Audrey Munson was once called the "The most perfect, most versatile, most famous of American models, whose face and figure have inspired thousands of modern masterpieces of sculpture and painting." It was not an exaggeration. Audrey's career is the classic tale of meteoric rise and tragic downfall—from "Queen of the Artists' Studios" to fragile psychiatric patient. Her best known clients included Daniel Chester French and Karl Bitter for whom she provided inspiration beyond her physical grace. The consummate professional, she modeled for dozens of civic monuments and was called "America's Venus." At one time, thirty pieces of art based on her poses were housed at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to many public edifices throughout the U.S., she has adorned the estates of John D. Rockefeller and George Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan's yacht, and U.S. Mint coins. At the peak of her career she was selected as the primary model for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition (P.P.I.E.) in San Francisco, eventually appearing in 24,000 feet of mural decorations, scores of groups of statuary, and the Exposition's exquisite symbolic figurine which graced the cover of Sunset magazine. Audrey Munson's life as a fine art model was the subject of four controversial silent films in which she starred—mostly nude. After a media spectacle linking her with a murder case her career faltered and ultimately doomed her to a life of reclusion in a psychiatric facility at the age of 39. She lived there largely unacknowledged by her family until the astonishing age of 105. This then is her story.

American Venus: The Extraordinary Life of Audrey Munson, Model and Muse

Rozas, Diane

Bourne, Anita

Humor & Entertainment

Balcony Press

Julius Shulman's long career photographing great architectural works with depth, passion, drama, and an instinct for the architect's intentions has ensured his present status as one of the world's preeminent architectural photographers. His eloquent photos interpreting the structures of Richard Neutra and other early modernists helped the viewing public to understand these revolutionary buildings, and brought prominence to modernist practitioners who might otherwise have been considered eccentric. Frank Lloyd Wright once said that no better photos had ever been taken of Taliesin West than those by Shulman. Photographing Architecture and Interiors, published in 1962, is Shulman's first book, and he still considers it to be his most genuine reflection on the profession and on his own artistic philosophy. This title is an exact reprint of that now-classic publication. All of Shulman's famous photographs have here been reproduced from original prints, giving the images a crispness and luminosity not seen even in the 1962 edition. The introduction by Richard Neutra, perhaps Shulman's most important client and avid supporter, has been preserved; also included is a new foreword by Shulman himself.

Photographing Architecture and Interiors

Arts & Photography

Shulman, Julius

Photography & Video

Water Is Key: A Better Future for Africa

Perfect condition, hard cover with dust jacket kept in Mylar cover. Oversized interesting book charting the history of the legendary club. 180 pages illustrated with full color photos and drawings.

The Jonathan Club Story

Nat B. Read

Scott Johnson is the highly acclaimed designer of some of L.A.'s most recognized architecture. As partner in the award-winning Los Angeles architecture ﬁrm Johnson Fain he was the creative force behind extraordinary buildings such as the Sun America Building and the Fox Tower—affectionately nicknamed the "Die Hard Building" after its starring role in the ﬁlm. In this engaging memoir, Johnson shares his personal experiences as a designer and considers the relationship between practice and theory over the last forty years of American architecture. From his childhood days in California's Salinas Valley, to his tenure with legendary architect Philip Johnson, to his time with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, to the formation of his own ﬁrm and its rise toward the top of the architectural ﬁrmament, Johnson’s unique insight makes for a fascinating discussion of each of the major movements that have characterized the world of architecture since Modernism in one of America's most interesting metropolises.

The Big Idea: Criticality and Practice in Contemporary Architecture

Biographies & Memoirs

Johnson, Scott

Arts & Literature

Descanso: An Urban Oasis Revealed

Descanso Gardens is one of Los Angeles's oldest botanical gardens. Initially a Spanish rancho and later the estate of publisher and horticulturist E. Manchester Boddy, the 160-acre lot was granted to the people of Los Angeles and includes one of the world s finest collections of camellias and oaks. Warren Marr is part of a long tradition of photographers who have responded creatively to the garden and its timeless appeal. His photographic explorations of what he refers to as a "natural light box" have been called "lyrical and luminous" by Getty Museum curator Anne Lyden. Marr's lush panoramic images combined with essays on the significance of the garden plants and history make Descanso an elegant volume for photographyand garden lovers.

Literature & Fiction

Everyday Heroes by Anne Greenwald. In Everyday Heroes artist Anne Greenwald pays tribute to the exceptional people our children encounter every day. They are the fabric of our neighborhoods, teachers school bus drivers, athletes, public servants, family members,friends, Each can be a source of inspiration. Children delight with vibrant watercolor paintings depicting children at play with heroes, just as parents will appreciate the reminder of how, in our own unique ways, each of us is a hero.

Everyday Heroes

Anne Greenwald

The deﬁnitive L.A. experience may include a shopping spree or a celebrity sighting, but it will certainly involve a car. Without a complex network of subways and buses providing access to points of interest throughout the city, visitors to L.A. and Angelenos alike must spend much of their time navigating the city's vast but often-frustrating freeway system, away from the ground and the most endearing aspects of the city. Cruising L.A., the ﬁrst driver's companion guidebook to Los Angeles, features an expertly guided seven-day driving route through L.A.'s most scenic neighborhoods, exploring their most vital and unique cultural and architectural features.

Cruising L.A.: Architectural Styles in 5 Easy Drives

Travel

Troy Fuss

United States

Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall is a stunning piece of architecture whose curved metal skin is known worldwide. The hall's rich wood interior allows musicians and listeners to dwell inside an instrument of exquisite craftsmanship. The centerpiece of the auditorium is a skewed arrangement of organ pipes located behind the stage. This organ represents the culmination of 16 years of design, planning, and construction, and it has been a reverberating success since its inaugural concert in the fall of 2004. Forest of Pipes includes fascinating interviews with key figures in the organ's design and construction, including organ designer Manuel Rosales, organ builder Caspar Glatter-Goetz, as well as Gehry himself. Illustrations include drawings, construction photos, and magnificent portraits of the finished instrument by photographer Grant Mudford. World-famous organists describe their experiences performing on one of the most significant new organs built in the last 100 years.

Forest of Pipes: The Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ

Jennifer Zobelein

The two decades that followed World War II were a period of extraordinary growth in Miami. During that time architectural modernism provided a framework for the city's new urban patterns, novel building types, evolving aesthetics, and emerging environmental consciousness. The city was a virtual laboratory of modern architecture, a semitropical hothouse where modernism was probed, challenged, adapted, and ultimately expanded. Miami Modern Metropolis explores the distinctive and illuminating premises embodied in the city's growth from 1945 to 1965. Covering a range of architectural topics including hotels, retail, aerospace, and residential, Miami Modern Metropolis is both a thoroughly researched and entertaining look at one of the country's most distinctive urban confections.

Miami Modern Metropolis: Paradise and Paradox in Midcentury Architecture and Planning

History

Americas

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