Matisse: His Art and His Public (The Signed/Limited Edition, in Dustjacket and Slipcase)

New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951. Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. A crisp, very sharp copy of the 1951 signed/limited and stated 1st edition. #317 OF 495 COPIES BOTH SIGNED BY ALBERT BARR, JR. (at the limitation) AND INCLUDING AN ORIGINAL BOUND-IN LITHOGRAPH OF MATISSE'S (INITIALED IN THE PLATE). An unsually clean copy to boot. Tight and Near Fine in a bright, Near Fine, Matisse-designed dustjacket. Also includes a solid, very sturdy example of the publisher's unprinted dark slipcase. Even to this day, this remains one of the foundational biographies of Matisse, written by Albert Barr, Jr. (1902-1981), a major American art critic and the very first director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Truly a collector's copy. (Inventory #: 23914)