News from Robert Shaw

BIRD DECOYS OF NORTH AMERICA: Nature, History, and Art

by Robert Shaw

To be published in early November. This is the definitive book on antique bird decoys, a gorgeous hardcover volume illustrated with hundreds of stunning color photographs of classic decoys from all over North America, plus Audubon prints, historic black and white photos, nineteenth century prints, and more.

Order your copy today!

Autographed copies are available from me for $45 postpaid within the US ($50 US when sent to Canadian addresses). Send a check to me at 435 Longmeadow Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482 or you can use a credit card to send a payment to my email address via PayPal. Be sure to let me know how you would like the inscription to read.

All pre-publication orders will be delivered after the book is published in early November.

"Surely the most important quilt book ever! I hope it will get people talking more about quilts as art."

-Laura Fisher, author of Quilts of Illusion and Home Sweet Home: The House in American Folk Art

"American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780-2007 is so outstanding that words practically fail me. Robert Shaw's writing, as always, is eloquent and enjoyable, and the quality of the photography (so sharp and consistent!) is a joy. I thought Bob had pretty much covered 'definitive' with his previous writing about quilts, but he has re-defined definitive with this wonderful new book. It is just amazingly good!"

-Mary leman Austin, former Executive Editor, Quilter's Newsletter

American Quilts: The Democratic Art

Available now!

American Quilts: The Democratic Art 1780-2007 is the first truly comprehensive study of the art of American quilts and quiltmaking.

"Sumptuous, informative, and engaging, this is the ultimate book on American quilts as art. Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, it’s a fascinating chronicle of the growth and evolution of an art form with a rich heritage, as well as a revealing portrait of how quilts have expressed what it has meant and what it means to quilters to be an American. Not only does author Robert Shaw provide a keen, insightful look at quilting aesthetics, he places the craft in its historical, cultural, and socioeconomic context every step of the way, providing a visually lush journey through American history."

Hardcover with dust jacket. 10 x 10 inches. 384 pages, More than 350 stunning images.

Order your copy now!

Signed and personally inscribed copies are available for $45 postpaid (in the US). Send a check to me at 435 Longmeadow Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482 or you can use a credit card to send a payment to my email address via PayPal. Be sure to let me know how you would like the inscription to read.

The 2010 Classic Guitars wall calendar is available now. To order your copy, click here.

Amish Abstractions, inside

Amish Abstractions: Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown will be on view at the de Young Museum in San Francisco through June 6, 2010. The exhibition features 48 full-size and crib quilts made in Amish communities in Pennsylvania and the Midwest and dating from the 1880s to the 1940s.

The exhibition catalogue explores the origins, techniques, and context of these visual masterpieces. More than seventy-five quilts originating in communities throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest from the 1880s to the 1940s are presented in full color along with contributions by three quilt experts: Joe Cunningham, a well-known quilt artist, author, and lecturer; Robert Shaw, an independent curator of numerous quilt exhibitions; and Janneken Smucker, a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware specializing in quilts from the Amish and Mennonite traditions.

The 128-page hardcover, published by Pomegranate Press in association with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, is available from the de Young Museum store.

Scholarly Perspective: An Interview with Robert Shaw by Quilter's Newsletter

BACK IN PRINT !

HAWAIIAN QUILT MASTERPIECES

"First brought to the islands by missionaries and traders in the late 19th century, quilting in Hawaii adapted to the physical and cultural environment of the islands to become a distinctive art form. The earliest quilt in this collection of Hawaiian masterworks dates from 1874 and the most recent from 1995. Following the format of his earlier Quilts: A Living Tradition, Shaw includes a detailed color photograph, a historical introduction, and a critique for each of the 48 quilts. Essential for textile history collections."
-Library Journal

Hardcover, 12.1 x 9 x 0.9 inches, 120 pages, 48 full page color photos.
List price: $25.00

For more information or to order your copy, click on the link below.

Hawaiian Quilt Masterpieces

HAND MADE, HAND PLAYED:
THE ART & CRAFT OF CONTEMPORARY GUITARS

We are living in a golden age of guitarmaking, and this gorgeous new book offers a definitive look at the work of the most skilled artisans at work today. From reproductions of Renaissance and Baroque-era instruments to the wildest looking and most technically advanced electric guitars on the planet, this book covers it all. More than 300 color photos of guitars of every kind imaginable—classical guitars, flattops, archtops, harp guitars, Hawaiian lap guitars, Dobros and metal bodied resonators, acoustic and electric basses, hollow and solid bodied electrics, and more. A must have for every guitarist you know and for anyone interested in contemporary instrument building and hand craftsmanship.

Soft cover with folding flaps. 11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches, 416 pages, more than 300 color images! List price: $35.95.

For more information or to order your copy, click on the link below.

Hand Made, Hand Played:
The Art & Craft of Contemporary Guitars

"Wow! A really unique book that takes a breathtaking tour of more than 300 of today's most creative, imaginative, and gorgeous hand-made guitars -- all illustrated in vibrant full color photos with specs for each guitar and personal statements and anecdotes from the luthiers who made them. The past 25 years have seen an explosion of craftspeople who build guitars by hand, employing an attention to detail, higher quality materials and more technical skill than in any previous era. This book showcases an incredible variety of guitars made by these luthiers, from elegant parlor guitars and innovative classicals to wildly shaped electrics and guitars with seven, ten, twelve or more strings. It's a feast for the eye, mind and soul of anyone who loves guitars."

- Elderly Instruments

"Music making aside, readers of this large book could be convinced that the guitar primarily exists as an art form. It is a lavishly illustrated book for the guitar connoisseur and will be treasured as such. Over 300 one-offs made by some of what the author terms the ‘explosion of craftspeople who build guitars by hand’ over the past 25 years are presented. This is not a how-to-make-a-guitar book. There are mostly one page ‘profiles’ of an instrument, its specs and its maker. The specs list the woods and materials used, the dimensions and suggested retail price. The shapes, use of timber, inlays, scrolling and detail work on these acoustic and electric instruments is astounding."

-Australian Woodworking

"Five stars! A beautiful book that honors the guitars and the luthiers. The first thing you notice is the elegant, artistic layout and spectacular photographs. Then you start to read a little here and there, soon finding that there is great research and writing to support the guitars. Although it is the sort of book that you usually flip through and read casually, I was so fascinated by the history and the philosophies of the guitar makers, I started reading every page from the beginning! It gives you a taste and makes you want to visit the shops and talk to the luthiers. I started fantasizing a road trip going from shop to shop, talking, playing, wishing I could buy... This is not a simple coffee table picture book - it is a beautiful celebration of guitars and their makers."

-studyscores.com

Drawing by Susan SHie

Drawing by Susan Shie, www.turtlemoon.com

This magnificent book, which has been called "a museum without walls" by Maine Antique Digest, presents stunning photographs of more than 200 objects from the extraordinary collection of Jane Katcher, along with scholarly essays by a distinguished group of experts, including yours truly. I contributed four essays and particularly encourage you to read "Humanizing the Mundane," an exploration of how and why great utilitarian objects engage and move us.

For more information, please visit the extensive Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence web site.

Slide show

NEW POWERPOINT LECTURES
I am now presenting all my lectures in PowerPoint format. This allows me to present lectures that are as visually compelling as my books. Please visit my Lectures page for information on my current offerings. I still have some openings in 2009, so contact me ASAP about bookings.

Art Quilts: A Celebration is a beautifully designed and printed compendium of quilts from the past decade of Quilt National exhibitions, from 1995 to 2003. I contributed a substantial introduction that traces the history of quiltmaking and puts the quilts in the book into context, as well as a special section on collecting, displaying, and storing art quilts. The book includes photographs of more than 400 quilts. The spectacular full page color photographs accompany the artists' illuminating personal commentary. Soft cover, 512 pp., 8 1/2 x 11. At $24.95, this is a lot of book for the money!

To order a copy, click on the link below.

Art Quilts: A Celebration: 400 Stunning Contemporary Designs

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