City by the Bay: San Francisco in Art and Literature (San Francisco Museum/Mod Art)

Description

San Francisco holds a special place in the American imagination. Throughout the decades, the Golden Gate has seduced scores of people who have come seeking fortune and freedom. Its steep streets and salty characters have inspired some of the most acclaimed artists and writers of our time. Pairing great works of art with literature that evokes the city's cosmopolitan charm, this book celebrates all the things that make San Francisco one of the most intriguing places in the world. City by the Bay features stunning masterpieces of photography, painting, and graphic arts all drawn from the world-renowned collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Poignant passages from classic and contemporary poetry, essays, and novels have been carefully selected to accompany each image. These combinations recreate the experience of a stroll through the city's famous neighborhoods from Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown. A true reflection of the personality and spirit of San Francisco, City by the Bay offers a keepsake album that tourists, San Franciscans, and art-lovers everywhere will cherish alike.

Featuring the work of the following: Ansel Adams * Isabel Allende * Maya Angelou * Joan Didion * Richard Diebenkorn * Dashiell Hammett * Jack Kerouac * Dorothea Lange * Jack London * Armistead Maupin * Amy Tan * Wayne Thiebaud * Mark Twain

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2004-11-18
Summary: "A pleasant little book to savour"

This book makes a great gift item for anyone in your life who lives/has lived/enjoyed a visit to - San Francisco. Scattered throughout the 140 pages or so is a stunning collection of photographs and prints capturing the colorful majesty of America's, "city by the bay." Accompanying these artworks are snippets of prose by writers ranging from Mark Twain to William Gibson, ruminating on the various charms and quirks of the foggy city. The best prose snippet comes from William Saroyan as he recollects an eye-opening collection of sights and sounds as he visits the 1915 World's Fair as a young boy travelling with a group of fellow orphans. All in all a nice book for anyone with an appreciation for all the charms that San Francisco has to offer.