Review: Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art (book cover)
Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art (book cover)

Archie Brennan as told to Brenda Osborn 

Publisher: Schiffer Publishing

Date published: February 2022

Hardback

296 pages, 332 colour illustrations

ISBN 978-0-7643-6249-1

Review by Sally Reckert, April 2022

This is neither an autobiography nor a biography, but a series of engaging opinions and anecdotes on Archie Brennan’s view of tapestry’s place in modern art. Illustrations of his pencil sketches and tapestries underpin his thoughts, as told to Brenda Osborn, a member of the Wednesday Group which met in Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei’s New York studio.

The book is not a chronology of Brennan’s long life (1931-2019). Rather, the chapters trace the evolution of his weaving ideas. Nor does the book dwell long on any one period of his life and work, such as his tenure at Dovecot, where - as Artistic Director - he had little time to spend on his own work.

Read the review at: Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

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