This is a rare vintage UNREAD and out of print copy of Bruce Sargeant and His Circle: Figure and Form, by Mark Beard (Author) and published and distributed by Chronicle Books in 2010 featuring the nude male paintings of MARK BEARD and BRUCE SARGEANT. This 128 page HARDCOVER book and DUST JACKET measure 10.5 x 0.75 x 10 inches. See photos for condition.

Painter Mark Beard is a master of fiction. Working in the 1920s style of his imaginary gay great-uncle Bruce Sargeant, Beard creates images of athletes in various stages of dress and undress. This archly homoerotic, exquisitely rendered body of work is rounded out with paintings by Bruce's circle of friends and associates: his Classicist teacher, Modernist lesbian best friend, and Abstract Expressionist art-school rival. Critical essays, remembrances from New York society members, and other ephemera from this lively quartet of fictional characters create an enticing journey into history, literature, and art.

New York-based artist Mark Beard has devoted the last two decades to exploring and amassing the work of Bruce Sargeant (1898-1938), a painter who idealized and celebrated the beauty of the male form. Had Sargeant not met a tragic and unexpected end in a wrestling accident, he may have gone on to the heights now enjoyed by artists such as James McNeill Whistler and others; instead, his oeuvre remained hidden for years and is only now being brought to light, with works still being discovered.

Prized in elite gallery circles and salons in Europe and the United States, Sargeant's work has never been featured in a major art-historical survey-until now. His subtly-toned oil paintings of young men at sport and at leisure are reminiscent of classic figure painting, highlighting his beaux arts training, yet their gentle elegance continues to speak to contemporary audiences through Abercrombie & Fitch's installations of Sargeant's work in its flagship stores worldwide.
In addition to essays and plates showcasing Sargeant's breadth of interests, both in his artistic studies and in the men he painted, this collection expands our understanding of Sargeant's work by examining his artistic circle- his teacher, Hippolyte-Alexandre Michallon; his friend and colleague Edith Cromwell, archrival Brechtholdt Streeruwitz; and Peter Coulter, one of the many artists influenced by this salon of talented artists.

A foreword by Thomas Sokolowski, director of the Andy Warhol Museum, appropriately places Sargeant in the pantheon of twentieth-century figure painters, and the afterword by W.M. Hunt draws favorable parallels between Sargeant's glorification of the male body and the work of photographers Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber, among others. Further, various texts by dealers, museum trustees and art aficionados offer insights and remembrances about this prolific circle. This sensuous publication is an essential reference for all those who appreciate the male form and the artistic tradition of the human figure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bruce Sargeant's work is featured in Abercrombie & Fitch's flagship stores thanks to the efforts of Mark Beard, a painter who resides in New York City.

Thomas Sokolowski is the director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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