Andre Derain in North American Collections

Virginia Gillham is Associate Librarian in the Public Service Library at
the University of Guelph.

French artist Andre Derain, a contemporary of Matisse and Picasso, had established his position among the masters of twentieth century art before 1915, primarily because of the paintings of a two- or three-year Fauve period in his career. In reality, however, his painting evolved through many stages, often touching upon and then moving away from popular schools or trends such as Fauvism, Cubism and Primitive Art. As an artist he was steadfastly individual and frequently a leader among his peers. Some of his most significant works are among the lesser-known products of his later career.

In the Derain exhibition for which this book is the catalogue, Michael Parke-Taylor addresses two aspects of the artist’s output; the post-Fauve pieces and that portion of Derain’s work now resident in North America. In so doing, he has assembled from galleries and private collections across the continent an exhibition of some 60 paintings dating from 1899, when the artist was nineteen, through 1952. Virtually every stage in Derain’s artistic development is represented.

This book serves many purposes. Its attractive, glossy appearance and the quality of its reproductions, particularly those in colour, render it an attractive addition to coffee table collections. It identifies the paintings for viewers of the exhibition, and it is an enormously informative summary of the artist’s work.

Two introductory essays place the artist in context in art history and in North America. Numerous photographs help to identify him as a person, and detailed histories and commentaries illuminate each individual painting. This is an enjoyable addition to any art library.