A Radical Matisse, a Little Morocco, and a Book Party

I never mind seeing a message from the vast California-based art and architecture bookstore, Hennessey + Ingalls, in my e-mailbox because it usually means I'm receiving a helpful reminder about a new title like Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917.  In this video, Stephanie D'Alessandro, curator of the Art Institute of Chicago's current Matisse exhibition, explains why the period from 1913 to 1917 -- when the artist had just returned from Morocco and not yet headed to Nice -- is important in the history of art and how the show differs from previous studies of Matisse's career.

Both soft and hardcover editions of the exhibition catalog are also available at the Art Institute shop. MoMA's chief curator emeritus of painting and sculpture, John Elderfield (remember the Charlie Rose broadcast?), co-curated Matisse: Radical Invention with D'Alessandro.

Thinking about Matisse and Morocco leads me to this mid-20th-century Berber flat-weave wool and cotton pillow cover spotted at Allan Arthur's Cyber Rug Center. It's similar in spirit to the 1950s African pillows seen in Ellen Pompeo's bedroom in the May 2010 Elle Decor (photography by Tim Street-Porter, interiors by Martyn Lawrence Bullard). Pick up a copy to check out the details.

And speaking of Martyn Lawrence-Bullard and Tim Street-Porter, a book party to celebrate Annie Kelly's Rooms to Inspire in the City (with photography by Street-Porter) is scheduled for Thursday, April 22 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Hollywood at Home. Martyn Lawrence-Bullard and Peter Dunham are hosting. Click here for details. RSVP: info@hollywoodathome.com.  

[Detail, late-19th-or-early-20th-century North African pierced and appliqued hanging. Colored cotton appliqued to sackcloth. Matisse, His Art and His Textiles.]

Matisse-related past post: Man of the Cloth.