ARCHIPENKO: SCULPTURE, DRAWINGS, AND PRINTS, 1908 – 1963 by Donald KarshanReview by: Jane S. WitheeArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Fall1986), p. 141Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27947643 .

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Art Documentation, Fall, 1986 141

rather "to concentrate on aspects of Surrealism that are per haps less widely known." In her decision to focus on the

women of the movement Chadwick has sometimes left out information concerning the male artists with whom the

women associated which would have helped the reader to develop a contextual framework in which to analyze the theo ries and the work of the women. The above-mentioned criticisms aside, this is an important

book which begins to fill a significant gap in the literature of art history. Analyses are supported by good photographs which are well-documented in a list of illustrations. The index is good, as is the selected bibliography. Brief biographical notes appear at the end of the text, providing helpful informa tion at a glance for the exhibitions in which each of the

women participated. Women Artists and the Surrealist Move ment is a necessary purchase for any library which covers twentieth-century art or women's studies.

Sheila Klos University of Oregon

ARCHIPENKO : SCULPTURE, DRAWINGS, AND PRINTS, 1908-1963 / as collected, viewed, and documented by Don ald Karshan.?Danville, KY : Centre College in association with Indiana University Press, c1985?ISBN 0-253-30858-5 ; LC 84-43045 : $49.95 (cloth).

This exhibition catalog for an Archipenko retrospective held 23 March-6 May 1985 in the Norton Center for the Arts at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, is essentially a catalogue raisonn? of Donald Karshan's private collection of the works of

Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964). Since the publication of Archipenko, The Sculpture and Graphic Art (T?bingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, 1974), which showcased Karshan's collection as it existed in early 1974, this leading authority on Archipenko has collected an additional twenty-one sculptures and eleven works on paper. He concentrated his acquisition program par ticularly on the periods of Archipenko's artistic career which

were not represented in the earlier volume, namely, the Paris (1908-1921) and Berlin (1921-1923) periods, and expanded his collection of works from Archipenko's American period (1923-1964). Karshan's collection now extends from Archi penko's earliest work in bronze, Pomegranates/Adam and Eve of 1908, to his last, King Solomon of 1963, and from a cubist drawing, Le Baiser/Two Figures of 1911, to his lithographic portfolio of 1963, Les Formes Vivantes. Karshan hopes even tually to secure within his collection a historical survey of Archipenko's works in all media, to be kept as a permanently installed retrospective in an as yet to be created Archipenko

museum similar to other one-artist museums in Western Europe (e.g., Picasso and Van Gogh).

Unlike most illustrated art monographs, which usually show only one primary view of a sculptural piece, Karshan wanted to have multiple views photographed and reproduced in one large-format volume so that each piece could be stud ied in the round. Working closely with photographer Ted

Curry, Karshan successfully achieves what may be the first monograph of its kind on a modern sculptor. Karshan wanted no dramatic angles and no overlighting, so the lighting is con stant and relatively soft. No colored backdrops were used to avoid detracting from the works' inherent colors. The pho tographs are straightforward, and were taken in rotation at eye-level; Karshan wanted to replicate the vantage point of the sculptor during the actual creative process. There are a total of 162 illustrations, 42 in color, with all 54 sculptures and 52 works on paper in the Karshan collection reproduced; the photographs were reproduced in color only when essential to understanding the work's content and basic design.

The physical format of the book consists of signatures of clay-coated paper sewn through the fold; the textblock is rounded and backed and neatly cased in, all of which allow the book to open easily and the pages to lie flat for ease of use. However, for the price of $50.00 I would like to have seen the publishers use a higher quality bookcloth for better durability and a spine lining that extends further onto the covers to provide better support for the weight of the textblock. These reservations aside, the book is well constructed.

The illustrations and accompanying textual notes are arranged chronologically; prints and drawings are placed within the flow of Archipenko's sculptural development because the works on paper were either studies for or analysis and refinements after his three-dimensional works. Complete documentation for each piece is presented in a comprehen sive, yet succinct, dossier format and includes: exhibition his tory, bibliography, dimensions and materials, the work's ear liest known (original) title and any subsequent title change, provenance, edition sizes and history and other ramifications of castings and their designations, dates of works and docu mentation of any changes. Karshan also explains and describes each piece's importance to the oeuvre. A "Biograph ical chronology," an "Index of works," a chronological list of "Exhibitions," and a "Selective bibliography" follow the cata logue raisonn? and illustrations. Karshan also repeats from his 1974 book, although in a revised and expanded version, his summary of Alexander Archipenko's innovations in modern sculpture, with corresponding works cited.

This publication is highly recommended for any collection on the history of modern sculpture or printmaking, whether the earlier book on Karshan's collection is held by the library or not.

Jane S. Withee Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

KEN TYLER, MASTER PRINTER, AND THE AMERICAN PRINT RENAISSANCE / Pat Gilmour.?New York : Hudson Hills Press, in assoc. with Australian National Gallery, 1986.? ISBN 0-933920-16-4 ; LC 85-24905 : $25.00.

This book begins with a short history of graphic art in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. It is not so much a true history as an anecdotal introduction to Ken Tyler's divergence from the ULAE and Tamarind Workshop traditions. The second section relates the early career of Tyler?art training, Tamarind years and the founding of Gemini. The final third tells of Tyler's move East and his work at Tyler Graphics. Only the third section covers material not adequately investigated in earlier publications. Both the Tam arind Workshop and Gemini G.E.L. have been extensively cov ered elsewhere.

Throughout the book, technical expertise and innovation and the collaboration of artist and printer are stressed and both are treated as inventions of Ken Tyler. Although the con tributions of Tyler are no doubt great, it should not be thought that he was the only printer to work closely with artists and to expand the range of graphic capabilities in these decades (1960-1980). I think that a more balanced view was obtained by Ruth Fine (even while limited to one workshop) in Gemini G.E.L: Art and Collaboration by mentioning various printers and their work with artists and new processes.

The format of this particular publication is quite nice. The printing is good with wide margins and clear type. It is pro fusely illustrated, with over half of the illustrations in crisp, true color. The text is easy to read but seems too chatty and rambling at times. There is a chronology for Ken Tyler, notes, an excellent bibliography, a checklist of unique drawings and proofs in the Tyler Archive at the Australian National Gallery and a most complete index. The bibliography is by far the most valuable part of this book: it includes books, catalogs and articles on Tyler and his firms as well as a list of unpublished source materials.

There are very few books on the market which concentrate on one specific printer. There are, on the other hand, several available on specific printshops and an enormous quantity on artist-printmakers. The value of this particular volume on master printer Ken Tyler would have been increased had it concentrated on the printer instead of diverging into a weak history of modern prints. Instead, we learn very little about Ken Tyler that we did not read in Gemini G.E.L: Art and Col laboration or Technics and Creativity: Gemini G.E.L. The author, Pat Gilmour, mentions an upcoming publication of the

Walker Art Center, home of the Tyler Graphics Study Archive. This two-volume book is due to appear this year and I would suggest that a library which owns one of the two publications

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