Frank Freed (1906-75) painted vignettes of daily life, ideas, and emotions in relative obscurity for nearly thirty years in a style typically categorized as "naive" or "folk" art. "More Than a Constructive Hobby" surveys the Houston businessman/artist's work and shows how it was informed by sophisticated observations and an intense love of literature.
Freed was born in San Antonio in 1906, the only child of German-origin Jews, but spent most of his life in Houston. After World War II, he took advantage of the GI Bill to enroll in a basic painting class.
Although he created art for...

The second of an important multi-volume catalogue project, this publication features work by Francis Picabia (1879-1953) that dates from 1915 into mid-1927. Beginning with Picabia's elaboration of a personal machinist aesthetic, the book continues by looking at the artist's central role in the formulation of the Paris Dada movement. That irreverent movement included Picabia's increasingly provocative mechanomorphic compositions, complemented by his unorthodox writings and graphic designs as well as socially powerful performances. In the 1920s, Picabia turned to striking geometrical...