Romaine Brooks : a life

"Langer makes clear that Romaine Brooks was an artist of unusual courage and originality, tracing her development not only as an artist, but as a woman artist and a boldly lesbian artist. This biography includes fascinating material on the many talented, independent, and liberated women in Paris in the 1920s, with Natalie Barney and Romaine Brooks at the center of that milieu." --Jerry Rosco, author of Glenway Wescott Personally: A Biography "Cassandra Langer insightfully recounts the life of Romaine Brooks, including the sources of her creativity and blocks to that creativity in later life, her bigotry, and her contributions to twentieth-century British, merican, and French culture. This readable, vivid biography provides social and general historical context for Brooks's life, art, and writings, as well as incisive psychological analysis of her motives."--Betsy Draine, author of Substance under Pressure: Artistic Coherence and Evolving Form in the Novels of Doris Lessing "Adds new material to the life and career of Romaine Brooks, offers fresh insight into her life and art, and defies the characterizations given her by previous biographers. . . . In years to come, when Romaine Brooks is mentioned, Cassandra Langer's book will be given as the quintessential authority on the subject."--Bookwatch "An excellent, well-researched biography that recreates the tumultuous life of an artist who refused compromise on her convictions, both personal and political, as naive as some of her views may have been. Romaine Brooks is decidedly an important addition to lesbian history."--Lambda Literary "A biography of the American painter and heiress (1874-1970), whose work in art and decor has been overshadowed by her romantic relationship with the writer Natalie Barney and what were seen as flirtations with Italian Fascism."--Chronicle of Higher Education "Romaine Brooks has long glimmered in the constellation of lesbian and queer culture; now, through the prism of Langer's tireless research and intelligent yet conversational style, the brilliance of Brooks's life and career is both magnified and refracted. By turns anecdotal and analytical, journalistic and theoretical, Langer colorfully repaints the historical portrait of Brooks, revealing her as both more radical and more conservative than we thought."--James M. Saslow, author of Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts "Art historian Langer is zealous and exacting as she seeks to fully portray her heretofore too-little-known subject, . . . addressing the complexities and contradictions of Brooks's life and celebrating the courage and power of her meticulously composed paintings. . . . Langer sensitively grapples with Brooks's elitism, bigotry, and fascist tendencies while avidly reclaiming this 'fascinating and controversial' artist's elegant and evocative, haunted and defiant art in praise of audacious women."--Booklist, *starred review Adds new material to the life and career of Romaine Brooks, offers fresh insight into her life and art, and defies the characterizations given her by previous biographers. . . . In years to come, when Romaine Brooks is mentioned, Cassandra Langer's book will be given as the quintessential authority on the subject. Bookwatch" An excellent, well-researched biography that recreates the tumultuous life of an artist who refused compromise on her convictions, both personal and political, as naive as some of her views may have been. Romaine Brooks is decidedly an important addition to lesbian history. Lambda Literary" A biography of the American painter and heiress (1874-1970), whose work in art and decor has been overshadowed by her romantic relationship with the writer Natalie Barney and what were seen as flirtations with Italian Fascism. Chronicle of Higher Education" Romaine Brooks has long glimmered in the constellation of lesbian and queer culture; now, through the prism of Langer s tireless research and intelligent yet conversational style, the brilliance of Brooks s life and career is both magnified and refracted. By turns anecdotal and analytical, journalistic and theoretical, Langer colorfully repaints the historical portrait of Brooks, revealing her as both more radical and more conservative than we thought. James M. Saslow, author of Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts" Art historian Langer is zealous and exacting as she seeks to fully portray her heretofore too-little-known subject, . . . addressing the complexities and contradictions of Brooks s life and celebrating the courage and power of her meticulously composed paintings. . . . Langer sensitively grapples with Brooks s elitism, bigotry, and fascist tendencies while avidly reclaiming this fascinating and controversial artist s elegant and evocative, haunted and defiant art in praise of audacious women. Booklist, *starred review" Cassandra Langer insightfully recounts the life of Romaine Brooks, including the sources of her creativity and blocks to that creativity in later life, her bigotry, and her contributions to twentieth-century British, American, and French culture. This readable, vivid biography provides social and general historical context for Brooks s life, art, and writings, as well as incisive psychological analysis of her motives. Betsy Draine, author of Substance under Pressure: Artistic Coherence and Evolving Form in the Novels of Doris Lessing" Langer makes clear that Romaine Brooks was an artist of unusual courage and originality, tracing her development not only as an artist, but as a woman artist and a boldly lesbian artist. This biography includes fascinating material on the many talented, independent, and liberated women in Paris in the 1920s, with Natalie Barney and Romaine Brooks at the center of that milieu. Jerry Rosco, author of Glenway Wescott Personally: A Biography" Read more...