Between 1927 and 1933, as the new Soviet Union emerged and the Communist party struggled to transform an agrarian country into an industrialized state, a group of young artists pitched in by designing fabrics depicting tractors, smokestacks and symbols of collective modernity, cloth with which to mold its buyers into ideal Soviet citizens. Few of these designs ever saw mass production, and the experiment failed as propaganda--comrades clung to their traditional floral motifs--but it yielded bold and intriguing new designs. Soviet Textiles: Designing the Modern Utopia presents some 40 of them, and analyzes the political and artistic context in which they were made. Pamela Jill Kachurin identifies major themes and motifs, including industrialization, transportation, electrification, youth, agriculture and collectivization, and sports and hobbies, and analyzes the work both as propaganda and as graphic art, in this, the only English-language book to treat them from that perspective.

Soviet Textiles: Designing the Modern Utopia

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Pamela Jill Kachurin

Crafts & Hobbies

MFA Publications

This classic catalogue, published to accompany an exhibition of swords by the master swordsmith Sadaichi Gassan and others illustrative of the Gassan School, is a prized resource for any student of the exquisite art of Japanese swordmaking. Techniques used by the school date back to the 13th century, and represent the tradition and ritual of Japanese swordmaking at its most resplendent. Japanese Master Swordsmiths features not only an in-depth study, in English and Japanese, of ten carefully selected, superlatively crafted swords in the Gassan tradition, including numerous details, sketches, and maker s marks, but also a discussion of the context surrounding the Gassan School and the religious and philosophical precepts that govern it. 86 pages 8"x11" softcover over 100 b/w illustrations $19.95

Japanese Master Swordsmiths: The Gassan Tradition

Morihiro Ogawa

Arts & Photography

"Several years ago, 26 prominent studio furniture-makers were asked to design works of furniture based on period pieces in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The result is an explosion of form and fantasy in which past and present are mergedUa celebration of the continued existence of small-scale furniture making in the midst of mass production. Among the works discussed in this lavishly illustrated book are pieces by Garry Knox Bennett, JohnCederquist, Kristina Madsen, Judy Kensley McKie, Michael Pierschalla, and Paul Sasso. In an insightful and detailed essay, author Edward Cooke Jr. contextualizes these works, outlining their complex relationship with American traditions of furniture design."

New American Furniture: The Second Generation of Studio

Cooke, Jr., Edward S.

Cooke Jr, Edward

Antiques & Collectibles

English Silver in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Vol. 1: Silver Before 1697

Alcorn, Ellen

Alcorn, Ellen M.

By Wang Shixiang. Artwork by Nancy Berliner. Text by Malcolm Rogers, Craig Clunas, Curtis Evarts, Sarah Handler, Wang Zhengshu, Wen Zhenheng.

Beyond The Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries

Wang, Shixiang

Sarah Handler

Craig Clunas

Malcolm Rogers

Curtis Evarts

Wang Zhengshu

Nancy Berliner

History & Criticism

"The guitar and the dog, in order not to be separated from man, have submitted themselves with resignation to the worst alterations of size and appearance." Andres Segovia

Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar

Kuronen, Darcy

Music

The collection of English silver at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was established in the 1930s and has long been considered one of the finest collections of such objects in the world, having grown to include over 500 pieces. This catalogue, the second in a two-volume series, covers some 300 works from 1697, when the Britannic standard was introduced, until the beginning of the twentieth century. The entries include black and white works of all marks and armorials and complete listings of provenance, exhibition and publication history. In addition, an introduction by author Ellenor M. Alcorn details the history of the collection and illuminates the significance of these beautiful objects.

English Silver in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Vol. 2: Silver From 1697

For centuries, the sampler has been a mainstay of the seamstress's craft, at once a didactic tool, a commercial showcase, and, frequently, a work of art in itself. This beautifully illustrated, accessible book presents a look at some remarkable samplers and offers a concise history of the form as well. Arranged like an alphabet, Samplers from A to Z concentrates on 26 examples, each chosen to illustrate a key facet of sampler artistry. The topic covered range from alphabets, embroidery, and cutwork to landscapes, spot samplers, and whitework. Pamela A. Parmal, who is also curator of the current exhibition of samplers at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, provides an overview of samplers and their role in industry and education throughout their history. This succinct, colorful book is ideal for anyone interested in the technique, history, or astounding beauty and variety of samplers.

Samplers from A to Z

Parmal, Pamela

Parmal, Pamela A.

As early as 1889, one Boston art critic had reported that "there is nothing that men do that is not done by women now in Boston." The city of Boston saw perhaps the largest concentration of women artists in the country, and A Studio of Her Own tells the interwoven stories of 40 of them in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It explores their lives and work both individually and communally, taking particular note of the relationships they formed, which enabled many of them to excel. Along with individual portraits of the artists, the book includes discussions of such contextual issues as the importance of the Arts and Crafts movement, concerns of marriage, family and sexuality, and the role of the MFA School. A Studio of Her Own is the definitive work on an important moment in America's cultural and artistic history.

A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston 1870-1940

Erica E. Hirshler

John Updike: Just Looking: Essays on Art

UPDIKE, John.

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Books by MFA Publications