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Revisiting America : the prints of Currier & Ives / [edited by Melissa Duffes].

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Omaha, Nebraska : Joslyn Art Museum, [2020]Distributor: New York, NY : ARTBOOK|D.A.P. Copyright date: ©2020Description: 183 pages : color illustrations, color plates ; 24 x 28 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781646570102
  • 1646570103
Other title:
  • Prints of Currier & Ives
Subject(s):
Contents:
Director's foreword / Jack F. Becker -- Engravings for the people : a collection history, from private treasure to public trust / Emma Westbrook -- Between art and industry : making Currier & Ives lithographs / Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire -- Exciting reassurances : popular art and contemporary life in Currier & Ives prints / Michael Clapper -- The political broadsides of Currier & Ives : a reconsideration / Baird Jarman -- Plates -- Catalogue checklist -- Contributors.
Summary: "Currier & Ives was a powerhouse of 19th-century publishing and had an immeasurable influence on American visual culture. Founded in New York in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier, the company expanded to include a new partner, James Merritt Ives, after 1857. Currier & Ives produced millions of affordably priced copies of over 7,000 original lithographs, living up to its self-appointed title as 'The Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints.' The firm took advantage of New York City's booming arts culture in the latter half of the 19th century, but its output was not seen as fine art by critics, nor was it intended as such. Its prints were first and foremost commodities; the choice subjects often determined by popularity and sales figures. Currier & Ives perpetuated Victorian ideals in its depictions of family, history, politics and urban and suburban life. But these prints also served as an important record of a nation in the midst of an extraordinary transformation from a rural and agricultural landscape to an industrialized and urbanized global power. Along with their popular appeal, Currier & Ives's images offer a new opportunity to uncover the complexities and contradictions of our history and help shape our understanding of America's past"--Page 4 of cover.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Oversize 769.973 R454 Available 33111010573844
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Engravings for the people" a fresh appraisal of the printmakers Currier & Ives and their vision of America

Currier & Ives was a powerhouse of 19th-century publishing and had an immeasurable influence on American visual culture. Founded in New York in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier, the company expanded to include a new partner, James Merritt Ives, after 1857. Currier & Ives produced millions of affordably priced copies of over 7,000 original lithographs, living up to its self-appointed title as "The Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints." The firm took advantage of New York City's booming arts culture in the latter half of the 19th century, but its output was not seen as fine art by critics, nor was it intended as such. Its prints were first and foremost commodities; the choice subjects often determined by popularity and sales figures. Currier & Ives perpetuated Victorian ideals in its depictions of family, history, politics and urban and suburban life. But these prints also served as an important record of a nation in the midst of an extraordinary transformation from a rural and agricultural landscape to an industrialized and urbanized global power. Along with their popular appeal, Currier & Ives's images offer a new opportunity to uncover the complexities and contradictions of our history and help shape our understanding of America's past.

Includes bibliographical references.

Director's foreword / Jack F. Becker -- Engravings for the people : a collection history, from private treasure to public trust / Emma Westbrook -- Between art and industry : making Currier & Ives lithographs / Marie-Stéphanie Delamaire -- Exciting reassurances : popular art and contemporary life in Currier & Ives prints / Michael Clapper -- The political broadsides of Currier & Ives : a reconsideration / Baird Jarman -- Plates -- Catalogue checklist -- Contributors.

"Currier & Ives was a powerhouse of 19th-century publishing and had an immeasurable influence on American visual culture. Founded in New York in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier, the company expanded to include a new partner, James Merritt Ives, after 1857. Currier & Ives produced millions of affordably priced copies of over 7,000 original lithographs, living up to its self-appointed title as 'The Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints.' The firm took advantage of New York City's booming arts culture in the latter half of the 19th century, but its output was not seen as fine art by critics, nor was it intended as such. Its prints were first and foremost commodities; the choice subjects often determined by popularity and sales figures. Currier & Ives perpetuated Victorian ideals in its depictions of family, history, politics and urban and suburban life. But these prints also served as an important record of a nation in the midst of an extraordinary transformation from a rural and agricultural landscape to an industrialized and urbanized global power. Along with their popular appeal, Currier & Ives's images offer a new opportunity to uncover the complexities and contradictions of our history and help shape our understanding of America's past"--Page 4 of cover.

Published in conjunction with the exhibition Revisiting America: The Prints of Currier and Ives, presented at Joslyn Art Museum from 11/21/2020 - 4/11/2021.

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