The Prints of John Piper – A Catalogue Raisonné 1921-1991
This is an expanded and revised edition of Orde Levinson’s definitive catalogue raisonne of the prints of John Piper: an essential reference book for collectors, curators, prints specialists and art historians, and an invaluable visual resource for all those with an interest in Piper’s prolific and varied printmaking output. John Piper (1903-92) was one of the most versatile and interesting British artists of the twentieth century and was at the cutting edge of many elements of the British art scene. Although best known for his paintings, Piper has achieved the highest respect for his works in stained glass and ceramics, his stage, set and costume designs, art-critical writings, and his large corpus of prints.
The prints are innovative, lively and continuously challenge the medium. First published in 1987, and reissued with a complete prints catalogue in 1996 following Piper’s death, the book has been thoroughly updated for this new edition, incorporating a new essay by David Fraser Jenkins on Piper’s extraordinary experimental prints of the mid-1960s; a new Introduction by Orde Levinson; an up-to-date Bibliography and expanded lists of Designs, Exhibitions, Illustrations and Public Collections; unseen archival photographs; and a completely updated page-design, as well as the standard indexes of prints, portfolios, printers and publishers, and incorrect titles.
All catalogued prints are illustrated (with all colour works reproduced in colour), and the corpus of prints includes etchings, aquatints, wood engravings, lithographs and screenprints. The reference material is now certainly the most comprehensive ever compiled on Piper, and allows the reader to survey the development of his artistic concerns, interests and work. ‘A compendium of great usefulness, and an important building block in the structuring of John’s reputation’ (Frances Spalding, 2009) ‘Orde’s editing has been meticulous in execution and inexhaustable in research. It is, however, not only a work of scholarship but one of enthusiasm and love’ (Myfanwy Piper, 1996)
Information
The Prints of John Piper – A Catalogue Raisonné 1921-1991, Lund Humphries, 2010. Contributing essays: Introduction (Orde Levinson); Experiment and Quality (Orde Levinson); Subject and Technique in Piper’s Printmaking (David Fraser Jenkins); Working with Printers (John Piper). Hardback.
