Reported Sightings

"Ashbery's art reviews for the Paris Herald Tribune, ARTNews, New York and Newsweek go beyond journalism. Generous, astute, never dull and possessed of catholic taste, this poet-critic shows us what is special about a Bonnard or a Grandma Moses. He especially admires artists who have undertaken individualistic, spiritual pilgrimages, like Marsden Hartley, Odilon Redon ("a kind of Cezanne of the unconscious"), Belgian fantasist Leon Spilliaert and undervalued American still-life painter John F. Peto. Nearly 100 reviews and essays are gathered here, amplified by 35 color and black-and-white reproductions. Topics range from Frank Lloyd Wright to Japanese folk art, from Jean Baptiste Simieon Chardin's timeless simplicity to Red Grooms's zany urban caricatures. Ashbery gets past art-world hoopla to reveal the substance, or lack thereof, in works and reputations discussed."--Pub. Weekly via amazon.com. "One of the pleasures of a fine dinner is the way in which each course adds its own special flavor to the overall meal. This collection of Ashbery's pieces of art criticism, written for such publications as ARTnews, New York, and Newsweek, is much the same; the reader can dip into the book at any point and come away with a morsel (or several) that is immediately satisfying. Ashbery's writing style is spare, smooth, and informative, and although many readers may not be familiar with either the exhibits or artists he mentions, one has a sense of having learned something--a feat many critics fail to accomplish. It is obvious, too, that Ashbery both enjoys and has a sense of concern for the art world; there is criticism here, but it is of the constructive sort rare in critics these days. For anyone who enjoys good critical work."--Lib. J. review via amazon.com.