Biographies and Memoirs |
The unforgettable ones...
Hare with the Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund De Waal. It took him 2 years of research to uncover the rise and fall of his European Jewish family's banking dynasty. I was most moved when I read the last word of the book which is the name of his daughter. I reflected on the loss of my father's family's fortunes in the escape from North Korea except for the bolts of silk submerged in the river and later sold in the South so that they could survive.
Just Kids by Patti Smith -- It broke my heart and put it back together forever changed. This book may be one of my all time favorites though I never want to read it again.
de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan -- This book took ten years to make and won the Pulitzer Prize. When I'm in a book store, I'll ask if anyone knows of an artist biography as good as the one on de Kooning. This biography has given me tremendous feeling for de Kooning paintings. His last ones are the most haunting and beautiful of all.
Hold Still by Sally Mann -- Her dive into memory, family, motherhood, connection to the South, sudden fame alongside her continuous courageous and ambitious growth as an artist haunts me as does her photography.
Frida by Hayden Herrera -- Hayden's research is exhaustive and underscores the complexity of who Frida was. Frida fascinates because with every new exhibit and as I mature, I keep seeing her differently. Recently at the Brooklyn Museum, the photos taken of by her lover Nickolas Murray and her father, made me see understand her differently.
Life with Picasso by Francoise Gilot -- I laughed out loud several times. Gilot is an extraordinary artist still working today in her 90s. She was with Picasso for 10 years, and they had two children, Paloma and Claude. She was the only woman who ever left Picasso and managed to live and even thrive. With two young children, this was no easy feat. She is a force of nature and full of dry humor. She also wrote Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art.
A Working Artist's Life by Robert Kipniss -- I did not know much about his art and got this book at a book fair. It was plainly written and captured grow up in a difficult family. It was a touching to spend an afternoon with this artist.
Vanished Spendors: A Memoir by Balthus -- There is a poetic yearning and nostalgia connected to youth that most people do not understand about his work. I think most everyone does not understand what his work is actually about.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway -- I am fascinated by what memories remain toward the end of life. It was probably when he was happiest.
Isak Dineson by Judith Thurman -- Haunting cause of her illness.
Hare with the Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund De Waal. It took him 2 years of research to uncover the rise and fall of his European Jewish family's banking dynasty. I was most moved when I read the last word of the book which is the name of his daughter. I reflected on the loss of my father's family's fortunes in the escape from North Korea except for the bolts of silk submerged in the river and later sold in the South so that they could survive.
Just Kids by Patti Smith -- It broke my heart and put it back together forever changed. This book may be one of my all time favorites though I never want to read it again.
de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan -- This book took ten years to make and won the Pulitzer Prize. When I'm in a book store, I'll ask if anyone knows of an artist biography as good as the one on de Kooning. This biography has given me tremendous feeling for de Kooning paintings. His last ones are the most haunting and beautiful of all.
Hold Still by Sally Mann -- Her dive into memory, family, motherhood, connection to the South, sudden fame alongside her continuous courageous and ambitious growth as an artist haunts me as does her photography.
Frida by Hayden Herrera -- Hayden's research is exhaustive and underscores the complexity of who Frida was. Frida fascinates because with every new exhibit and as I mature, I keep seeing her differently. Recently at the Brooklyn Museum, the photos taken of by her lover Nickolas Murray and her father, made me see understand her differently.
Life with Picasso by Francoise Gilot -- I laughed out loud several times. Gilot is an extraordinary artist still working today in her 90s. She was with Picasso for 10 years, and they had two children, Paloma and Claude. She was the only woman who ever left Picasso and managed to live and even thrive. With two young children, this was no easy feat. She is a force of nature and full of dry humor. She also wrote Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art.
A Working Artist's Life by Robert Kipniss -- I did not know much about his art and got this book at a book fair. It was plainly written and captured grow up in a difficult family. It was a touching to spend an afternoon with this artist.
Vanished Spendors: A Memoir by Balthus -- There is a poetic yearning and nostalgia connected to youth that most people do not understand about his work. I think most everyone does not understand what his work is actually about.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway -- I am fascinated by what memories remain toward the end of life. It was probably when he was happiest.
Isak Dineson by Judith Thurman -- Haunting cause of her illness.