Preservation of Art Books

Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space

Brian O'Doherty, Thomas McEvilley

Amazon Price: $19.75 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of California Press Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $15.30

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Criticism
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Regional -> European
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Regional -> United States

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When these essays first appeared in Artforum in 1976, their impact was immediate. They were discussed, annotated, cited, collected, and translatedthe three issues of Artforum in which they appeared have become nearly impossible to obtain. Having Brian O'Doherty's provocative essays available again is a signal event for the art world. This edition also includes "The Gallery as Gesture," a critically important piece published ten years after the others. O'Doherty was the first to explicitly confront a particular crisis in postwar art as he sought to examine the assumptions on which the modern commercial and museum gallery was based. Concerned with the complex and sophisticated relationship between economics, social context, and aesthetics as represented in the contested space of the art gallery, he raises the question of how artists must construe their work in relation to the gallery space and system. These essays are essential reading for anyone interested in the history and issues of postwar art in Europe and the United States. Teeming with ideas, relentless in their pursuit of contradiction and paradox, they exhibit both the understanding of the artist (Patrick Ireland) and the precision of the scholar.

Michelangelo: The Vatican Frescoes

Pierluigi De Vecchi, Gianluigi Colalucci

Amazon Price: $58.79 List Price: $85.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Abbeville Press Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $24.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Artists, A-Z -> ( M-O ) -> Michelangelo
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Artists, A-Z -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Artists, A-Z -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent Reproductions and very good text -- Truly Majestic 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

This is an absolutely superb book, largely because the reproductions of the frescoes are excellent and really capture the colors that you see when you visit the Chapel. I have found many art books disappointing, because they simply fail to capture the works they present. I first saw this book in an American bookstore after visiting the Sistine Chapel, and really thrilled to see if after looking at several other books where colors were much duller and the images simply not as sharp. In addition to its fine colors, the book provides many fine closeups of each individual section. The text is also very good, describing the subjects of the painting, the history behind the paintings, ansd also the recent restorstion. This is a must-have book!

Editorial Review:

The restoration of Michelangelo's magnificent frescoes in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel stirred up much controversy and debate among scholars, art historians, and art lovers alike. Originally painted in the late 15th century, it took restorers 14 painstaking years (from 1981 to 1995) to remove the centuries' worth of dust and decay that had obscured the frescoes' brilliant colors and intricate designs. In 250 gorgeous full-color photographs, this unique and beautiful volume presents Michelangelo's restored chapel--perhaps the greatest masterpiece of Renaissance art--in its entirety, from the Creation to the Last Judgment, both before and after cleaning. The only definitive study of the restoration process, this book is the next best thing to actually being there.

Conservation Treatment Methodology

Barbara Appelbaum

Amazon Price: $29.65 List Price: $32.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Butterworth-Heinemann Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $26.65

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Reference -> Preservation of Art
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Antiques & Collectibles -> Care & Restoration
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Antiques & Collectibles -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Conservation Treatment Methodology presents a systematic approach to decision-making for conservation treatments. The methodology is applicable to all cultural property, independent of object type or material, and its use will enable conservators to be more confident in their treatment decisions.

Conservation Treatment Methodology is illustrated with numerous examples that emphasize the equal importance of the physical and cultural aspects of objects for decision-making. The book also explains how the history of an object and the meaning that it holds for its owner or custodian contribute to determining its treatment.

Conservation Treatment Methodology is an essential text for conservators, historic preservation specialists, and restorers, as well as students. Since it is not a technical manual about how to carry out treatments, the book will also be of value to art historians and museum personnel who work with conservators.

"This book is unique in its overarching, multidisciplinary approach. The writing is not only clear, but entertaining and engaging."
Dan Kushel, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Art Conservation Department, Buffalo New York) State College

Barbara Appelbaum is one of the premier objects conservators in the United States and the author of Guide to Environmental Protection of Collections. Practicing in New York, Appelbaum was trained at New York University and began her career at The Brooklyn Museum. The author treats a wide range of object types. Projects of note have included George Washington's leather portfolio, a Marcel Duchamp urinal, and a Marilyn Monroe dress.

Introduction to Rock Art Research

David S. Whitley

Amazon Price: $24.95 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Left Coast Press Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $10.51

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Reference -> Preservation of Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Schools, Periods & Styles -> Folk Art
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Archaeology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Best Rock Art Introductory Book 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Dr. Whitley is one of the top three specialists in rock art research in the world today. His scholarly record of top-notch scholarship spans three continents and includes ground-breaking perceptual advances. He pulled together and edited the 2000 capstone book "The Handbook of Rock Art Research" - the standard by which all other future compilations must be judged.

The problem was that introductory rock art students would find "The Handbook" a bit too intimidating. Little existed for those who want to go beyond being a photographer of rock art and start down the road towards contributing to our scholarly knowledge of these priceless insights into past minds. Instructors from the community college on up teaching the basics of rock art research were left to cobble together a series of articles and picture books, ending up with an unsatisfying set of readings.

This book solves the problem of an individual wanting to explore the scholarly study of rock art. Dr. Whitley explains in clear language the state of the art of research into rock art. This book is perfect for anybody who has wondered, "What can be done with these amazing images of the past". Dr. Whitley provides the reader a concise and readable way to understand that a tremendous amount of research is possible. So this book is for the regular person who has taken the time to stop on a road trip and wonder about past visitors to a site.

The reader will receive a wonderful introduction to rock art, come to grasp the importance of field work in rock art reserach, be introduced to classification methods, dating methods, scientific analysis methods, how to interpret symbolic and enthnographic elements, and even link rock art to how our minds are constructed at a neurophysiological level. Most importantly, the book turns to management and conservation of this cultural resource that we are losing in bits and pieces every day.

Even though this book is written well enough for someone "new" to rock art to understand the field, this book is also a must for professional archaeologists. This is because rock art is a field long overlooked by archaeologists. Archaeologists older than about 30 years were taught in classes that "nothing could be done" with rock art. Dr. Whitley's book indicates that such statements reveal the lack of scholarship of the speaker. For any archaeologist who simultaneously claims to be a scholar and also questions the relevance of rock art for the student of past peoples, Dr. Whitley's book is a must read. Or the general public will quickly come to the opinion that the "professionals" are so stuck in their old ways that they have become the relicts that they study.

So if you love the pictures and want to learn more, or if you are an out-of-date professional and don't want to be caught being the fool, read this book!

Editorial Review:

Once a stepchild of archaeology, rock art research has become increasingly important tool in recent archaeological work for understanding the symbolic and ideological systems of ancient peoples. Yet, methods of working with pictographs, petroglyphs and geoglyphs are rarely taught in a systematic fashion. In this brief introduction to methods well-known rock art researcher David Whitley takes the reader through the various processes needed to document, interpret, and preserve this fragile category of artifact. Using examples from around the globe, he offers a comprehensive guide to rock art studies of value to archaeologists and art historians, their students, and rock art aficionados.

The Care of Bronze Sculpture: Recommended Maintenance Programs for the Collector

Patrick V. Kipper

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Path Publications Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $8.82

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Reference -> Preservation of Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Sculpture -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Sculpture -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Solid conservative info 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Not particularly advanced, but good for the collector and many bronze artists. Slightly repetitive, but affirmative of very good bronze finishing/conservation practices in a variety of enviroments.

History of Architectural Conservation (CONSERVATION AND MUSEOLOGY)

Jukka Jokilehto

Amazon Price: $62.05 List Price: $68.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Butterworth-Heinemann Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $57.63

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Reference -> Preservation of Art
Subjects -> History -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Antiques & Collectibles -> Care & Restoration

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A History of Architectural Conservation expands knowledge about the conservation of ancient monuments, works of art and historic buildings. It includes the origins of the interest in conservation within the European context, and the development of the concepts from Antiquity and the Renaissance to the present day. Jokilehto illustrates how this development has influenced international collaboration in the protection and conservation of cultural heritage, and how it has formed the principal concepts and approach to conservation and restoration in today's multi-cultural society.

This book is based on archival research of original documents and the study of key restoration examples in countries that have influenced the international conservation movement. Accessible and of great interest to students and the general public it includes conservation trends in Europe, the USA, India, Iran and Japan.

* Uses world-wide examples to give a complete overview of the modern approach to conservation and restoration
* Provides a thorough explanation of the development of the concepts of conservation from traditional to modern society
* Learn from the knowledge of this experienced and well respected author

The Museum: Behind the Scenes at the British Museum

Rupert Smith

Amazon Price: $22.76 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks By: BBC Books Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $12.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Museums & Collections -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Museums & Collections -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Reference -> Preservation of Art

Editorial Review:

The British Museum is home to a remarkable collection of treasures from around the world, including its famous Egyptian mummies, the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone and the Sutton Hoo helmet. Looking after them are some 800 staff who maintain the galleries, plan major exhibitions, restore precious objects and manage a flow of 4.5 million visitors each year. Rupert Smith has been granted special access to the huge variety of people who work in the Museum - from its expert curators and the conservators who preserve the collection for future generations, to heavy-object handlers and the people who clean the fabulous new glass roof of its Great Court. Accompanying a major ten-part BBC television series, "The Museum" takes us behind the scenes for the first time to see how this amazing place works. Illustrated with over 120 colour photographs, and with a foreword by the Museum's director, Neil MacGregor, this fascinating book is a celebration of the British Museum and the many dedicated people who work there. An unprecedented look behind the scenes of the British Museum

Curiosity and Enlightenment: Collectors and Collections from the Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century

Arthur MacGregor

Amazon Price: $60.00 List Price: $75.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Yale University Press Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $52.74

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Museums & Collections -> Museums -> Permanent Collection Catalogs

Editorial Review:

This fascinating book offers a history of museum collecting in western Europe over the course of its formative centuries, tracing its origins from the culture of collecting that emerged during the Renaissance and concluding with the great changes of the nineteenth century which would prove so influential to the museum movement of later years.

Taking into account both individual collectors and public institutions, Arthur MacGregor covers topics such as the methods by which materials from both the manmade and natural world were selected and displayed, problems of preservation and presentation, the specialization of individual areas such as fine arts, antiquities or natural history, as well as the developments of the nineteenth century that brought such collections within the reach of a much wider public. With the aid of 200 images, this book offers for the first time a wide-ranging survey of this entire process as well as the changing preoccupations of collectors.

The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration

Carlo Pietrangeli, Michael Hirst, Gianluigi Colalucci, Fabrizio Mancinelli, John Shearman, Matthias Winner, Edward Maeder, Nazzareno Gabrielli, Piernicola Pagliara

List Price: $29.98 By: Abradale Press Amazon Marketplace: 15 new & used starting at $24.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Regional -> European
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Wonderful Book 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

As a student with two jobs I do not have much time for art. Recently I have taken an interest in the classics. I was at a bookstore one day and this book caught my eye:

The work of Michelangelo is wonderful. This book really brings to life this masters artwork in a way that is beautiful and breathtaking. The part I love most about this book is that before and after pictures are shown of Michelangelo's work (pre and post restoration). It really brings vibrant life and color to work that seems sometimes to be forgotten. Also lots of people think that Michelangelo was not very creative in his color usage, after seeing this book, you will truly see that he is a GENIUS. Even if you are not into art...this book will make you see art and especially Michelangelo in a different way. Get this book. You will not regret it.

Editorial Review:

Michelangelo's creation of the monumental frescos in the Sistine Chapel marked a revolutionary event in Western art. Now, another revolutionary event has occurred: a nine-year restoration, carried out by experts at the Vatican Museums and described and illustrated in this incredible work. 312 illustrations, 293 in full color; gatefold.

A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting

Lara Flecker

Amazon Price: $69.25 List Price: $76.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Butterworth-Heinemann Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $62.38

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Textile & Costume

Editorial Review:

The effective preparation of garments for display is essential for exhibitions of contemporary and historical dress. Costumes not only need to be visually appealing but also fully supported and historically accurate. This book provides a comprehensive guide to mounting costumes from the eighteenth century to the present day. It includes methods for adapting and shaping figures to create historical silhouettes, constructing underpinnings and making replicas and toiles using inexpensive and simple techniques. A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting is an invaluable resource for conservators, historians and all those working with clothing in museums, private collections and throughout the fashion and theatre industries.

Trained as a historical costume maker, author Lara Flecker is the textile display specialist at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. She has worked extensively with the museum's world-class costume collection, preparing garments for display. Her simple mounting methods are clearly explained and can be used by people with a wide range of experience, including those with few sewing skills.

* The only publication detailing how to mount costumes
* Offers comprehensive and practical advice using clear colour images
* The author has considerable experience in mounting costumes of all periods of history from an outstanding national museum collection.