The Sensuous Life of Adolf Dehn

American Master of Watercolor and Printmaking

Henry Adams

484 pages

Published: July 2021

315 color and b&w illus.

ISBN: 9780826222145

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Price: $65.00

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About This Book: Adolf Dehn belongs to a group of distinguished midcentury American artists who were eclipsed by Abstract Expressionism and the following movements in American art. His lithographs of the Roaring Twenties introduced a note of social satire into American printmaking. He was one of the most gifted and innovative printmakers of the American Scene movement of the 1930s and one of the most significant American watercolorists.

In this wide-ranging biography, Henry Adams explores how a once central figure can come to be forgotten. Noting that Dehn's watercolor Spring in Central Park has been widely reproduced on calendars, postcards, and other Metropolitan Museum of Art souvenirs, Adams asks why it is that some artists are celebrated as key figures while others, even those who created images that form an integral part of our visual culture, are relatively unknown. With his account of the life of the prolific and influential Dehn, and a look at the circles of artists and writers in which Dehn moved, Adams helps to fill in what he calls the “secret or subterranean history of art."
Authors and Editors: Henry Adams is Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History at Case Western Reserve University and author of nine books, including Thomas Hart Benton: Discoveries and Interpretations (University of Missouri Press). He lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Praise For This Book: “A wonderful contribution to the field of art history, bringing to light biographical details of an important twentieth-century American artist who is not well known today.”—Klare Scarborough, Director and Chief Curator, La Salle University Art Museum, Philadelphia

"Adams' compelling monograph reveals why expanded critical thinking is merited for lesser known American masters such as Dehn. Sensing salutary signals from Dehn's illustrious career now lighting up the radar screen, we enjoy the contributions of a remarkable talent."—Philip Eliasoph, PhD, Professor of Art History, Fairfield University

“A spirited study of an under-appreciated American artist. Adams combs secondary and new sources to detail the role Dehn’s parents, siblings, lovers, and many friends had on his lithography, especially its sensuous aspects. Adams also provides the most thorough analysis to date of Dehn’s post-World War Two watercolors of subjects of Mexico, Haiti, India, Afghanistan, West Africa, Ireland and Italy. Dehn’s intense relationship with his wife and travel partner, Virginia Dehn, is riveting.”—Richard Cox, Professor Emeritus of Early Modern Art History, Louisiana State University

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Thomas Hart Benton

Discoveries and Interpretations

Henry Adams

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

A History

Kristie C. Wolferman

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