THE MID CENTURY MODERN HARDCOVER ART BOOK WITH GREEN RAW SILK FABRIC COVERED BOARDS, COVER AND SPINE EMBOSSED TITLES, AND DUST JACKET IS PUBLISHED BY HARRY N. ABRAMS INC. PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK, PRINTED AND BOUND IN JAPAN IN 1979. IT FEATURES AN EXPANSIVE MONOGRAPH SURVEY OF THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST ARTWORKS OF THE ARTIST MORRIS LOUIS, WITH ACCOMPANIED COMPELLING TEXT AUTHORED BY ACCLAIMED CRITIC AND ART HISTORIAN MICHAEL FRIED. 

MORRIS LOUIS BERNSTEIN ( 1912 - 1962 ) THE ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MODERNIST PAINTER OF RUSSIAN JEWISH DESCENT BECAME ONE OF THE EARLIEST EXPONENTS AND LEADING FIGURES IN THE 1950'S OF " COLOR FIELD " PAINTINGS, ALONG WITH HIS CONTEMPORARIES KENNETH NOLAND AND HELEN FRANKENTHALER. HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA PAINTERS KNOWN TODAY AS " THE WASHINGTON COLOR SCHOOL ". 

IN HIS SHORT YET PROLIFIC CAREER, LOUIS CONTINUALLY EXPERIMENTED WITH METHOD AND MEDIUM, MANIPULATING LARGE CANVASES IN CREATIVE WAYS TO CONTROL FLOW AND STAIN OF HIS PAINTS. HIS MATURE STYLE, CHARACTERIZED BY LAYERED VEILS AND RIVULETS OF POURED PAINT ON UNTREATED CANVASES, MAKE HIS PAINTINGS SOME OF THE MOST ICONIC WORKS OF MID CENTURY MODERN COLOR FIELD PAINTING. ARTWORKS BY LOUIS ARE INCLUDED IN THE COLLECTIONS OF MANY OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS MUSEUMS. 

LOUIS WAS PAST FORTY BEFORE HE BROKE THROUGH TO HIS MATURE ART. THE SEVERAL HUNDRED PAINTINGS THAT HE CREATED BETWEEN 1954 AND HIS DEATH AT THE AGE OF FORTY-NINE ARE TODAY WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS THE WORK OF A MJOR INFLUENTIAL ARTIST. 

IN THIS FIRST FULL-LENGTH MONOGRAPH ON LOUIS, THE AUTHOR MICHEAL FRIED PROFESSOR OF FINE ARTS AT HAVARD UNIVERSITY, MAINTAINS THAT LOUIS IS ONE OF THE SUPREME MASTERS OF COLOR IN MODERNIST PAINTING. EACH OF LOUIS' PRINCIPAL SERIES OF OF PAINTINGS - THE VEILS, FLORALS, UNFURLEDS, AND STRIPES ARE PRESENTED AND ANALYZED TO CHARACTERIZE THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF EACH AND TO DEFINE THE COMMONALITIES OF ALL. 

THE GENEROUS CHOICE OF HAND TIPPED LITHOGRAPH PRINT COLORPLATES BEARS WITNESS TO HIS MASTERY AS A COLORIST, WHILE THE BLACK-AND-WHITES SUGGEST THE EXTRAORDINARY RANGE OF HIS ART. THE TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS TOGETHER MAKE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE OF MODERN PAINTING.  

THE RARE OUT OF PRINT 1ST EDITION ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST HARDCOVER ART BOOK MEASURES 11 3/4" W X 10 7/8" H X 1 1/2" D, WITH 220 PAGES. IT IS PRINTED ON PREMIUM PAPER STOCK FEATURING 177 ILLUSTRATIONS, INCLUDING 72 HAND TIPPED LITHOGRAPH PRINT PLATES IN FULL COLOR, WITH SEVERAL FOLD-OUT ILLUSTRATIONS. THE ORIGINAL PARCHMENT PAPER PROTECTIVE OVERLAY SHEETS IN BETWEEN FACING ILLUSTRATIONS ARE INCLUDED. 

IT IS IN EXCELLENT CLEAN VINTAGE CONDITION CONSISTENT WITH AGE, USE, LIGHT SIGNS OF HANDLING, AND LIGHT TO MODERATE VISIBLE WEAR TO THE DUST JACKET. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FOR CONDITION REFERENCE. IT IS NOW BEING OFFERED HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT PRICE.