Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia of Figures is dedicated to learning the basic elements that each miniature painter works with: light, colour, form, and texture. This book is a definitive guide to understanding the secrets of illuminating a figure, combining colours, highlighting shapes, and enhancing textures in a practical and easy way. …

The celebrated expatriate painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and his heirs enjoyed a cordial relationship with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In consequence, the museum has an unparalleled collection of Sargent's works, in particular his drawings and watercolors, which are all presented in this comprehensive volume. …

This catalogue commemorates the first large loan exhibition of American decorative arts and pictures to be organized by the American Wing in many years. Among the well-remembered exhibitions of the past are the Hudson-Fulton Exhibition of 1909, the Girl Scout Loan Exhibition of 1929, the Loan Exhibition of New York State Furniture of 1984, and The Greek Revival in the United States of 1943. It is our hope that this current offering will be followed by many other shows, a hope supported by the generosity of The Friends of the American Wing. …

This publication celebrates the promised gift to The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Oscar Tang family of twelve major works from the C. C. Wang Family Collection, one of the great private collections of Chinese old master paintings to be assembled in the twentieth century. Ranging in date from the tenth to the early eighteenth century, these works significantly extend the Museum's holdings and reveal those areas of Chinese painting of particular interest to Mr. Wang. …

From the tenth century to the end of the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty early in this century, the dominant concern of the Chinese painter has been the natural world of landscape, trees and rocks, birds and animals, flowers and bamboo— "the myriad phenomena occasioned by consciousness," in the words of the eleventh-century art historian Kuo Jo-hsü. The older figure and narrative traditions remain vital for a time, during the period of the Sung (960–1279) and Yüan (1279–1368) dynasties, then rapidly declined, becoming the concern only of journeymen artisans and court chroniclers. …

One of the great rewards of a visit to the Museum fur Indischc Kunst in Dahlcm, West Berlin, is the opportunity to see its extraordinary holdings in the art of Central Asia. With only a handful of important collections of Central Asian art in die world, Berlin’s remains unrivaled, particularly in the magnificent assemblage of wall paintings. Acquired in the first quarter of this century as the result of four pioneering expeditions to the remote and inhospitable region of Chinese Turkestan, die Berlin collection has led the way to a greater understanding and appreciation of the ancient cultures of Central Asia.

This catalogue tries to record and thus to preserve an aspect of life and culture in New York that is fast vanishing. Most great works of art are now in educational institutions, but those still in private collections, when assembled with love and understanding and arranged in harmonious surroundings, take on a living quality and an intimate appeal that they lose in a museum. …