By Amanda Cooper, Marketing Intern, University Press of Kentucky
April 15th is World Art Day! The University Press of Kentucky would like to take this opportunity to feature a few titles centered on the work and stories of local artists, as well as art history in the Bluegrass State.
The Watercolors of Harlan Hubbard by Bill Caddell and Flo Caddell
“Harlan Hubbard painted a world blazing with colors and charged with energy, as if the movement of his brush were powered by the soil, waters, and sky. Even human artifacts, from barns to riverboats, shimmer with vitality, as if they might burst into bloom, offering those of us who live here in the Ohio Valley a dynamic and cherishing vision of our home ground.” —Scott Russell Sanders, author of The Way of Imagination
“This book offers a beautiful and refreshing journey through the stunning visual poetry of Harlan Hubbard’s watercolors and the eloquent prose of the contributing authors, uniting the art and life of Hubbard into an inner vision centered on nature, beauty, and harmony. The well-founded and insightful analysis of the watercolors in the context of contemporary American art and traditional East Asian art reveals their significance and warrants a reevaluation of the artistic stature of Hubbard.” —Dr. Xiaolong Wu, professor of art history at Hanover College and author of Material Culture, Power, and Identity in Ancient China
Enid Yandell: Kentucky’s Pioneer Sculptor by Julie Decker
“Enid Yandell was a prolific sculptor who helped blaze the path for other female artists. Although several pieces of her work are well known, unfortunately Enid is not. This full-length biography will help Kentuckians (and others) become acquainted with this very talented and influential artist.” —Nancy D. Baird, author of Luke Pryor Blackburn: Physician, Governor, Reformer
“Juilee Decker’s deeply researched and richly textured biography provides a fresh, lucid prism on the life of Yandell, and makes a significant contribution to American art history, southern and women’s studies. The author creates an indelible portrait of Yandell’s magnificent strength of character in crafting a professional identity, and pays overdue homage to her accomplishments as a ground-breaking sculptor, entrepreneur, and feminist.” —Peter Morrin, Director Emeritus, Speed Art Museum
Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts and American Culture, edited by Andrew Kelly
“Layers of Kentucky history unfold in the illustrations of ingeniously designed everyday objects in this luxurious volume. The accompanying essays disclose stories of their provenance and purpose. Together, they focus in to reveal something about a uniquely American design during the centuries leading up to the early 1900s.” —Lexington Herald-Leader
“Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts and American Culture offers the first comprehensive examination of the objects from the Commonwealth featured in the Index of American Design as part of the Federal Art Project. Using more than 200 color photos and illustrations, it showcases a wide array of offerings, including architecture, furniture, ceramics, musical instruments, textiles, clothing, and glass and metal works. Edited by Andrew Kelly, [it] provides unique and valuable study into an important chapter in both United States and Kentucky design history.” —UKNow
The University Press of Kentucky 