Dorothea Tanning

From Library Journal The unique surrealist painter/sculptor/designer Dorothea Tanning (b. 1910) well deserves this sumptuous volume. Her innovative oeuvre is lyrically evoked and reviewed by French critic, playwright, and poet Bailly. For clarity, however, Tanning's own afterword and the comprehensive chronology should be read before the critical essays. Some 214 color plates, four color foldouts, and 191 black-and-white illustrations mark out the visions of a fertile art not well known to the public at large. American-born but for many years a resident of France, Tanning was eclipsed by her famous artist husband, Max Ernst. Following paintings in the manner of Ernst and Balthus, she arrived at a singular style that dissolves Surrealist fragments of eroticized bodies into a cosmic surge of life. Her soft sculptures of the 1970s are another revelation. She now lives and works in New York. Highly recommended for large collections and those specializing in modernism. Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson State Univ., Md. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.