Heckscher, Morrison and Leslie Greene Bowman — American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. Hardbound. Navy blue cloth with gold lettering; navy blue dj with color pictorial cover; 288 pp. with 250 illustrations, including 82 in full color. The rococo style was among the primary artistic contributions of the eighteenth century. Its manifestations throughout Europe have been comprehensively acknowledged and chronicled, but its influence in America, where it was probably the century's crowning design achievement (commonly referred to as the Chippendale style), had never been thoroughly examined. It was a lavish taste that found surprisingly fertile ground in the colonies, where affluent members of society, rejoicing in their hard-won prosperity, strove to adopt London fashions. The exhibition, "American Rococo, 1750–1775: Elegance in Ornament" was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the latter's motivations emanating from the desire to bring an exhibition of American Chippendale furniture to a city where such objects have always been in short supply. The book includes chapters on European origins and the American manifestations of the rococo, a brief discussion of firearms, and architecture, and medium-based explorations of objects made of paper, silver, wood, iron, glass, and ceramic. A beautiful book. Published in conjunction with the exhibition .. held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from 26 January to 17 May, and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 5 July to 27 September 1992"--Title page verso./ Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-263) and index. NF/NF .