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A Few Collectors

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( 90 ratings, 25 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Few Collectors is a charming and whimsical exploration by Pierre Le-Tan of the eccentric world of art collectors. Filled with seventy meticulously cross-hatched pen and ink illustrations in vibrant colour, the book offers insightful portraits of a dazzling variety of collectorsβ€”from aristocrats and film princes to expatriate dandies and obsessive eccentrics. Set in locales such as Paris, the CΓ΄te d'Azur, North Africa, London, and New York, it reflects the passions and peculiarities that drive the creation of personal treasure troves, culminating in a notably intimate chapter devoted to the author himself.
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Format: Hardback
$6100

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers fascinated by art, collecting, and cultural eccentricities. Fans of illustrated memoirs and those interested in the psychology and passion behind art collection will find it particularly engaging.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

"Funny and whimsical. There are wonderful asides ... It is also poignant."
The New York Times

An utterly charming book by beloved Parisian artist Pierre Le-Tan, filled with dazzling illustrations and intriguing tales about often eccentric art collectors. Le-Tan, known for designing New Yorker magazine covers and collaborations with fashion houses, summons up memories of inveterate collectors in this lavishly illustrated volume. He evokes fascinating, sometimes troubled figures through insightful and curious portraits.

With seventy of his distinctive pen and ink drawingsβ€”in vibrant colour with meticulous cross-hatchingβ€”A Few Collectors opens a window onto the vast or minuscule world created by collectors out of a mix of extravagance and obstinacy. It recounts encounters in Paris, the CΓ΄te d'Azur, North Africa, London and New York, where Le-Tan's subjects have amassed a range of treasures.

Some involve famed figures like former Louvre Museum director Pierre Rosenberg. Others are insolvent aristocrats, princes of film and fashion, expatriate dandies, and flat-out obsessive eccentrics. Le-Tan devotes perhaps his finest chapter to himself.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise A Few Collectors for its delightful blend of whimsy, poignancy, and insight. Michael Findlay commends its vivid depiction of collectors’ emotional connections to art, while Reed and Delphine Krakoff highlight Le-Tan's encyclopedic knowledge and romantic surrealism. Mary Rozell calls it an entertaining and colourful study of collecting psychology, and reviewers appreciate its calming narration and timeless sensibility that complement the distinctive illustrations.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781954404045

Publisher: New Vessel Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 14 April 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: New Vessel Press

Illustration: 70 Illustrations

Contributors:

  • Translated by Michael Z. Wise

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 160.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 128

About the Author

Pierre Le-Tan was an internationally renowned French illustrator who designed whimsical and stylish covers for The New Yorker and images for other magazines including Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, as well as book covers for works by his friend Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano. Le-Tan died in 2019 at age sixty-nine. A year and a half later, over four hundred objects that filled his Paris apartment, a high-ceilinged cabinet of curiosities on the Place du Palais-Bourbon, were auctioned off to passionate admirers of his taste. Michael Z. Wise is the publisher of New Vessel Press.

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