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By University Communications
May 26, 2006

The University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) presents an exhibition featuring ornately illustrated book art by modern masters. The exhibition entitled, "Livres d'Artistes: Selections from the Ritter Collection" opens June 8 and will run through August 6, 2006.

The exhibition highlights a rare and remarkable form of artistic production, the livre d'artiste, or artist-illustrated book. The art compliments prose and poetry from the classic to the obscure and the exhibition features original imprints by celebrated masters of modernism.

The livre d'artiste took shape in the early 20th century with the notion of linking artist's and writer's works together to create a new genre with the support of art dealers looking to attract collectors. Great attention was given to the design, typesetting, paper selection, packaging and printing of these often-ornate books.

The Ritter Collection contains exemplary samples of the livre d'artiste genre. Mel Ritter, a long-time Tucsonan, has been collecting these illustrated books for twenty-five years. Notes Ritter, "As both a book lover and an artist, I think the livre d'artiste is amazing. I find continual enjoyment in this unique form of artistic expression."

Adds UAMA Chief Curator, Lisa Fischman, "The exhibition is a testament to the important and enduring relationship between museums and private collectors. Through the wonderful generosity of the Ritters, UAMA has the opportunity to present this selection of rare and exceptional objects to which many audiences might otherwise not have access."

A number of celebrated artists working in France during the early years of the last century contributed to livres d'artistes and are featured in the exhibition, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, and Marc Chagall. Contemporary variations on the artist-illustrated book tradition will also be represented, through works by artists such as Francisco Clemente, Davis Hockney, Joan Mitchell and Jasper Johns among others. Highlights of the exhibition include Salvador Dali's interpretation of Alice in Wonderland and Robert Mapplethorpe's response to Arthur Rimbaud's "Une Saison en Enfer" (A Season in Hell).

To enhance the visitor experience, UAMA has created a reading room environment with available trade versions of selected books in the exhibit. "The exhibition is particularly well timed for the heat of Tucson's summer months. With several trade versions of the texts available, it is my hope that the public will come, view the exhibition and stay a while to read in the museum," comments Fischman.

UAMA will host an opening reception for "Livres d'Artistes: Selections from the Ritter Collection" on Thursday, June 8 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. The public is invited and admission is free. UAMA will present related programs and events during the duration of the exhibition.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the UAMA is honoring five decades of accomplishment, events and exhibitions held in the current location. UAMA's official anniversary year will continue through March 17, 2007, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the donation to the Museum of the Kress and Gallagher Collections. UAMA is one of only twelve museums in Arizona accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and one of only 750 museums of the 16,000 museums nationwide with this highest award for excellence in the museum field.