Bevis Hillier (1940 - )
Related: art history - Art Deco - UK
Biography
Bevis Hillier was born on 28 March 1940 in Redhill, Surrey. He is an English art historian, author and journalist.
His father was Jack Hillier, an authority and author on Japanese art. His mother was Mary Louise Hillier, an author on wax dolls and automata. Hillier was educated at Reigate Grammar School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he won the Gladstone Memorial Prize for History. He was employed as a journalist on The Times in 1963.
In 1969 his book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s was published by Studio Vista. This was the first major work on a hitherto neglected period of art, which had been previously been referred to by various names. His use of the term "Art Deco" became definitive. In 1971 he curated a major Art Deco show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
His major work, the authorised biography of Sir John Betjeman, was published by John Murray in three parts in 1988, 2002 and 2004. He has also written books on ceramics, posters, cartoons and caricatures. He is a lead reviewer for The Spectator. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevis_Hillier [Feb 2006]
The Style of the Century: 1900-1980 (1983) - Bevis Hillier
The Style of the Century: 1900-1980 (1983) - Bevis Hillier [Amazon.com]
From Book News, Inc.
The venerable Hillier (London Times, British Museum, Connoisseur, etc.) reviews Euro-American art styles from Edwardian to post-punk, as manifest in architecture, fashion, automobile design, pop music, and other joys and trials of daily life. No bibliography. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Product Description:
In this ambitious book Bevis Hillier cuts a wide swath through social and decorative history and give a far-ranging view of the twentieth century, from Edwardian and Art Nouveau to some startling predictions about what we may expect before "the magic year 2000".
Art Deco Style (1997) - Bevis Hillier
If one had to select a single title from the recent spate of books discussing the Art Deco style, it should be this crisply written, magnificently illustrated volume. Indeed, Hillier is no stranger to Art Deco scholarship (Art Deco of the 20s and 30s, 1985), and his lively discussion of the turbulent era of the Twenties and Thirties quickly sweeps one back in time to a style that became easily identifiable and was adopted to one degree or another by all of the mechanical and fine arts. The illustrations, mostly in color, are beautifully reproduced. Art students in particular will benefit from this attention to detail. The volume concludes with a notes section, brief biographies of notable artists and designers, and a useful bibliography. Highly recommended for all audiences. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. , amazon.com