Book Review: “Naked - The Nude in America" by Bram Dijkstra -Rizzoli Press, New York (2010)

It’s been quite a while since I have done a book review so I thought I would do a review of one of my most recent acquisitions. Several months ago I bought a copy of the quintessential tome on the nude in art by Sir Kenneth Clark titled: “The Nude: A Study In The Ideal Form” for ten dollars on eBay. His series of lectures on the subject covered just about all the European sources of the nude in art but was somewhat short on the nude in art in North America. I began to wonder about what volumes are out there which cover the missing parts of Clark’s lectures on the nude in art. Now, in this age of internet accessibility of tons of information on line about art and artists, I began to think about what might be out there in print on the subject of my interest in the 19th century European and American Academy of Arts and the Academic nude. It appears that interest in the printed word in real, hold in you hands, love the feel in your hand of ten pounds of paper, books has been somewhat eclipsed by weightless images on a computer screen. You would be surprised by the number of out of print books on the subject of 19th century art listed on eBay these days which can be had for just a few bucks. In my search for reference materials I happened upon this volume for a measly thirty-eight dollars which sold at publication for seventy five dollars. When the book arrived I was in awe! As I thumbed through the 476 pages of color illustrations I was captivated by the detail of what America has contributed to the subject of the nude in art from the 18th century to the date of the publication of this volume. Here is a scan of the critique of the volume from the jacket cover:

The volume is lavishly illustrated with large color images and is well worth the paultry few dollars you have to pay for it on eBay. I highly recommend you add it to your library of art books. Here is a sampling of just a few of the illutrations: (Below) (1) Benjamin West - Male Nude Sitting on a Rock - Watercolor - 1783

(2) BENJAMIN WEST: THE DEATH OF HYACINTHUS 1771 (Below)

(3). EDWARD VYSEKAL - NUDE 1930 - Watercolor (Below)

(4)HENRY OLIVER WALKER - NARCISSUS 1890’S (Below)

(5).ROBERT LEWIS REID - The Bathers 1894 (Below)

(6).ROBERT LEWIS REID - THE BATHER 1894 (Below)

(7) .ROBERT LEWIS REID - FEMALE NUDE

(8) WILLARD LEROY METCALF - THE BATHING POOL 1886 (Below - Partial scan)

Complete Image: (Below)