Book Overview
As might be expected of the son of photographer Lee Miller and writer Roland Penrose, Antony Penrose's childhood was populated with some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. Mir?'s Magic Animals is a delightful story, chronicling Antony "Tony"'s encounters with the great Spanish artist Joan Mir?.
Tony introduces Mir? as a quiet, kind, and smartly dressed man who "dreamed when he was awake" and painted wonderfully strange worlds filled with magical animals. The book brings Tony's memories to life with beautiful reproductions of some of Mir?'s finest works, as well as evocative archival photography by Lee Miller and specially commissioned artworks in the style of Mir?, painted by children. We see the renowned painter from a new perspective, as the slightly eccentric visitor to Tony's childhood home, during an excursion to Mir?'s farm--filled with extraordinary creatures--and on a trip to London Zoo, during which Mir? asked to see "large birds, snakes, and strange creatures of the night." Vibrant design and playful typography make the package as appealing as the story, and round out the feeling that we're immersed in Tony's adventure.
