Skira Editore and Editions d'Art Albert Skira, also known as Skira, is a publishing firm founded by Albert Skira in Switzerland in 1928 and now based in Italy. The firm is known particularly for its art books"Albert Skira, 69, Publisher of Art", The New York Times, 15 September 1973. Retrieved 10 March 2019. of "vastly improved quality of colour reproduction".Malcolm Gee, Art Criticism Since 1900, Manchester University Press, 1993, pp. 77-79. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
Switzerland (1928–1932) Originally located in Lausanne, Skira soon relocated to Geneva. Albert Skira wanted his firm to publish books in which "the greatest of artists illustrate the best in literature". For that reason Skira's first publications were a number of large scale artist's book editions.Skira: The Story, skira.net. Retrieved 10 March 2019.Vincent Giroud, "Skira, Albert (1904–73) Swiss art publisher", in: The Oxford Companion to the Book, Oxford University Press, 2010 online edition. Retrieved 10 March 2019. For the first book, Skira engaged Pablo Picasso to illustrate Ovid's "Les Métamorphoses" with 30 etchings, which were executed in 1930 in Picasso's neoclassical style and published in 1931 in a limited edition.William Rubin editor (1980), Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective. The Museum of Modern Art (distributed by the New York Graphic Society, New York. 464 pp. These were followed by further luxury editions of poetry, including Stéphane Mallarmé's collection of poems "Poésies" illustrated with 29 etchings by Henri Matisse. Art historian John Jacobus said of Matisse's work "The etchings of the 1932 edition of Mallarmé perhaps mark the peak in his efforts in this medium".John Jacobus (1972), Matisse, from The Library of Great Painters. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York. 184 pp. Salvador Dalí produced 43 etchings for Comte de Lautréamont's (Isidore Lucien Ducasse) "Les Chants de Maldoror" published in 1934.Descharnes, Robert (1984), Salvador Dali, the Work, the Man. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY. 455 pp. Virgil's Les Bucoliques was illustrated by 1936. "Skira, Albert (1904–73) Swiss publisher", in: Ian Chilvers and John Glaves-Smith, A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, 2015 online edition. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
Paris (1933–1940)
In 1933 Albert Skira moved to Paris and opened a branch of his firm there. At that time Paris was an artistic centre and many of the great modern movements, such as Surrealism, were active there. To cater for this audience, Skira, in collaboration with the art critic, editor and publisher Tériade,Tériade, teriade8.wixsite.com. Retrieved 11 March 2019. launched a glossy avant-garde art magazine with the title of Minotaure including an editorial committee with André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Paul Eluard, Maurice Heine, and Pierre Mabille. Skira promoted the magazine as a "primary source of information about the arts" that would reproduce works of "universal interest" and supplement them with critical studies of current artistic trends.Kathryn Brown, Matisse’s Poets: Critical Performance in the Artist’s Book, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, p. 36. Retrieved 11 March 2019. Picasso was commissioned to photograph a series of sculptures for the first numberDouglas Cooper, "Meeting Picasso", in: The Times Literary Supplement, 18 May 1967, Issue 3403, p.412. which also included reproductions of works by Matisse and Brassaï and contributions by Breton, Eluard and Pierre Reverdy.
In 1934 Skira launched a book series with the title Les trésors de la peinture française with each volume containing "large colour plates and a brief text". The series had sold a million copies in France and Switzerland by 1950 and ultimately grew to 48 volumes ending in 1952.Art: Perfectionist, Time, 29 May 1950. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
Geneva (1941–1948)
In 1941 Albert Skira returned to Geneva. In the years 1941 to 1948 he devoted himself (with the assistance of Henri Matisse) to publishing Florilège des Amours de Ronsard (Anthology of the Amours of Pierre de Ronsard), a luxury artist's book created at the "highest possible standards ... in design and typography". Other major books published by Skira in the 1940s included Rabelais's Pantagruel (1943) (with "vibrantly-coloured woodcuts" by André Derain) and Malraux's Les Conquérants (1949) (with etchings by André Masson).
Towards the end of the war he also published "a monthly review of art and literature"James Lord, Giacometti: A Biography, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1983, 1985, (ebook) 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2019. called Labyrinthe (1944–1946) which contained essays on topics and by painters (Cingria, René Auberjonois, Gruber) and thinkers (Jean-Paul Sartre, André Malraux, Eluard) similar to those appearing in Minotaure but whose newspaper format showed that he was attempting to reach a wider audience.Giacometti, Balthus, Skira: Les années Labyrinthe (1944-1946), ville-geneve.ch. Retrieved 11 March 2019. The final number of Labyrinthe published the first chapter of the final draft of Malraux's La Psychologie de l'Art (The Psychology of Art). Holman wrote her art history thesis on Editions d'Art Albert Skira focusing on the years between 1928 and 1948, his desire to publish a book with Picasso, and the different types of books he published: magazines, artist's books, and history books.Holman, Valery Jean. (1987). Albert Skira and Art Publishing. Doctoral Thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.
Geneva (1949–1973)
In the 1950s and 1960s Skira became a multinational publisher of quality art books printed in color with very high technical standards.James Brenton, "Volumes Record March of Modern Art", The Windsor Star, 16 July 1955, p. 26. Skira published individual books on many areas of art, including histories, contemporary art, and decorative arts, from around the world, as well as large series of art books that were sold throughout Europe and North America.Corisande Evesque. Albert Skira et ses livres d’art (1948-1973). Histoire. 2015. ffdumas-01256888 In French-speaking counties Skira's books were exclusively distributed by Achille Weber and in the United Kingdom by the art publishing firm and bookshop A. Zwemmer Ltd., which had previously distributed Minotaure in the 1930s. The books were distributed in the US and Canada by The World Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, although for a brief time Editions d'Art Albert Skira had a subsidiary in New York City, Skira International Corporation, led by Henry Field, and Crown Publishers, Inc, New York handled them briefly in the early 1970s.
Editions d'Art Albert Skira book series of the 1950s and 1960s
With the success of the "Les Trésors de la Peinture Française" (1934–1952) and other series in France, Albert Skira planned and directed the publication of several ambitious series of books for an international market.Raynal, M. (1949) The History of Modern Painting. Editions D'Art Albert Skira. 151 pp.Raynal, M. (1951) The Nineteenth Century, Goya to Gauguin. Editions D'Art Albert Skira. 148 pp.Estienne, C. (1953) Gauguin. Editions D'Art Albert Skira. 115 pp.Cahill, J. (1960) Chinese Painting. Editions D'Art Albert Skira. 213 pp. These series systematically reviewed the art of European and beyond, some through national schools and art movements, others chronologically. Time Magazine characterized Skira as a "perfectionist" for his opulent publications made for a high-end market. Many of the leading art historians, archaeologists, and intellectuals of the time were commissioned to write the books, providing authoritative text. Unlike the majority of art history books up to that time, which if illustrated at all, were illustrated in black and white, Editions d'Art Albert Skira books were profusely illustrated with high quality color reproductions "tipped" into each volume. At that time, one of the Skira series "Painting, Color, History",Painting, Colour, History (Skira) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 13 July 2019. was praised for the "notable achievement" of having all the illustrations in each volume in color, and the "quality of the color and of the paper and typography".Frank Davis, "A Page for Collectors", in: The Illustrated London News, 16 August 1952, Vol. 221, Issue 5913, p.258. They were sold in protective, plain cardboard slipcases with glossy illustrated dust jackets. The books were well constructed with embossed lettering on cloth or buckram covers, sturdy archival papers, and great attention to details. Most volumes in each collection were translated into multiple languages and available in French, English, and Italian editions, and often in German and Spanish "according to the market and the demand of the distributors".
Skira was praised as a "distinguished" publisher with "long lists of reputable, scholarly publications" to its credit.John Nash, "The line from Lascaux", in: The Times Literary Supplement, 21 March 1980, Issue 4017, p.332. Albert Skira "brought his high standards to a mass audience" and along with the publications of just a few contemporaries (e.g. Cailler and Editions Tisné; Éditions Mazenod; Harry N. Abrams, Inc) ) his books played a role in the development of the coffee table book as known today. In her study on "the impact of Albert Skira in the post-war years on the art book" Corisande stated "It is because he was the creator that Albert Skira marked the history of the art book between 1950 and 1970, and established itself as a vital mediator between art and the public."
Swiss literary critic Jean Starobinski said "this man, who had the absolute eye, helped to make history."Starobinski, Jean (1968) Albert Skira, 40 ans d’édition, in Salut à Albert Skira, Genève, Revue de Belles-Lettres, 26 p. [Starobinski, Jean, (1968). Albert Skira, 40 years of publishing, in Hello to Albert Skira, Geneva, Revue de Belles-Lettres, 26 p.] suggesting that the success of these book series in Europe and North America were a contributing influence and factor in determining what art and artist we consider important and how art is perceived today, as have others. Gaëtan Picon called to the series "the imaginary museum" and said these collections modified the relationship of painting with his audience, the general public,Gaëtan Picon. Skira Albert (1904-1973). Encyclopaedia Universalis https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/albert-skira/ (Accessed March 21, 2019) and Dufrêne said of Albert Skira and his series of the 1950s -1970s "the publisher is often more important than the author; format and layout more important than the text".Dufrêne, Bernadette (2002) L'édition d'art des années 1950-1970 : des promesses non tenues ?, Communication et langages. No. 134, 4 ème trimestre 22-38 pp. [Dufrêne, Bernadette (2002). The Art Edition of the 1950s and 1970s: Unfulfilled Promises? Communication and Languages, 134(4): 22-38.] Corisande discussed "the place held by Albert Skira and his books in the process of training public taste" and asked "Are they driving the formation of taste or are they devoted to contributing to an already established taste?"
Series and collections planned and directed by Albert Skira
Painting, Color, History: 23 volumes (1949–1972) [four additional volumes published by Skira/Rizzoli after 1972]