Art of the Contemporary Doll: By Contemporary Artists

This enchanting book features one hundred of the world's most outstanding artists and the intriguing dolls they have created during the past two decades. Made as one-of-a-kind pieces or in small, limited editions, the dolls range from painstakingly researched historical figures to pop culture icons and from impish children to creatures of fantasy. The book begins with an historical overview of the roots of this movement in the 1900s when a few key European artists began to make dolls for art's sake, as well as for children to play with. Successive chapters present the gamut of dolls being created by artists today, organized thematically, from portraits of real people, figures of literature, and characters to creatures of the imagination and abstract forms. Krystyna Poray Goddu and Wendy Lavitt, the authors, are recognized experts in this field. They interviewed the artists to reveal how they work, their methods of sculpting and costume design, their inspirations, materials - varying from the traditional porcelain to wood, cloth, resins, and vinyl - and much more. Illustrating the fascinating text are 125 specially commissioned pictures by Lynton Gardiner, the premier photographer of dolls. Supplementing the text, the complete appendices include a glossary; list of artists and their addresses; organizations for artists and collectors; museums displaying contemporary dolls; dealers; and a bibliography. For anyone interested in this rapidly growing field of collectibles, this long overdue book must be collected.