John Bigelow Taylor

Summary

John Bigelow Taylor (c. 1950)[1] is a photographer of works of art based in New York City.[1] Along with his wife Dianne Dubler, Taylor is known for publishing photographic monographs on a diverse range of subjects including architecture and interior design, as well as collections of jewelry and fine art.[1][2]

John Bigelow Taylor
Born1949 or 1950 (age 73–74)[1]
Occupationphotographer
SpouseDianne Dubler

His work has been described as "superb"[3] by John Boardman of The New York Review of Books and "impressive"[4] by Marie Arana-Ward of The Washington Post.

Career edit

In the early 1970s John Bigelow Taylor and his partner, Dianne Dubler, traveled throughout southern Asia; the couple documented the peoples, cultures and locations they encountered while traveling and living in India, Afghanistan and Nepal.[2]

After their travels in Asia, Taylor and Dubler were advised by their friend, Gillett Griffin, then curator of pre-Columbian art at Princeton University Art Museum.[5] to concentrate on the photography of works of art. Taylor and Dubler have stated that Griffin's encouragement and guidance greatly contributed to Taylor's career as a still life photographer of art, antiquities and architecture.[5]

Taylor later collaborated with publisher Harry N. Abrams on several books including "Wisdom and Compassion : The Sacred Art of Tibet" (1991) featuring photographs of Tibetan sculpture, tapestries and sand mandalas,[6] The Cycladic Spirit (1991) featuring Cycladic art from the Goulandris Collection in Athens,[3] The White House Collection of American Crafts (1995) with Hillary Clinton, Gold Without Boundaries (1998), featuring sculpture and gold work by the artist Daniel Brush[7] and Waddesdon Manor : The Heritage of a Rothschild House (2010), a one-year study of Ferdinand de Rothschild's Waddesdon Manor.[1]

In 1991 Taylor and Dubler established Kubaba books, a publishing company devoted to produce limited-edition photography books.[2] In an interview with the authors of Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell, when asked about the origin of the company's name, Dubler explained: "Kubaba was the earliest Indo-European name for the great mother-goddess of Anatolia."

Inspired by their work on the book Waddesdon Manor : The Heritage of a Rothschild House produced for Scala Art Publishers, Kubaba's focus since 2010 shifted towards producing books that document their clients' private homes and estates;[1] some of these clients have included Jane Stieren and her husband Bill N. Lacy, a former president of the Cooper Union and former executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, as well as Anne Sidamon-Eristoff, a former chairman of the American Museum of Natural History.[1]

Taylor also specializes in jewelry photography as demonstrated in photographs of Elizabeth Taylor's collection for Simon & Schuster's My Love Affair With Jewelry (2002), as well as Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box (2009), a catalog of brooches belonging to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.[1]

Books edit

  • Within the Underworld Sky: Mimbres Ceramic Art in Context, June 1984, 162 pages, ISBN 0-942642-11-2
  • Pre-Columbian Art from the Ernest Erickson Collection at the American Museum of Natural History, January 1988, ISBN 0-8109-3169-9
  • The Cycladic Spirit: Masterpieces from the Nicholas P. Goulandris Collection, September 1991, 207 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3169-9
  • The Inca Empire and Its Andean Origins, October 1993, 251 pages, ISBN 1-55859-556-2
  • The Currency of Fame: Portrait Medals of the Renaissance, March 1994, 424 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3191-5
  • The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry, September 1994, 256 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4453-7
  • Judith Leiber: The Artful Handbag, March 1995, 159 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3571-6
  • Swarovski: The Magic of Crystal, April 1995, 158 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4454-5
  • The White House Collection of American Crafts, April 1995, 128 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4035-3
  • Masterpieces of American Indian Art: From the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, September 1995, 96 pages, ISBN 0-8109-2628-8
  • Learning from the Dalai Lama: Secrets of the Wheel of Time, October 1995, 40 pages, ISBN 0-525-45063-7
  • Gioielli Etnici: Africa, Asia, Americhe, Oceania dalla Collezione di Colette e Jean-Pierre Ghysels, January 1996, 294 pages, ISBN 88-8118-610-1
  • The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership, March 1996, 344 pages, ISBN 0-8109-6311-6
  • Art in the Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, September 1996, 208 pages, ISBN 0-8109-1972-9
  • Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, September 1996, 488 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3985-1
  • Kenneth Jay Lane: Faking It, September 1996, 160 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3579-1
  • Paul J. Stankard: Homage to Nature, October 1996, 160 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4473-1
  • Recycled Re-Seen: Folk Art from the Global Scrap Heap, October 1996, 208 pages, ISBN 0-8109-2666-0
  • Venetian Glass: Confections in Glass 1855-1914, March 1998, 128 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3939-8
  • Daniel Brush: Gold Without Boundaries, September 1998, 275 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4018-3
  • Schmuck: Kostbarkeiten aus Afrika, Asien, Ozeanien und Amerika aus der Sammlung Ghysels, January 1999, 287 pages, ISBN 3-7757-0867-7
  • Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of East Asian Art from New York Private Collections, March 1999, 195 pages, ISBN 0-8109-6386-8
  • Evidence: The Art of Candy Jernigan, July 1999, 176 pages, ISBN 0-8118-2307-5
  • Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, July 1999, 171 pages, ISBN 0-8156-8127-5
  • Meyer Schapiro: His Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture, March 2000, 256 pages, ISBN 0-8109-4392-1
  • Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, September 2000, 488 pages, ISBN 0-8109-8204-8
  • The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry: From the Colette and Jean-Pierre Ghysels Collection, March 2001, 256 pages, ISBN 0-8109-2993-7
  • Waddesdon Manor: The Heritage of a Rothschild House, May 2002, 320 pages, ISBN 0-8109-3239-3
  • Divine Presence: Arts of India and the Himalayas, August 2003, 180 pages, ISBN 88-7439-022-X
  • Cincinnati Art-Carved Furniture and Interiors, November 2003, 295 pages, ISBN 0-8214-1511-5
  • Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, December 2003, 240 pages, ISBN 0-7432-5438-4
  • A Walk through the Ages: Chinese Archaic Art from the Sondra Landy Gross Collection, January 2004, 224 pages, ISBN 0-9745561-0-6
  • New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, January 2005, 629 pages, ISBN 0-88401-118-6
  • Ferdinand Richardt: Drawings of America, 1855-1859, February 2007, 80 pages, ISBN 0-913424-12-9
  • Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, September 2009, 176 pages, ISBN 0-06193-849-1

Photographic exhibitions edit

  • Microcosm: The New York Chinese Scholar's Garden, curated by Christophe W. Mao and Judith Whitbeck, Chinese Scholar's Garden at the Staten Island Botanical Garden, April 26–28, 2002
  • The Armory Wall: A Tribute to September 11, ongoing traveling exhibition

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Fabrikant, Geraldine (December 17, 2014). "Your Home on a Coffee Table". New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Heller, Steven; Talarico, Lita (2008). Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell. Quayside. p. 211. ISBN 9781616736491. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Boardman, John (January 16, 1992). "Idolizing". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  4. ^ Arana-Ward, Marie (December 5, 1993). "Gifts of the New World". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Stratton, Jean (March 10, 2004). "Princeton Personality". Town Topics. Vol. LVIII, no. 10. Princeton, New Jersey. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  6. ^ "Exhibit features Tibetan culture". Rome News-Tribune. Associated Press. June 14, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  7. ^ "Season's art books range from the classic to the eye-opening". Gadsden Times. Associated Press. December 15, 1998. Retrieved December 27, 2014.

External links edit

  • John Bigelow Taylor's official website
  • Official website for Kubaba