February 2008

ISBN 13: 978-0-9788371-3-6
ISBN: 0-9788371-3-4
208 pages
9 x 9 in.
22 x 22 cm
183 color plates
32 duotones
US $ 95.00

Features more than 183 color plates and over 30 period photographs to give a thorough examination of this leading ceramicist and his professional and personal relationships with fellow artists.

Offers a fascinating view of a century of French ceramics, revealing the evolution of styles and themes from decade to decade.

Edmond Lachenal & His Legacy is the only publication to document the shifting styles of this important French ceramicist, who was a frequent exhibitor at the annual artists' salons in Paris, including the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français and the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs, the most important group in France for decorative arts. Over his lifetime, he was awarded many medals and other distinctions including the 1889 and 1900 Gold Medal at the World's Fair in Paris.

With a wealth of color plates, this publication extends not only to the work of his master, Theodore Déck but also includes pieces by some of his disciples, his sons Raoul and Jean- Jacques Lachenal, and his assistant Émile Decoeur.

This first-ever presentation of Lachenal's career includes scholarly essays, period photographs and thoughtful detailed catalogue descriptions of each of the 71 pieces represented. Placing the work of Lachenal in context with his peers reveals not only the rich artistic culture in which Lachenal worked but also the series of subtle transitions that evolved in the glazes and shapes of French ceramics from the middle of the nineteenth century until after the Second World War, from Historicism to Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

Martin Eidelberg is Professor Emeritus of Art History at Rutgers University. Claire Cass is an independent art historian specializing in ceramics and other decorative arts of the nineteenth and twentieth century.