Key Attributes

• Book Title: Piet Mondrian: Centennial Exhibition

• Author: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

• Publisher: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

• Year: 1971

• Format: Large Format Softcover / Exhibition Catalog

• LCC Number: 71-180663

Cultural Reference

This book is De Stijl meets the New York City Grid. Before the digital age reduced our world to pixels, Piet Mondrian was hand-mapping the universal essence of reality through pure geometry and primary color.

description

To open this catalog is to step back onto the spiral ramps of the Guggenheim in the fall of 1971, surrounded by the works that redefined the visual language of the 20th century. It is more than a retrospective; it is a chronometer of a revolutionary mind moving from the tangled, organic branches of a Dutch landscape to the pure, vibrating energy of a modern metropolis. As you turn these heavy pages, you feel the spiritual weight of an artist who stripped away the surface of things to find a universal truth, offering a tactile connection to the absolute high-water mark of modernism.

Cultural & Historical Relevance

• Centennial Milestone: Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Mondrian’s birth, this volume remains one of the most comprehensive studies of his transition from naturalism to Neoplasticism.

• Guggenheim Pedigree: As a primary catalog from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, it captures a landmark moment in New York City’s art history and mid-century scholarship.

• Evolutionary Archive: The book expertly documents the artist's journey, including rare early nature drawings and his world-famous "Composition" series, making it an essential reference for any serious art historian.

• Definitive Text: Featuring insights from the era's leading scholars, it provides the critical framework that elevated Mondrian from a geometric designer to a visionary philosopher of the "pure plastic art."

Condition Report

• Foxing/Tanning: There is moderate to heavy foxing (spotting) primarily located on the front and rear flyleaves and the first few pages, as shown in the images. The page edges exhibit moderate tanning consistent with a 50-year-old museum publication.

• Cover/Jacket: The vibrant red softcover shows visible shelf wear, including surface scuffs and significant rubbing on the back panel where the red ink has lightened. There is minor chipping and creasing at the corners and the top and bottom of the spine.

• Interior: Beyond the foxing on the initial and final pages, the interior text and plates are clean and well-preserved. There are no known markings, highlighting, or underlining within the body of the book.

• Binding: The binding is tight, square, and solid; it remains sturdy for a large-format softcover of this thickness.

Item Specifics & Shipping

• Subject: Art History / Modernism

• Language: English

• Illustrations: Profusely illustrated with color and B&W plates.