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The House of Barnes: The Man, The Collection, The Controversy (Memoir Vol. 266)
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John Milton’s Roman Sojourns, 1638-1639: Neo-Latin Self-Fashioning: Transactions, APS (Volume 109, Part 4)
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The House of Barnes: The Man, The Collection, The Controversy is a beautifully written study of the extraordinary art collector and volatile personality Albert C. Barnes. The book places him in the context of his own era, shedding new light on the ideas and movements (about art collecting, education, and aesthetics) that shaped so much of his thinking.
The Barnes’ major holdings of largely post-impressionist art include more than 800 paintings, with a strong focus on Renoir (181 canvases), Cézanne (69), Matisse (59), and Picasso (46 paintings and drawings). In its entirety, it is the greatest single collection of such art that has remained intact.
The last chapters of the book address the controversial events surrounding the Barnes Foundation’s move to Philadelphia, including vehement opposition—as well as strong support. There is an analysis of the Foundation’s financial plight, a review of the major court cases over the decades, and a characterization of the fervent reactions following the court’s decision to allow the move to take place.
The monograph is recommended for a broad audience, including those interested in art and art collecting, the role of art in education, and the development of cultural institutions.
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This study examines the impact of Rome and its vibrant culture upon Milton in the course of two two-month sojourns in the city in 1638-1639. Focusing on his neo-Latin writings pertaining to that period, it presents new evidence of the academic, literary, and musical contexts surrounding Milton’s proactive integration into seicento Rome. Highlighting Milton’s self-fashioning as one who was hospitably embraced by Catholic Rome, this volume traces his networking with distinguished Italian humanists (upon whom he left no slight an impression). Not least, we read of Milton’s attested presence in the hub of Catholicism, the Vatican itself, and his language is fulsome, even excited.
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Some Architects’ Portraits in Nineteenth-Century America: Personifying the Evolving Profession: Transactions, APS (Volume 103, Part 4)
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Lunar Calendars of the Pre-Columbian Maya: Transactions, APS (Volume 109, Part 1)
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This is the first study devoted to the portraits of nineteenth-century American architects. It is an examination of the way the iconography of such images changed over time to reflect the changing social status of the architect as the profession evolved during the century. Portraits in oil on canvas, drawings, and photography in the text range from Charles Willson Peale’s image of William Buckland in the late eighteenth century to John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Richard Morris Hunt in the late 1890s. The book has been praised as “a unique use of visual resources, supported by formidable primary research and a thorough analysis of secondary literature.” Illustrations.
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Pre-Columbian Maya interest in the waxing and waning of the Moon is well documented. This rare example of interdisciplinary scholarship brings together a deeply penetrating knowledge of positional astronomy and Maya hieroglyphic writing, two highly disparate areas of study, and synthesizes them into a thorough interpretation of the relationship between astronomical concepts in the Maya codices and monumental inscriptions. Prompted by the recent discovery of the Xulum 10K-2 lunar table, this volume is a logical follow-up to work published in 2011 by the Brickers, “Astronomy in the Maya Codices.” It is a comprehensive study of the Maya lunar calendar. Illus.
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Petroglyphs of the Northern Ute Indian Reservation as Interpreted by Clifford Duncan (American Philosophical Society Transactions 105 Part 5)
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Benjamin Franklin, Swimmer: An Illustrated History (Transactions Vol 110, Part 1
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People must be educated about the rock art. That’s how it will be protected. —Clifford Duncan
Clifford Duncan, a Northern Ute elder, believed in educating the public to know and understand the meaning of Ute petroglyphs. By doing this, he believed it would help to preserve and protect them. Over the course of eight years, Clifford and the author visited and revisited all of these sites, discussing what they might represent. Clifford’s father was an Uncompahgre Ute and wanted Clifford to know the traditional homelands of the Uncompahgres in western Colorado. Clifford made special trips all through the Uncompahgre Plateau (by car, on foot, and on horseback), seeking out any Ute petroglyphs and cultural sites. Later in his life, he and the author visited many of the petroglyphs on the Uintah–Ouray Reservation, along Hill Creek and Willow Creek. These petroglyphs were authored by the Uncompahgre and White River Utes.
The interpretations of the petroglyphs of western Colorado and the Uintah– Ouray Reservation are supplemented with cultural and political history to provide a background context to Clifford’s interpretations. In addition, ethnographic information from other scholars provides readers with a deep appreciation as to what makes Ute petroglyphs so unique and fascinating.
Anthropologist Carol Patterson was Adjunct Professor for Colorado Mesa University and Metropolitan State University, Colorado. She is principal investigator for Urraca Archaeology, Montrose, Colorado. Recent publications include Shavano Valley Petroglyph Guide (2015) and “Concepts of Spirt in Rock Art According to Clifford Duncan, Ute Spiritual Elder,” in Sacred Landscapes, One World Archaeology Series (2014). Dr. Patterson’s earlier publications include Petroglyphs and Pueblo Myths of the Rio Grande and On the Trail of Spiderwoman, Pictographs and Petroglyphs of the Southwest (1997).
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The
story of Benjamin Franklin’s lifelong delight in swimming and his
influence in making swimming popular in the western world has never been
told. This book uses Franklin’s love of swimming to examine the
founder’s life, times, and strong, inventive personality through a lens
that historians have previously overlooked. Franklin’s personality
emerges through the lens of swimming. We see him clearly as a leader,
an inventor, and a strong, proud man. As he was in many fields, he was
self-taught. He interacted with family, friends, and acquaintances
through swimming. Swimming also offered him an entrée into British
society.
Franklin discusses swimming in his Letters and in his Autobiography. Friends
and family also comment on his swimming. Primary sources for this book
include Franklin’s writing, that of his contemporaries, and other
artistic and archaeological sources. When Franklin’s grandson Benjamin
Franklin Bache was in his care in France he swam in the Seine. Bache’s Journal constitutes
another important primary source for this book. The escapades of this
engaging literate teenager in France with his grandfather never before
have been published.
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1968 the International Swimming Hall of Fame honored Franklin with
membership. The citation mentions his various inventions that made
swimming more efficient and his own feats as a swimmer, but most of all
his success in promoting swimming as an essential part of any education.
Benjamin Franklin’s advice about water safety and his conviction that
everyone should learn to swim because it promotes health, hygiene, and safety is still relevant. Swimming has always been “useful knowledge.”
Sarah B. Pomeroy is Distinguished
Professor of Classics and History, Emerita, at Hunter College and the
Graduate School, CUNY. She is also Lady Joan Reid Author in Residence
at Benjamin Franklin House, London, and a
Member of the American Philosophical Society. Widely recognized as a
pioneer in the fields of women’s history and classical studies, she uses
not only textual sources but also artistic and archaeological evidence
in order to reconstruct the past. Her publications include Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity (1975, 1995); Women in Hellenistic Egypt from Alexander to Cleopatra (1984, 1990); Spartan Women (2002); The Murder of Regilla. a Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity (2007); and Pythagorean Women: Their Lives and Their Writings (2013). Her most recent book is Maria Sibylla Merian, Artist, Scientist, Adventurer (2017). Her
books have been translated into Italian, Spanish, German, and Chinese.
Professor Pomeroy received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the
Guggenheim Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment
for the Humanities, and she is an Honorary Fellow of St. Hilda’s
College, the University of Oxford. Like Ben Franklin, she likes to play
the harpsichord and to swim.
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Today's Super Deal! |
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Other Presidency: Thomas Jefferson
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Our Price: $15.00 Sale Price: $10.00 You save $5.00!
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The Other Presidency: Thomas Jefferson and the American Philosophical Society, by Patrick Spero, With research assistance by Abigail Shelton and John Kenney.
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