A Few Collectors by Pierre Le-Tan

A Few Collectors by Pierre Le-Tan

"Funny and whimsical. There are wonderful asides ... It is also poignant."
--The New York Times

An utterly charming book by beloved Parisian artist Pierre Le-Tan, filled with dazzling illustrations and intriguing tales about often eccentric art collectors. Le-Tan, known for designing New Yorker magazine covers and collaborations with fashion houses, summons up memories of inveterate collectors in this lavishly illustrated volume. He evokes fascinating, sometimes troubled figures through insightful and curious portraits. With seventy of his distinctive pen and ink drawings--in vibrant color with meticulous cross-hatching--A Few Collectors opens a window onto the vast or minuscule world created by collectors out of a mix of extravagance and obstinacy. It recounts encounters in Paris, the Côte d'Azur, North Africa, London and New York, where Le-Tan's subjects have amassed a range of treasures. Some involve famed figures like former Louvre Museum director Pierre Rosenberg. Others are insolvent aristocrats, princes of film and fashion, expatriate dandies, and flat-out obsessive eccentrics. Le-Tan devotes perhaps his finest chapter to himself.

Barbara Ann Kipfer is the author of numerous Workman books including 14,000 Things to be Happy About. She is a lexicographer and author whose many works include thesauri and other reference books, spiritually themed books, and list books. She lives in New England. Her website is thingstobehappyabout.com.