Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style

Lewis has obviously unearthed a treasure trove of very important material in the form of Truex' scrapbooks bringing to light an amazing tapestry of relationships bridging the worlds of fashion, product design, interior design, design education, and various cultural elites. It's refreshing to read a biography that is illustrated with the subject's own snapshots, original works, and previously published material that has been long unavailable. Parsons School of Design itself celebrated a centennial not long ago giving Truex no more than a few lines in its retelling of its story--the author has filled in a gaping hole in American design history for Parsons as well as Tiffany and Co. Contrary to another reader review, I am relieved not to be subjected to the "spice" that is strewn over so many other biographies. Lewis gives us as much personal information as is appropriate to the subject. This will be a requisite acquisition for many libraries, circulating and otherwise, I think.