SAM Libraries: Book(s) of the Month Club: July and August

Traci Timmons on Aug 10 2010

July and August books are all about American artists.

August is American Indian Heritage Month. We are excited about the upcoming exhibition on native Quileute art and artists: Behind the Scenes: The Real Story of the Quileute Wolves. This is an excellent opportunity to talk about a number of new additions to the library collections to support the works in this exhibition.

  The Ceremonial Societies of the Quileute Indians. Leo Joachim Frachtenberg. Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2007 (reprint of original 1921 publication). E 99 Q5 F73
  David, Young Chief of the Quileutes: An American Indian Today. Ruth Kirk. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967. E 99 Q5 K5
  Nootka and Quileute Music. Frances Densmore. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1939. SPCOL E 99 Q5 D37 1939
  Quileute Dictionary. Manuel José Andrade. New York: AMS Press, 1969. E 99 Q5 A74
  The Wolf Ritual of the Northwest Coast. Alice Henson Ernst. Salinas, CA: Coyote Press, 2007 (reprint of 1952 publication). E 98 R3 E7

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July celebrates the birth of the United States and provides another opportunity to think about art from America.

Over the last five years we’ve added literally thousands of titles to our holdings in American art. This area of our collection grew more than any other for several reasons. Our first bona fide curatorial Department of American Art was founded in 2004 and it was important to provide research support for an area we’d never actively collected in before. Gratefully, several large gifts focused on American art research were given to us in this same time period and it all, magically, seemed to come together. Our holdings on American art are now quite enviable.

Here are just a few gems:

  Abstract Trompe L’Oeil: Albers, Anuszkiewicz, Herbin, Poons, Vasarely: 5 Painters Who Led and Misled the Eye. New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1965. N 6494 O67 S5**
  A Civil War Album of Paintings by the Prince de Joinville. François Ferdinand Phillippe Louis Marie d’Orléans, prince de Joinville. New York: Antheneum, 1964. New York: Antheneum, 1964. ND 1950 J5 C3**
  A Loan Exhibition of Portraits of Soldiers and Sailors in American Wars, for the Benefit of the Soldiers and Sailors Club of New York. New York: Duveen Galleries, 1945. SPCOL N 7593 S6**
  Messages & Magic: 100 Years of Collage and Assemblage in American Art. Leslie Umberger. Sheboygan, WS: John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2008. N 6512.5 C55 U43*
  Ornamental Store Fronts and Building Entrances in Bronze: Examples of Modern American Design and Craftsmanship. New York: The Copper & Brass Research Association, 1926. SPCOL NA 3010 C66 1926*
  Ten Women Who Paint: A Loan Exhibition Honoring Distinguished Achievements of Women, as Part of the Celebration of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Smith College. Northampton, MA: The Smith College Museum of Art, 1949.**
* This book was graciously provided by SAMS in memory of Ann Barwick in recognition of her love for American art.
** Funding for the American Art Library has been provided by Susan Winokur and Paul Leach with additional funding provided by members of the Council of American Art and the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation.

To see more books on Quileute art and American art, check out our library catalogue.

Both research libraries at SAM and SAAM are currently closed to the public until September. It’s for a great reason though: we’re getting ready for our bi-annual book sale to be held August 21. Click here for full details.

Traci Timmons, Librarian