Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, Harry Houdini (1874–1926) was a rabbi’s son who became one of the 20th century’s most famous performers. His gripping theatrical presentations and heart-stopping outdoor spectacles attracted unprecedented crowds, and his talent for self-promotion and provocation captured headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. 
Though Houdini’s work has earned him a place in the cultural pantheon, the details of his personal life and public persona are subjects of equal fascination. His success was both cause for celebration inthe Jewish community and testament to his powers of self-reinvention. In Houdini: Art and Magic, essays on the artist’s life and work are accompanied by interviews with novelist E. L. Doctorow, magician Teller (of Penn and Teller), and contemporary artists including Raymond Pettibon and Matthew Barney, documenting Houdini’s evolution and influence from the late 19th century to the present. Beautifully illustrated with a range of visual material, including Houdini’s own diaries, iconic handcuffs, and straitjacket, alongside rare period posters, prints, and photographs, this book brings Houdini—both the myth and the man—back to life.

Houdini: Art and Magic

Arts & Photography

Rapaport, Brooke Kamin

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Yale University Press

Examines the emergence of abstract organic forms and their assimilation into the popular arts and culture of American life from 1940-1960, covering advertising, decorative arts, commercial design, and the fine arts.

Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960

Harry N. Abrams

Leon Polk Smith: American Painter

BROOKLYN MUSEUM

Brooklyn Museum Bookshop

Vital Forms: American Art in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960

Stayton, Kevin

Brooklyn Museum of Art

The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson Constructing A Legend

Danto, Arthur Coleman

Nevelson, Louise

Jewish Museum (New

Yale

Accompanying the landmark exhibition by renowned Hudson Valley–based artist Martin Puryear (born 1941), who is representing the United States at the 58th Venice Biennale, this book captures a high point in the career of one of today’s most acclaimed artists. In addition to extensive illustrations of new sculptures made for the Biennale, including a significant site-specific work, the book features major texts by Brooke Kamin Rapaport, Darby English and Anne Wagner. The works and essays demonstrate Puryear’s powerful, original and influential engagement with art history and social history on both a personal level, as an African American artist, and universally. With a definitive illustrated chronology of the artist’s career over the last fifty years, Martin Puryear: Liberty / Libertà is an essential look at one of the most important artists today, who continues to work at the height of his powers.

Martin Puryear: Liberty / Libertà

English, Darby

Wagner, Anne

Haslett, Tobi

History & Criticism

Gregory R. Miller & Co.

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Books by Rapaport, Brooke Kamin