Ruth Baumgarte, Catalog Raisonné of Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings and IllustrationsThe Kunststiftung Ruth Baumgarte (editor), Hirmer, 1120pp, $245 (pb)
This catalog raisonné in three volumes retraces the life and work of the German artist Ruth Baumgarte (1923-2013) known for her representations of people and scenes in Africa as well as her studies on environmental subjects, touching on disasters such as than the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. factory accident in 1986. “The first volume details the life of the artist, addressing the important biographical and historical-cultural milestones of his life. This volume also examines Baumgarte’s place in art history and explains the artist’s special relationship to Africa,” according to a statement from the publishers. The second volume explores the Baumgarte canon, analyzing 1,100 drawings, 700 watercolors and 50 oil paintings. The third volume features all of Baumgarte’s illustrations.
Dorothy Gisborne (Pratt) as Psyche (1935) by Yevonde © National Portrait Gallery, London.
Yevonde: Life and Color, Lucinda Gosling (contributor), National Portrait Gallery (London), 240pp, £40 (hb)
London-based photographer Yevonde (also known as Madame Yevonde) was a pioneer of color photography, setting up her own studio in London’s Victoria Street in 1921. “None of your tasteless hand-tinted effects,” said said Yevonde in 1932 in an address to the Royal Photographic Society. This publication, which accompanies a major exhibition of his work at the brand new National Portrait Gallery in London, presents more than 200 images, including recently discovered works such as Dorothy Gisborne (Pratt) as Psyche (1935), part of Yevonde’s series showing women dressed as goddesses.
Johannes Vermeer Young woman seated at the virginal (circa 1670-72) is in the Leiden collection
The Guardians of Art: Conversations with Great CollectorsDani Levinas, La Fabrique, 176pp, $33 (pb)
Argentinian Dani Levinas, a Washington DC-based collector, interviews 34 other renowned collectors, including Sheikha Al-Mayassa of Qatar’s ruling family, Don and Mera Rubell in Miami, and Old Masters specialist Thomas Kaplan in this survey of today’s collection. . Levinas says in the introduction, “What did I want to know when approaching these fascinating elite art collectors, often reluctant to let go of their low profile? Several things. I wanted to know why they collect, what was their initial motivation and what motivates them. In the book, Kaplan, the founder of the Leiden collection, says: “From the start, I made it clear to retailers that they had to be absolutely transparent, that they would never have a second chance if they didn’t weren’t telling the truth.”
A spread of Michael Raedecker: Everything but not everything
Michael Raedecker: Everything but not everything, Martin Herbert, Claudia Swan et al. (contributors), Phaidon, 304pp, £59.95 (pb)
This monograph reviews the 40-year career of Dutch artist Michael Raedecker, with key works such as therapy (2005), kismet (1999) and shining darkness (2004). “Through depictions of shady cabins, abandoned swimming pools, treehouses, lonely suburban homes, and vacant parked cars with ajar doors, Raedecker’s uninhabited landscapes shine in eerie monochromes, invoking a certain uncanny familiarity at his viewer,” said a statement from the publisher. The publication includes a number of essays, including Laura McLean-Ferris’ analysis of Raedecker’s transference technique – a complex practice involving the transfer of photographic images onto a different canvas – while critic Martin Herbert traces his work and its practice over the decades. Writer Stuart Cumberland also examines Raedecker’s “pictorial language”.
