A SINGULAR AESTHETIC. Photographs & Drawings 1921-1941. A Catalog Raisonne

Santa Barbara: Arabesque Books, 1981. First edition. Hardcover. A near fine sharp copy in cloth with photo mounted to front cover. Paul Outerbridge. 4to. Edited by Elaine Dines in Collaboration with Graham Howe. Introductory Essay by Bernard Barryte with Graham Howe and Elaine Dines. Laid in is a color postcard, 5 1/2 x 8 inches, featuring a color photo by Outerbridge "Nude with Marble Bust", on the verso is an invitation to see the exhibition of Paul Outerbridge Jr on view at the Laguna Beach Museum of Art. A catalogue-raisonné including fifty-six black and white photographs, six line drawings, one dye-transfer print, and thirty-nine Carbro-color prints (truncated) comprising the museum exhibition reproduced as full page plates. In addition, a supplementary section of 438 half-tone reproductions contains all known images by Paul Outerbridge produced during the artist's most prolific years, 1921-1941. Published in 1981 by The Laguna Art Museum. What makes this volume special is "The three dimensional front cover of this volume with its mounted hinged mat displaying one of Outerbridge's most famous Carbro-color prints, "Woman with Claws". With the hinged mat lifted, that part of the original image subsequently edited out by Outerbridge can be examined, allowing the viewer to study the aesthetic of Outerbridge's editorial process. His original intention was to objectify the model, evidenced by the mask; however, the full intention was not achieved until the final presentation-the overmatting." According to the publisher only about 400 copies were produced in this deluxe edition instead of the stated 1500 copies in the colophon. (Inventory #: 15419)