Exchanging Hats: Paintings

Elizabeth Bishop was an elusive and multi-faceted woman. Gaining a glimpse of her through her poetry, some details through her prose, she has remained enigmatic, despite the many volumes of criticism and biography dedicated to her life and art. Her paintings show us another side of her creativity, and in "Exchanging Hats" we are provided with a greater depth of understanding of her creative abilities. The paintings themselves, spare and pragmatic, are as geographical and domestic as her poetry. More subtle than they first appear,they illuminate her life from a different perspective. For anyone interested in Bishop,this book is essential.