Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 18 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

‘Lust for Life’: The Van Gogh book designed to fit in pockets of US soldiers during the Second World War

Irving Stone's 1934 novel *Lust for Life*, a fictionalized biography of Vincent van Gogh, was published as an Armed Services Edition during World War II for U.S. soldiers. These pocket-sized books, measuring 11cm by 17cm, were designed to fit in uniform pockets and withstand harsh conditions. Over 123 million copies of various titles were printed from 1943 to 1947, with distribution including parachute drops to troops on Pacific islands and handouts to soldiers before the Normandy Landings. The surviving copies are scarce and often damaged, with browned pages and covers marked as U.S. government property, not to be resold.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

Arts of Oceania

The article explores the rich artistic traditions of Oceania, emphasizing how the vast network of islands and ocean passageways fostered a dynamic exchange of cultures, materials, and ideas over millennia. It describes Oceanic art as vessels for metaphysical journeys, with objects like fishhooks, stick charts, and carved figures serving as tangible expressions of ancestral power and cultural knowledge. The text highlights the role of artists as chiefs and orators who manipulate local materials to manifest spirits, and traces the region's entanglements with European colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward.

newspaper The Metropolitan Museum of Art open_in_new Read original