{"product_id":"material-witness-ted-leigh-9780472109760","title":"Material Witness: The Selected Letters of Fairfield Porter","description":"\"The publication of Porter's letters marks an occasion for a renewed celebration of his painting and an appreciation of his quirky, indeed ornery, personality. Porter was a feisty correspondent, who fearlessly entered the intellectual discourse of his time.\"\u003cbr\u003e---From the introduction by David Lehman \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In this lifetime of letters, Fairfield Porter reveals the complexity and passion of a protagonist in a novel by Dostoevsky or Henry James.\"\u003cbr\u003e---Jane Freilicher \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFairfield Porter (1907-75) has been called by poet John Ashbery \"perhaps the major American artist of the century.\" He was also known as a gifted art critic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeyond shedding light on his personal views, this collection of Fairfield Porter's letters demonstrates his profound contribution to American art and literature and displays his acumen as a political critic. The letters tell the story of a reserved artist and intellectual, torn between the tensions and pressures he felt among politics, family life, and painting-a man who forged a painting style outside the politically correct artistic perceptions of both left and right. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe collection includes letters from Porter's early travels to the Soviet Union, including a description of an interview with Trotsky, as well as some of his later letters to close friends, including Frank O'Hara, Kenneth Koch, Rod Padgett, Larry Rivers, and James Schuyler, among others. While the letters reveal many sides of the brilliant and independent-minded Porter, they also provide a cultural context for the time period and the circle of artists and poets with whom Porter associated. The letters not only tell a story of the artist himself but are also valuable documents of the political and artistic upheavals of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis rich collection is introduced by poet and critic David Lehman and includes notes by Justin Spring, author of Porter's biography.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ted Leigh\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472109766\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472109760\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/22\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.26h x 6.48w x 1.14d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/17\/2005 pg. 26\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/09\/2005","brand":"Ted Leigh","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086703603967,"sku":"9780472109760","price":49.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_78433e01-5588-44ff-a7a4-0f3922cf3002.jpg?v=1769096091","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/material-witness-ted-leigh-9780472109760","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}