washington Island, WI