LATER CHINESE PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY: 1800-1950, 3 VOLUMES

1986. ELLSWORTH, Robert Hatfield. LATER CHINESE PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY: 1800-1950, 3 VOLUMES. New York, 1986. 10.5 x 15", 3 vols, xvi; xviii; xxiii, 399; 369; 281 pp., 875 color plates, 118 text-figures, text in English with Chinese captions, index, cloth, all edges gilt in gold, brown decorative clamshell style box with tipped in color plates. Condition Fine. The culmination of more than three decades of study and collecting, the three-volume Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: 1800-1950 is one of the most important, sumptuous publications of Asian Art. Taking a period that has been ignored and undervalued by scholars, curators, and collectors, Robert Ellsworth has produced a work that not only forces us to re-examine all previous assessments of that tumultuous era in Chinese art, but promises to launch a new wave of interest in, and appreciation for, its unique achievements. Through more than 850 superb examples from his own collection, the author shows how exposure to Western art led, in painting, to an extraordinary new diversity and vitality, and how archeological discoveries in China fueled a dazzling renaissance in calligraphy. Two of the three volumes reproduce 550 paintings and 325 calligraphies, representing the work of every major artist of the period in full color. The extensive commentaries in the third volume include biographies of each artist. Every calligraphy, inscription, and seal is transliterated into precise English. The breadth and depth of fresh scholarship, the quality of the art, and the luxurious production combine to make Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: 1800-1950 one of the monumental achievements in art book publishing in our century: an essential source book for anyone interested in Asian art, and an object of permanent beauty and value. **Due to size and weight, the shipping cost is $30.00 (USA addresses) or $95.00 (non-USA addresses).