Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection (Metropolitan Museum of Art (Hardcover))

This is the catalogue of the exhibition of the same name mounted at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art from October 2014 until February 2015. It represents the final state of Leonard Lauder's collection of Cubist art, which he refined over the course of several decades to concentrate on exceptional work of the four "essential" Cubists: Picasso, Braque, Gris and Léger. It is generally thought to be the most extensive and important collection of Cubist art ever assembled by a private individual, and in April 2013, Mr. Lauder donated it to the Museum and at the same time established a Research Center for Modern Art, with the very distinguished Met curator Rebecca Rabinow in charge. Dr. Rabinow has co-edited the catalogue along with Emily Braun, Distinguished Professor of art history at the City University and for many years Mr. Lauder's private curator. The volume is introduced by a forthright conversation between Prof. Braun and Mr. Lauder, in which he explains the passions and interests which motivated him to create the collection, his evolving philosophy, and the criteria he applied to his acquisitions. Finally, he explains, what it came down to was "museum worthiness": is this a piece deserving of permanent installation in a major museum? That was always the question he asked, because from the very beginning, he was aware that in assembling his paintings, he was acting as the caretaker of a major cultural heritage that was one day destined to be a gift to a public institution. (It is quite indicative that he refers always to "the" collection, never to "my" collection.) And so, over the course of time he accumulated the artworks on display: 33 Picassos (including two sculptures), 17 Braques, 15 Légers, and 14 Grises (in February 2014, the Museum added Gris's "Still Life with Checked Tablecloth" [1913], purchasing it from Sotheby's with funds also provided by Mr. Lauder.) To call the collection spectacular does not quite do it justice; it is actually stupendous, astonishing, and extraordinary in every sense of the word. In his conversation with Dr. Bauer, Mr. Lauder mentions a comment someone made after his gift was announced, to the effect that anyone with a couple of billion dollars could walk up and down Madison Avenue and put together a similar collection (Madison Avenue being the Manhattan address of several important art dealers and galleries), which is obviously patently untrue. Money is necessary, of course (and he is thought to have spent something like a billion dollars amassing the works), but it is not enough; also needed are focus, patience, persistence to the point of dogged determination, understanding, and discrimination. Only steady perseverance and consistent application can explain the uniform excellence of these works, and they are truly the best of the best.It is really not possible to describe the collection; it simply must be seen, and, fortunately, the catalogue does justice to the exhibition and fully meets the Museum's exacting standards. For some time the Met's major exhibition catalogues have had as their goal to present the most current and authoritative research relevant to their theme and so to advance the scholarly discussion, while at the same time providing tutorial guidance for a more general audience. They are intended to be, and are, significant events in both art history scholarship and public awareness. This volume follows that pattern: there are twenty-two scholarly essays, most of them under ten pages in length and tightly focused, including contributions by some of the most outstanding scholars of Cubism and modern art writing today (Eizabeth Cowling, Jack Flam, Christopher Green, Pepe Karmel, Dorothy Kosinski, Kenneth Silver, Anne Umland, and others). The essays follow the itinerary of the exhibition from Braque to Gris to Léger to Picasso, and the exhibits are reproduced in the approximate order of their discussion in the texts. All eighty exhibition works are reproduced full-page in very faithful color, and the reproductions are accompanied by frequent companion illustrations; the jacket text says that there are 280 illustrations, no doubt including the numerous black-and-white and color photographs of the artworks in the artists' studios and in the private residences, galleries and museum spaces where they hung prior to their accession to the Lauder collection. The essays are not all equally fascinating, of course; a couple simply seemed too short to make their point persuasive, but there are certainly enough here with arresting information and stimulating perspectives to hold one's attention and compel one to keep reading. For the most part, they are straightforward and easily comprehensible to the layman, which is not always the case with writing of this kind. On the other hand, scholars too will find much that is compelling, especially in the apparatus, which is extensive. The essays themselves are all meticulously annotated, and the catalogue checklist is exceptional in its scope, providing all curatorial information including work titles in their original languages, place and date of creation so far as known, medium/materials and support, precise size, extraneous markings recto and verso, catalogue raisonné numbers, provenance, prior exhibitions, and literature (apparently through 2013). There is an excellent selected bibliography (35 pp.), a provenance index identifying all entities listed in the provenance record, and a comprehensive index. This is material very welcome to some readers, but most people will want to have this book simply for its stunning paintings and stimulating discussions, and, especially, as a recollection of a unique moment in our collective celebration of the art of modernity and as a welcome reminder of the ennobling behests of great philanthropy. We owe Leonard A. Lauder an enormous debt of gratitude: there is no end to the books on Cubism, but there is none quite so special as this exceptional and amazing catalogue.

Leonard Lauder has recently donated his glorious collection of cubist paintings to the Metropolitan Museum-this catalog documents the artworks which will be exhibited at the Met from 20 October 2014. In reading the fascinating inteview with Lauder published in this publication, one is made aware of the focus, passion and persistance that he has exercised during the almost 40 years he has spent assembling this treasure trove of cubist art. Only 4 artists were considered for inclusion - thus there are paintings, drawings and a few sculptures by Picasso (33), Braque (17), Leger (14) and Gris (14). Lauder recently shelled out $56.7 million for a painting by Juan Gris (Still Life With Checked Tablecloth)!Lauder explains that his intention was to collect only museum quality pieces-looking at the excellently reproduced illustrations certainly gives truth to this claim. He also described how he had the opportunity in 1986 of having the first option of purchasing items from the Douglas Cooper collection (Cooper was a partner of John Richardson, Picasso's biographer). In those days there was relatively little interest in cubist paintings and Lauder had to borrow $22 million to finance the acquisition of 5 choice paintings and 11 drawings. This figure would buy a minor Andy Worhol today!Apart from illustrations of the glorious and often infrequently published artworks from the Lauder collection, there are multiple articles by distinguished scholars (such as Jack Flamm and Eric Kandel) that are interesting, relevant and clearly written. This production standards of this catalog, printed in Italy, are very good and the color reproductions seem to have high accuracy. Highly recommended.

Worth buying if interested in Cubism; well written and informative.

Very nicely representative of the exhibiton at the Met. Images are carefully arranged so as to be located in close proximity to the text in which they are discussed so the book is easy to read and easy to enjoy. Essays are scholarly but readable for a general audience while the extensive footnotes and provenance of each piece makes it useful for those interested in academic research as well.. I only regret that I didn't finish the entire book before I went to the show!

The general quality of the book which seems to be brand new is excellent! The printing quality, the plates and text are 1st class. Essays by top scholars, 23 I believe, a real treasure! Thank you, exceeded my expectations!

Bought the book twice. Once at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ((NYC) when viewing the underlying Leonard Lauder Cubism Exhibit and again on Amazon for an art lover friend, when I returned. The works in the exhibit are suppose to ultimately become part of the MMA's permanent collection. Buy the book before you go to see the works. It will enhance your understanding and appreciation of these marvelous Cubists works.

Beautiful book! I had known about the Lauder collection for a while, and I am so happy to be able to look at it, at least in pictures, whenever I want!

It is a book that can stand on its own if you haven't or didn't get to see the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - I went 3 times, each time with a different friend!

Puts cubism in perspective. Often these types of books have essays written in dense or even meaningless prose by people showing off. Rather, this has accessible articles and with a sensible arrangement of pictures. There is nothing more annoying that an article that refers to paintings that aren't illustrated.

I was expecting a fantastic book. If you're a cubist historian or must have everything cubist then there's plenty of informative and scholarly text. As for the pictures, not so much. I suppose when looking at one person's collection that's to be expected. I have a ton of art books. I just couldn't justify the expenditure.Physical quality of the book is first class. It came slightly damaged because of the flimsy box packaging.

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