Books and Art

Rita Hayworth with her first daughter, Rebecca Welles, child of...

Rita Hayworth with her first daughter, Rebecca Welles, child of Orson Welles, c.1945.

Rebecca Welles, mobbed as a child by photographers, retreated into private life as an adult. She led as quiet a life as she could in the Pacific northwest. She married twice and died in 2004, aged 59

The Artist's Daughter (1927). Frederick Carl...

The Artist's Daughter (1927). Frederick Carl Frieseke (American, 1874-1939). Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum.

Relatively late work in Frieseke's career depicts his only child, Frances, one of his favorite models. She is absorbed in the private act of writing in a secluded interior illuminated subtly by sunlight filtered through blinds. Combining the artist's figural interests with an affectionate family portrait, the painting offers an evocative image of subdued color and quiet charm.

Schéhérazade. Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky (1913). George...

Schéhérazade. Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky (1913). George Barbier (French, 1882-1932).

Schéhérazade is a ballet in one act with choreography by Fokine, libretto by Benois, music by Rimsky-Korsakov and design by Bakst. Premiered 4 June 1910 by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at Paris Opera.

Mercury Playing a Flute to Lull the Shepherd Argus. René-Antoine...

Mercury Playing a Flute to Lull the Shepherd Argus. René-Antoine Houasse (French, 1645-1710).

Io was loved by Jupiter who transformed her into a heifer (on right) to protect her from Juno's jealousy. Juno, discovering the heifer's identity, had it guarded by Argus Panoptes ('many-eyed Argus'). Mercury was sent by Jupiter to kill Argus, which he did, after piping him to sleep. (Ovid, 'Metamorphoses').

Almanack for 1891. Kate Greenaway. London, George Routledge...

Almanack for 1891. Kate Greenaway. London, George Routledge & Sons, n.d.[1890]. Original white pictorial boards with yellow cloth spine. First edition.

This was the ninth of the fourteen almanacks by Greenaway, in the standard binding of white pictorial boards showing a woman with three children, within a border of leaves. There are 22 pages bearing Greenaway illustrations in color. 

Mrs. Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (Edith Minturn), 1898. Cecilia...

Mrs. Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (Edith Minturn), 1898. Cecilia Beaux (American, 1855-1942). Oil on canvas.

Exquisitely dressed, Edith is seated with a small volume in hand-finger marking the place-just as if she might have been disturbed while reading and was determined to continue at the passage she had last left. This small detail gives some insight into the brilliant mind and the depth of the sitter. Edith would have been one of these women that subscribed to the adage- "Beauty is but skin deep."

Teenager reading at Highland Park High School, Texas, November...

Teenager reading at Highland Park High School, Texas, November 1947. LIFE. Cornell Capa.

Capa (1918–2008) chose the phrase "concerned photographer" to describe those photographers who demonstrated in their work a humanitarian impulse to use pictures to educate and change the world, not just to record it. Capa worked for LIFE magazine from 1946 to 1967, and for the Magnum Photos agency beginning in 1954, covering social and political issues.

Jeune Fille vue de dos. Jean Baptiste Greuze (French,...

Jeune Fille vue de dos. Jean Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725-1805). Oil on canvas.

Greuze's pretentiously moralizing rustic dramas constituted a reaction against rococo frivolity in art; by appealing to emotion they were also a revolt against the emphasis placed upon reason and science by the philosophers of the Enlightenment, the intellectual movement that pervaded the first half of the 18th century. 

Wake Up, America. Composer: Jack Glogau. Lyricist:...

Wake Up, America. Composer: Jack Glogau. Lyricist: George Graff. Illustrator: [Rose symbol]. Leo Feist, New York, 1916.

First Line: Have we forgotten, America.

Refrain: Wake up, America.

Fillette à l'étude, en train d'écrire...

Fillette à l'étude, en train d'écrire (c.1850-60). Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1786-1875). Oil on panel. 

Corot actively pursued an interest in the human figure and notably that of the contemplative young woman or child in an interior space. Similar to his landscapes, here Corot infuses the subject with an introspective and poetic dimension. The young girl is depicted, quill in hand, sitting at a desk in what appears to be the artist's studio judging from the stacks of canvases or drawings in the background. 

Dames Don't Care. Peter Cheyney. London Collins...

Dames Don't Care. Peter Cheyney. London Collins 1974. Jacket art by Pisani. A classic mystery, featuring Lemmy Caution.

"They are swell babes. One of 'em is a redhead with eyes that indicate trouble for somebody, some time, an' the other has gotta figure that makes me wish I was on vacation."

A Young Woman Seated Drawing (c.1655-60). Gabriel Metsu (Dutch,...

A Young Woman Seated Drawing (c.1655-60). Gabriel Metsu (Dutch, 1629-1667). Oil on panel. National Gallery, London.

This painting shows an artist's studio. On the table is a bust of a woman and underneath an engraving by Lucas Vorsterman after Gerard Seghers's painting 'Christ at the Column before the Flagellation' (Ghent, St Michael's). The scene illustrates the early stage of an artist's training when the pupil has to practise drawing after sculptures and prints.

Yekaterina Kondaurova in Le Jeune et la Mort. Gene...

Yekaterina Kondaurova in Le Jeune et la Mort. Gene Schiavone.

Tall, beautiful and with aristocratic facial features and a noble performing style, she has brilliantly danced the variations in La Bayadère, Paquita and Don Quixote. The particular chic of her performance, the art of instant improvisation, the ability to "give of herself" – a queen of the demimonde, perhaps, but still a queen! – have made Kondaurova the darling of the public. — Russian Bazaar

What Happens Next? Guglielmo Zocchi (Italian, 1874-1957). Oil on...

What Happens Next? Guglielmo Zocchi (Italian, 1874-1957). Oil on canvas.

Zocchi painted genre subjects, often in Greek and Roman costume, appreciated especially by the foreign market. He was also a portrait of fame and had among his clients personalities from politics and industry.

Reading in a Formfit. "Life by Formfit" illustration...

Reading in a Formfit. "Life by Formfit" illustration for advertisement. 1949.

"Have you despaired of ever seeing your figure as beautiful as hers? Don't give up yet! Her figure may be no more perfect than yours. But she has discovered what millions of other lovely women already know-that the look of figure perfection is now possible. Life Bra and Life Girdle by Formfit working together correct your entire figure faultlessly….no matter what your figure faults! The secret is ours!"

Thoughts Before the Dance. Andrew Atroshenko (Russia, 1965-)....

Thoughts Before the Dance. Andrew Atroshenko (Russia, 1965-). Oil on canvas.

Atroshenko's work  is distinguished by the movement, color, and passion. He poses his subjects in such a way that draws the eye and emphasizes the grace of the human form, whether in movement or in stillness. The sureness of his strokes lend his canvases a certain boldness that makes one want to linger.

The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said. Padraic Colum. Illustrated...

The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said. Padraic Colum. Illustrated by Dugald Stewart Walker. The Macmillan Co, 1918. 

"When the Bird that Follows the Cuckoo flies into the Cuckoo's mouth the World will come to an end.

All the Birds know that, but not all the People know it.

Well, one day the Cuckoo was sitting on a bush and her Mouth was open. The Bird That Follows the Cuckoo flew straight at it. And into it he must have flown only for the Boy…"

Le petit messager. Marguerite Gérard (French, 1761–1837). Oil on...

Le petit messager. Marguerite Gérard (French, 1761–1837). Oil on canvas.

By her mid-20s, Gérard had developed her signature style, which featured painstakingly accurate details rendered with subtly blended brush strokes, both traits borrowed from 17th-century Dutch genre specialists, notably Gabriel Metsu. Gérard's work is technically impressive but also practical: these relatively small-scale, portable canvases appealed to wealthy collectors who preferred to display in their homes meticulously painted still lifes and genre scenes. 

 J. K. Rowling reading. Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE...

 J. K. Rowling reading.

Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE FRSL, is best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 million copies.

The Girl with the Violin (2012). William Oxer (United...

The Girl with the Violin (2012). William Oxer (United Kingdom). Acrylic on canvas.

Professor Roger Scruton writes: "William Oxer is not merely a painter; he is a distinctive sensibility, with a poetic vision he explores in many media. His art is affirmative, evocative and forgiving…"