Philip Reisman: People Are His Passion (Signed By Philip Reisman) & Philip Reisman: A Life Remembered 1904-1992 & More

Martin H. Bush

Published by Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, The Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, 1986

About this Item

How do I describe this? It's everything Reisman. First and foremost is the Hardcover written by Martin H. Bush. It is signed and inscribed on the first front end paper by Philip Reisman to his friend Elly Ledermann. It's a biography, encompassing the artist's life and work, illustrated with many drawings and paintings. The condition of the book is excellent. The covers are very clean. The gilt lettering on the front and spine is very bright and not worn at all. The bottom and top edges show no wear. Same with the corners. There is a tiny fading of color at the very bottom tip of the spine. That's the worst that can be said about the covers. The interior of the book is just as fine. The book is solidly bound. I didn't see any soiling on any of the pages. Excepting the artist's signed inscription no one has written their name or anything else on any page. Nor are there any markings or creases or dogeared corners. Beautiful book. The dust jacket is in very good shape. There is one tiny tear off the front top edge and one off the front bottom edge, both close to the spine. You may not even see them once the book is fitted in its protective cover. The spine (including the spine ends) is in excellent condition. The rear of the jacket has a tiny purple dash of color at one of its bottom corners. The dust jacket is NOT price clipped. The flaps are in very good condition. I should note that I was unable to find another copy of this book which was Signed by the artist. So, it is conceivably singularly rare. In fact, I couldn't find any book that Mr. Reisman was involved with that bore his signature. And his color illustrations adorned many significant books, books by Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy for example. ITEM 2: Philip Reisman: A Life Remembered 1904-1992. This is a very personal book that was privately printed in 1993 'accomplished with the cooperation of all the participants at the Memorial', and made possible by his nephew Martin and his wife Louise. It's 43 pages long. It's a soft cover, dark blue with silver lettering on the front. It's very well bound, spotless outside and inside, in perfect condition. It begins with a fairly hilarious photograph/frontispiece of the 15-year-old Philip. There is a reprint of the New York Times obituary followed by the various eulogies/remembrances by friends and loved ones, letters received. Then there is a 1982 interview with Philip Reisman and a concluding photograph taken some 65 years after the frontispiece photograph. Inside the book is a note from his wife in a card with an illustration from 1947 on the front. And finally inside the larger book there were a number of loose cards, etc. relating to Philip Reisman that Elly Ledermann had kept: a stapled 14 page exhibit booklet (Paintings of New York City by Philip Reisman, Museum Of The City Of New York, November 13, 1970 to February 17, 1980), another card from Louise Reisman to Elly with one of the artist's illustrations adorning the front, and a few other illustrations on cards that are unsigned. There are also a few stapled articles about Mr. Reisman and a color illustration (Demonstration 1949 Oil Painting) which on the back tells you something about his life. He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1904 and came to New York as a child. He studied at the Art Students League and later worked, like so many artists of his era, for the WPA in the 1930s. 'For over 50 years, Reisman has painted people of New York with a social consciousness that captures the character of the city'. It goes on to say that his work is included in the following collections: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, MOMA, Hirschorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and other public and private collections. Seller Inventory # 000942

Bibliographic Details

Title: Philip Reisman: People Are His Passion (...

Publisher: Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, The Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

Publication Date: 1986

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition