Don Nice: The Nature of Art by John Driscoll, Pom-egranate, PO Box 808022, Petaluma CA 94975; 2004, 208 pages, $60 hardbound.

American artist Don Nice is the subject of a new monograph that is considered to be the most comprehensive effort to date reviewing the artist’s life and work. The book is lavishly illustrated with more than 130 color plates and it also contains informative text derived from numerous interviews with the artist. The book captures the technical skills and stylistic achievements, the ideas and public issues that are addressed by Nice’s paintings as well as the personal initiatives of the artist.

Driscoll follows Nice’s career from the early days in California through to his studies in Italy and Austria, including the work he did under Oskar Koloschka. Nice’s work at Yale studying under Alex Katz and Jack Tworkov are also explored, as is his involvement in the reshaping of Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts.

The extensive range of art illustrated includes many periods of the artist’s work including his single image paintings, totemic and Gaia images, and his latest efforts, “spinner works” that are wall mounted and spun by the viewer. Over the past 50 years, Nice’s work has been acquired by numerous major institutions such as The Whitney, MoMA, The Met and Yale. This book, documenting the artist’s career and the concerns expressed through his art, is a fitting tribute.