Admirers of the late, legendary art historian Meyer Schapiro will find this first publication of his own artwork a revelation. More than 200 paintings, drawings, and sculptures are reproduced; along with three never-published essays-"On Representing and Knowing," "Color as Expressive," and "Drawing from the Figure"-they yield a surprising private view of this Renaissance man who was a giant figure in American intellectual and artistic life from the 1930s until his death in 1996 at age 91.

Of special interest are Schapiro's self-portraits and renderings of such notable people as Bernard Berenson, Whittaker Chambers, and Irving Howe. An introduction by Schapiro's widow, Lillian Milgram Schapiro, gives insights into his early art education, and a preface by New York Times art critic John Russell provides a personal reminiscence of this inspirational figure in the art world who soared above the crowd as "one of nature's illuminants."

203 photographs, 53 in full color, 8 1/2 x 11"

MEYER SCHAPIRO (1904-1996) was associated with Columbia University from 1920, when he entered as an undergraduate, until his death. He was named University Professor Emeritus there in 1973. He also taught at New York University, Oxford University, and the Collge de France in Paris. His varied fields of interest included the art of the Middle Ages and of 19th- and 20th-century Europe and America.

LILLIAN MILGRAM SCHAPIRO is a retired pediatrician and former medical school clinical professor. She married Meyer Schapiro in 1928 and worked with him on various aspects of his publications. JOHN RUSSELL is former chief art critic of The New York Times and the author of many books, including Abrams' Matisse: Father & Son, London, and Paris. He lives in New York.

JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR is a well-known photographer whose work has appeared in a number of Abrams books, including The Currency of Fame, The Cycladic Spirit, Daniel Brush: Gold Without Boundaries, The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry, and Venetian Glass.