Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This is a collection of essays based on the papers by leading Degas experts given at the Table Gallery, Liverpool in 1989 as well as further American academics, especially commissioned for this book. The text demonstrates the diversity of approaches and issues generated around the problematic material of Degas' images of women, combining art history, cultural theory and psychology. Richard Kendall is an art historian and organizer of the Liverpool conference.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Since the 1870s, Degas and his art have been popular subjects for journalists, scholars, and critics. Several recent publications show Degas as a rich territory for specialized studies and alternative interpretations. Beginning with Eunice Lipton's Looking Into Degas: Uneasy Images of Women and Modern Life (CH, May'87) Degas's life, times, and art have been subjected to even greater sociocultural exploration. Dealing with Degas is an overtly feminist investigation of class and gender politics relative to the interpretation of Degas. The text features nine papers from a 1988 Tate Gallery symposium plus three essays added to expand the scope of the investigation. Editors Kendall, who curated a companion exhibition, "Degas: Images and Women," and Pollock, a noted feminist art historian, contribute excellent introductory essays that place the volume in clear context. The remaining 7 contributors, all accomplished authors, provide well-conceived and intelligent essays offering new perspectives on Degas's respresentation of women. Taken as a whole, this is a well-written book that achieves a meaningful encounter between feminism and art history. There are 8 color plates of fair quality, 51 useful black-and-white illustrations, and excellent notes of use to scholars. This book must be viewed within the context of more standard literature on the artist such as Degas by Jean Sutherland Boggs, et al. (CH, Feb'89) and Carol Armstrong's Odd Man Out: Readings of the Work and Reputation of Edgar Degas, 1991. Should be acquired by libraries with an interest in modern art and is a must for institutions committed to women's studies.-J. A. Day, University of South Dakota