The Bottom Line
Pros
- Puts a face to artists you know by name and works only.
- Provides a glimpse into the creative spaces of prominent artists.
- Entertaining and informative text on each artist.
- Beautiful photographs -- you'll find yourself reading titles of the bookshelves and paint labels.
Cons
- Some artists get two pages only, leaving you wishing everyone had been given six.
- Some photos aren't inside the artist's studio; disappointing given the title
- Inevitable bias towards UK-based artists, given who the photographer is.
- No alphabetical listing of artists, just sequential.
Description
- Published by Angela Patchell Books.
- Medium format paperback, (230x230mm / 9x9"). 128 pages. Softback with flaps. ISBN 978-1-906245-06-1.
- Written by Michael McNay. Photography by Eamonn McCabe.
- Artists get two to six pages each. 33 artists featured.
- Artists include Mary Fedden, Maggi Hambling, Paula Rego, Richard Long, Jasper Johns, Art Spielgelman, David Hockney.
- Biographies of each artist provided at the back of the book (with cross reference to the pages they're featured on).
Guide Review - Artists and Their Studios
The premise is simple: a collection of photos of Big Name artists in their studios or alongside their art, accompanied by a bit of text on each. The result is anything but simple. It's mesmerizing, even those artists whose work I don't really enjoy.
In the introduction, artist Maggi Hambling describes Eamonn McCabe as having "a keen eyed and sensitive response to what is there, with no attempt at embellishment". To me the photos feel, for the most part, as if they were taken midst conversation with the artist about their work, rather than specially posed.
The text doesn't try to be a comprehensive survey of the work of each artist, but rather is like a slice of their artistic life. At the back of the book there are biographies of each outlining their "claim to fame". Again, these are well-written and interesting to read, not mere lists of facts.
Like Freud at Work, this is a book that helps satisfy the wish to know a little more about the person behind the art.
