An intriguing dual biography explores the relationship between famed Post-Impressionaist artist Henri Matisse, and his son Pierre, an influential art dealer, drawing on Pierre's unpublished archives and numerous letters between father and son to offer a fascinating portrait of twentieth-century art. Author John Russell knew Pierre Matisse (1900-1989) personally, and after his death was invited to work in the legendary art dealer's archives. Among the treasure-trove of material was 34 years' worth of correspondence between Matisse and his father, the legendary French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Russell's stately narrative draws on those letters, as well as Pierre's correspondence with the artists he represented (most notably Joan Miró, Balthus, Alberto Giacometti, and Jean Dubuffet). It reveals a remarkable intimacy between father and son, despite the fact that Pierre made his career in New York, while the elder Matisse resided in France. The naturally reserved Matisses were probably more candid in letters than they would have been in person about family crises; in addition, the correspondence provides fascinating insights into Henri's creative struggles and his shrewd business sense. Pierre is respectfully portrayed as a dealer of the old school--making a lifetime commitment to the artists he admired, regarding their works "not so much as objects of commerce, but as children ready for adoption." Russell, a former art critic for the New York Times , writes in a rather formal style that emphasizes the Matisses' links (and his own) to a vanished time, the heroic age of modern art and of the men and women who made it their mission to introduce it to the world. --Wendy Smith Henri Matisse was an avid letter writer, and his correspondence with his son, Pierre, is the basis of Russell's narrative. The Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York was until the late 1980s a discreet, discriminating bastion of primarily European modern art. Through decades of letters and Pierre's correspondence with some of the artists he represented, including Dubuffet and Mir?, we see the father-son and artist-dealer relationship firsthand. The real interest here, however, is Henri Matisse and his art. He is compelling in his own words as a father who wants to keep his family intact through a rancorous divorce, the occupation of Paris, the capture of his daughter Marguerite, life as a French resister, and later ill health. Pierre Matisse emerges as a good son who looks after everything just as his father instructs. Amusing morsels of gossip make the book worth reading; there is enough material here for several volumes. A friend of Pierre for many years, former New York Times chief art critic Russell has made an admirable first rendering of these newly available archives.AEllen Bates, New York Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. It may surprise readers that Russell has focused this double biography not on the famous father, the artist Henri, but on the much less well known son, the art dealer Pierre. By mining a cache of unpublished letters, Russell explodes the myth that Henri refused to support his son's career choice. In three decades of revealing letters, we see Pierre's close collaboration with his father, from the opening of his New York gallery in 1931 until Henri's death in 1954. But Pierre was hardly his father's puppet, and Russell restores to the son the credit due to a pioneer who vastly enlarged America's aesthetic horizons by exhibiting the works of previously unknown artists, such as Miroand Giacometti. But even as he allied himself with avant-garde painters and sculptors, Pierre distanced himself from the new breed of profiteering dealers who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. This book will come as a long-overdue acknowledgement of the importance of an inspired dealer in giving artistic beauty its public life. Bryce Christensen "...Provides a roadmap of the evolution of Modernist art simply by charting the artists who wander into the frame..." -- Publisher's Weekly "...engrossing new book...brings the past to life..." -- Town & Country "...provides further insights into this great artist's vulnerability...This is a fascinating book..." -- The Sunday Times, London "An extraordinary book...combines biography and art history in a colorful and lively narrative..." -- Associated Press "It is doubtful that anyone could have written this better than John Russell." -- Antiques and the Arts Weekly "What Russell brings to this narrative is the authoritative tone of the scholar with the delicious confidence of an insider..." -- Vogue ...an absorbing tale about the ordinary life of an extraordinary painter, sculptor, draftsman and printmaker. And he has advanced his narrative with an ingenious yet understated literary style. -- The New York Times , Phyllis Tuchman With the privilege of an exclusive first look at so much unpublished material, there is much here to intrigue and delight. --