IPPY

The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection is a semifinalist for an Independent Publisher Book Award, or IPPY, in the category of "Fine Art." The winners in each category should be announced this week, but even an honorable mention is a worthy achievement. The IPPYs were conceived as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry, and are open to authors and publishers worldwide who produce books written in English and intended for the North American market.

Designed as a parallel exhibition to Coming Home: American Paintings, 1930-1950, from the Schoen Collection, which the Georgia Museum of Art organized with the Mobile Museum of Art in 2003, The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection contains works by many of the same artists as its predecessor and addresses much of the same subject matter, from portrayals of the plight of the American farm worker to the development of industry and the growth of the urban environment. This exhibition catalogue includes 153 prints and drawings, all illustrated full page, in color, and each discussed in a brief essay on the facing page. Historian Harry Katz provides an introduction, and contributing authors include William U. Eiland, Paul Manoguerra, Gail Kallins, Carol Nathanson, Stephen Goldfarb and Lynn Barstis Williams. This exhibition and exhibition catalogue are of benefit not only to those who appreciate American art created between the two World Wars, but also to the average history buff, and they demonstrate the admirable diversity of Jason Schoen's collection of works on paper, which includes significant contributions from women and African American artists. The book retails for $55 and can be purchased from the online Museum Shop.