FIRST EDITION OF LA FARGE’S THE HIGHER LIFE IN ART, 1908, HANDSOMELY BOUND

LA FARGE, John. The Higher Life in Art. A Series of Lectures on the Barbizon School of France Inaugurating the Scammon Course at the Art Institute of Chicago. New York: McClure, 1908. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter brown morocco, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, marbled boards and endpapers, top edge gilt. $500.

First edition of this compilation of La Farge’s lectures on Barbizon art at Chicago’s Art Institute in 1903, with numerous plates after famous works of art, handsomely bound.

An artist, illustrator, and artisan specializing in stained glass, La Farge was one of the most respected American artists of his day. He stood at the forefront of a number of new movements and constantly pushed his disciples to delve into new areas such as the decorative arts and modern religious art. This work is a compilation of his lectures on Barbizon art given at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1903. “La Farge occupied a special place, writing eight books and numerous essays on art in order to establish a sound tradition of the fine arts in the United States… The Higher Life in Art (1908) [is] distinguished for [its] urbane and cultivated language and aesthetic theories, similar to those espoused by the artist James A. M. Whistler” (The Phillips Collections). Bookplate.

Interior fine, only light rubbing to binding. A near-fine copy, handsomely bound.