Comment, Share, Collaborate...: Join Xanadu Gallery's Virtual Book Club

Xanadu Gallery Book Club | de Kooning - An American Master

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After our last book club meeting in November where we discussed Caravaggio | A Life Sacred and Profane, participants voted to read de Kooning | An American Master as our next book club selection. Even though I read this book when it was first released in 2005, I'm excited to revisit the book as I feel it is not only one of the best artist biographies I have ever read, I consider it my favorite book of the last d

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ecade in any genre. I'm not alone my esteem for the book - it won the Pulitzer Prize for biography, and the National Book Critics Circle Award , along with toping many best-of lists for 2005.

De Kooning's life is fascinating, and this book does an amazing job of creating an intimate portrait of the artist, while at the same time capturing the spirit of the age of abstract expressionism.

Now an admission - I initially hesitated to read the book because I wasn't a big fan of de Kooning's work. If you find de Kooning's work difficult (or, dare I say? ugly) I want to encourage you to give this book a chance to change your mind. I came away with an understanding of where the art came from and I now look at de Kooning's work in a whole new light. Whether the book changes your mind or not, de Kooning is arguably one of the most important artists of the last century and I can promise you will enjoy the book.

We are scheduling the virtual book club meeting for Tuesday evening, April 10th, which will allow for two weeks for you to get a copy of the book, and then 9 weeks to read it. This schedule will require you to read about 10 pages per day to complete the book in the alloted time (you're going to find that you have a hard time limiting yourself to 10 pages per day).

Remember, the book club meeting is virtual and will all take place online. No matter where you are, if you have an internet connection or a phone, you will be able to participate in the virtual meeting.

I think most of you will want to order the hardcover edition from Amazon (link below) as this is going to be a book you'll want to have in your collection to read again in the future.

To sign up for the book club follow these simple steps:

Step #1 - Sign up for the book club meeting. Registration is completely free, and there is no commitment of any kind.

By signing up for the meeting you will be registered in the club and will receive updates and discussion topics. The online book club meeting is Tuesday, April 10th at 6:00 p.m. Pacific (don't worry I will send out reminders with the start time for the meeting in your time-zone as the meeting gets closer).

Step #2 - Order the book:

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You'll want to order the book as soon as possible so that you have enough time to complete the reading before the club meeting.

Step #3 - Start reading.

I have allowed enough time for you to order and receive the book and still have about nine weeks to complete your reading. If you dedicate yourself to read about 10 pages a day you will finish the book right in time for the book club meeting on April 10th.

Step#4 (Optional) Send me a photo.

Send me a photo of you holding the book which we will share with the club - this way you can feel like you get to know other members of the club by more than just their login names. Email the photo to me at jason@xanadugallery.com.

Step #5 - Join the group on your computer for the virtual book club meeting (bring your own refreshments!)

You will receive login instructions prior to the meeting. During the discussion you will have an opportunity to voice your impressions and discoveries (or just sit back and listen if you prefer). I will casually moderate the discussion and look forward to letting you do most of the talking.

I hope you will join me as we enrich our understanding of art history and great artists together!

Have a suggestion for a book or subject for a future club meeting? Email me at jason@xanadugallery.com.

Jason

J. Jason Horejs
Owner

Xanadu Gallery