Ninety percent of this 120-page book consists of superb reproductions, on heavy paper, of Allen Whiting's work. It is, in effect, a lavish career retrospective between hard covers. The majority of the paintings reproduced are scenes of Whiting's home -- the island of Martha's Vineyard -- there are also works depicting Mohegan Island, Maine, the island of Bequia in the Caribbean, and northern Utah. There are also a selection of painted still lifes and charcoal-on-paper figure studies and portraits -- an eye-opener for readers who, like me, are only familiar with his landscapes.

The book opens with a series of brief essays on Whiting, his family history, and his studio, but the real attraction here is the paintings. It is a model of how to introduce an artist, and his work, to an audience that may only have encountered it only in isolated examples. ( )