American Folk Painters by John Ebert; Katherine EbertReview by: Katharine RatzenbergerARLIS/NA Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 3 (APRIL 1976), p. 98Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27945624 .

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Citations are drawn from a wide range of materials, inclu

ding general works, monographs, articles, festschriften, and ex

hibition catalogs. Of the over 600 journals consulted, all Euro

pean countries, including Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are

represented. Citations are numbered and extensive cross-re

ferencing and an author index are provided. The formulation of a one-volume bibliography of Symbo

lism as an international and multi-disciplinary movement is a formidable task. Anyone who has attempted research in the field is aware of the difficulty of establishing parameters for the Symbolist movement. The emphasis here is not one of

definitiveness, but rather a compilation of a wide range of material of potential interest to the researcher concerned with

Symbolism. If approached with a narrow definition of Symbo lism as a specific intellectual movement originating in Paris, ca.

1880-1885, the researcher may find the citations on Sartre, Wallace Stevens, and Thomas Mann of questionable relevance.

If taken as extensions of a sensibility, however, the inclusion of such figures is significant to the scope of Symbolism as an intellectual movement.

Anna Balakian states in her introduction that "this bibli

ography represents a major effort to make available the inter

nationally unfamiliar in the history of literature.,, To this end, the work may well succeed. As a bibliography committed to

exploring the multi-disciplinary aspects of Symbolism, how ever, several criticisms must be made. Criteria for inclusion of

individual figures is not discussed, and in the case of artists re

presented seems highly arbitrary. Familiar symbolism figures, such as Beardsley, Knopff, Munch, Moreau, Rops, and Redon, are included; others who can be considered major contributors such as Burne-Jones, Delville, Ensor, Klimt, Klinger, Rossetti, S?rusier, Stuck and Whistler, are omited. These omissions are made more glaring by the inclusion of Fantin-Latour, Renoir, and Van Gogh?all of whom bear a marginal relationship to the Symbolist movement. It is not stated as to whether any scholars in the field of art history were consulted for the work. Approximately 200 citations are given in the Art subdivision of forms and genres. Standard works on Symbolism are inclu ded as are exhibition reviews and journal citations of 19th century articles and reviews. Here again there are a few inclu sions of questionable relevance, such as Whittick, A., Symbols, Signs and their uses in Design, and there are notable omissions, specifically Robin Spencer's The Aesthetic Movement: Theory and Practice, and the Documents of 20th Century Art series title, Apollinaire on Art: Essays and Reviews, 1902-1918.

Despite its shortcomings in the area of art history, this bibliography does provide a more comprehensive and better organized reference work than any which currently exists on Symbolism. It would make a useful addition to any collection concerned with research in 19th century art, for it provides a base (in the area of comparative literature, a very strong one) from which to approach the multi disciplinary complexities of the Symbolist movement.

?Sharon Chickanzeff

Ebert, John and Katherine. American Folk Painters. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975. illus. 225p. ISBN 0-684-14339-9 $17.50

Under the rather ambiguous title American Folk Painters,

John and Katherine Eb?rt discuss the work of several types of folk artists. Chapters are devoted to portraits, marine pain tings, landscapes, frakturs, calligraphic paintings, paintings on velvet, still-lifes, religious paintings and murals. Only artists between 1700 and 1900 are discussed. Most of the artists are from New-England.

I heartily recommend the purchase of this book. The scho lar will appreciate it for its numerous illustrations, including color plates; the librarian for the convenience of quick access to information not easily found except in large research libraries: paintings on velvet, frakturs and calligraphic drawings.

The Eberts begin with a chapter defining the characteristics of folk art. They offer no new theories. Overall, American

Folk Painters is intended for the general reader. Each chapter is well organized around a type of art work. In the chapters on portrait and marine painters, each artist is briefly and systema tically discussed. The authors analyze the artistic style, give a short biography and illustrate one or two of the artist's works. There is a good but not superior bibliography, which is divided into monographs and periodical articles, and exhibition cata logs, a practice which I wish more authors would follow. The appendix includes a selected list of folk painters with short bibliographies. The book ends with a chapter on conservation, restoration and the care of works of art, which is elementary in scope, but useful for the general reader.

Slight but irritating mistakes mar the overall excellent quality of this book. Certain citations in the bibliography are not correct. There is no indication of the sources for the three page list of fraktur artists, or of the list of European and Chinese ship portrait painters. The name of the well-known fraktur artist, Johannes Spangenberg, is misspelled Spangen berger.

If the number and type of questions received in the NCFA/ NPG Library can be used as a measurement, the interest in American art and particularly folk art is increasing. The public is beginning to appreciate great-aunt Bertha's still-lifes hanging in the attic and is beginning to ask questions about them.

American Folk Painters, which combines a diversity of topics in one volume, is an asset to any library.

?Katharine Ratzenberger

NCFA/NPG Library

Coulson, William D. E. An Annotated Bibliography of Greek and Roman Art, Architecture and Archaeology. New York and London, Garland Publishing, 1975. 135p. LC 75 24081 ISBN 0-8240-9984-2 CIP included $14.00

William Coulson has attempted to write an annotated biblio graphy, which combines the quantity of a comprehensive bibliography with the quality of a selected bibliography. In some respects he has succeeded. He has written for the benefit of four types of readers: the general reader who is reading for pleasure; the undergraduate student who must study for tests and write papers; the teacher who is selecting texts for under graduate classes and supplementary reading, and the graduate student who needs specialized information of a technical nature. This work is directed to the general reader and student, being limited to paperback books and hardcover editions under $10, still in print and published in America. However,

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