Larger	Eric Fischl : 1970 - 2000 Author: Arthur C. Danto, Robert Enright, Steve Martin
	Book Information Publisher: Monacelli Book Type: Hardcover Members Wishing: 0 Rating: ? ISBN-13: 9781580930758 - ISBN-10: 1580930751 Publication Date: 12/18/2000 Pages: 309

Eric Fischl emerged in the 1980s as one of America’s most important figurative painters. His paintings compel the viewer to participate in a world of middle-class suburban ambiguity and drama. Engaging and distinctly American, Fischl’s canvases present a world in which narration, sexuality, and psychology are preeminent.

This volume is the most comprehensive and current examination of this important 20th century painter. More than 200 works – selected in conjunction with the artist – present the full scope of Fischl’s career and span three decades: the 1970s, with Fischl’s seminal formative works; the 1980s, and his burst onto the art world; and the 1990s, with the artist’s mature works, often of a personal and contemplative nature. In his most recent works, Fischl has turned to portraits of his most intimate circle of friends, including Steve Martin, Mike Nichols, and April Gornik, the painter’s wife; these engrossing images have been accomplished with a mastery that has been compared to that of Caravaggio.

The introduction, by philosopher and critic Arthur Danto, places Fischl in the context of his contemporaries. Commentary drawn from interviews with Fischl – conducted by noted writer Robert Enright – accompany the paintings. Finally, a witty and personal afterword by Steve Martin – best known as a gifted comic and autor, but also as an astute collector of modern art – discusses Barbecue, a famed Fischl painting from his private collection.