Belinda Rathbone Bücher

This biography explores the life of George Rickey, a prominent kinetic sculptor of the 20th century, known for his moving blades, squares, triangles, and circles displayed in museums and public spaces worldwide. It chronicles his journey from a painter to a sculptor who redefined art through movement, creating over 3,000 kinetic works, including numerous outdoor installations. Rickey's "useless machines" featured complete rotation and pendulum variations, captivating audiences with their dynamic forms. The narrative captures Rickey's inspirations, from childhood visits to his father’s Singer Sewing Machine factory to his experiences in 1920s art studios in England and Paris. His service as an engineer in the Army Air Corps during World War II and his role in advancing academic art programs across the U.S. are also highlighted. Beyond Rickey's individual achievements, the biography situates his life within the broader context of the 20th century, reflecting on the cultural shifts from the Great Depression to the rise of New York as an art capital and the social upheavals of the 1960s. It also delves into his personal life, particularly his marriage to Edith Leighton, who played a crucial role in managing his career in influential art circles. Belinda Rathbone vividly captures the essence of Rickey's artistry and the world he inhabited, making this work essential for those intrigued by artists' lives and modernism.

The full, inside story of how the discovery of a previously unknown painting by Raphael, the Italian Renaissance master, went from media sensation to career-destroying scandal. On the eve of its centennial celebrations in December, 1969, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts announced the acquisition of an unknown and uncatalogued painting attributed to Raphael. Boston's coup made headlines around the world. Soon afterward, an Italian art sleuth began investigating the details of the painting's export from Italy, challenged the museum's right to ownership. Simultaneously, experts on both sides of the Atlantic lined up to debate the artwork's very authenticity. While these contests played themselves out on the international stage, the crisis deepened within the museum as its charismatic director, Perry T. Rathbone, faced the most challenging crossroads of his thirty-year career. The facts about the forces that converged on the museum, and how they led to Rathbone's resignation as director, is only now fully revealed in this compelling, behind-the-scenes story that reveals how the art world, media, and museums work. This is for anyone who relishes stories of the business of art.

Walker Evan's photographs are American classics. His legendary images of southern sharecroppers in LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN and his pictures documenting the Depression era make up a haunting protrayal of the American soul. Until now, though, the man behind those well-known images has remained elusive, by his own design. In this first full biography, a leading authority on Evans penetrates the anonymity of his legendary photographs to reveal A VERY RICH AND INCLUSIVE LIFE OF FOOLISHNESS, CRUELTY, AND SPLENDOR, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. A portrait of an artist who profoundly influenced the generation of photographers who followed him, WALKER EVANS also traces the artstically fecund times that nurtured him. His career provides a NEW AND PENETRATING ILLUMINATION, ST LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, of everything from the newly established Museum of Modern Art to President Roosevelt's troubled Farm Security Adminsistratiion. WALKER EVANS is a thoroughly engrossing biography of a unique American master.