Somethings Etruscan

First originated in 1974, Somethings Etruscan marks a unique collaboration between sculptor Barry Flanagan (1941 – 2009) and the writer David Plante (b.1940).

Featuring a new postscript from Former Tate Director, Nicholas Serota, who worked with Flanagan on the original artist’s book, this beautifully produced edition is limited to 300 copies, each copy signed and numbered by the author, David Plante.

It marks a critical moment in the evolution of Flanagan’s approach to sculpture and handicraft, his response to tradition and his expression of the relationship between human beings, or their animal surrogates, and nature.

Originally conceived as an artist’s book to accompany an exhibition of Flanagan’s works on paper at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, in 1974, it reproduces drawings made by Flanagan in the Etruscan museum of Cortona, Tuscany, where he first met David Plante.

“Flanagan saw the world from an oblique point of view – sceptical, humorous, unexpected”, writes Serota. “He was a brilliant draftsman in line, with an ability to capture character as well as appearance, whether the subject be human or animal.”

David Plante is the author of The Family and American Ghosts. His latest book, The Pure Lover, was published in 2009.

• Dimensions 18.4 x 13 cm
• Author David Plante
• ISBN 9781849760171
• Paperback Yes
• Number of illustrations Black and white illustrations throughout
• Publisher Tate Publishing
• No of pages 32 pp