A Rich Vein of Lucebert at FTN Books
If you collect Dutch post-war art or poetry, FTN Books is worth a long browse — the Oegstgeest-based dealer in rare art books, museum catalogs, and design publications has amassed a genuinely deep collection devoted to Lucebert (Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, 1924–1994), the painter-poet who helped define the COBRA movement and the Dutch “Vijftigers” poets.
The listings span decades and formats:
- Gallery and museum catalogs, including a rare 1959 Stedelijk Museum booklet, Beelden in het Heden, with silkscreened pages and design by Wim Crouwel and text by Lucebert himself, plus catalogs from galerie espace, galerie Nouvelles Images, Galeria Juana Mordo, and Metis.
- Posters, among them a scarce 1969 Stedelijk exhibition poster (also Crouwel-designed) and a 1981 Leuven exhibition poster.
- Books and portfolios of his own writing and art, such as Namiddag van een Faun, Van de Roerloze Woelgeest, and the numbered 8 Brieven.
- Collaborative and tribute works, like Hommage aan Lucebert, Beeren over Lucebert, and volumes pairing him with fellow poets and artists such as Karel Appel, Bert Schierbeek, and Jan Sierhuis.
- Ephemera, from gallery invitations to a leporello-format exhibition piece from 1965.
Conditions range from “fair” to “mint,” and prices vary accordingly, with some rarer items — like the early Crouwel-designed Stedelijk booklet — priced as standout pieces in the collection. Altogether it’s one of the more comprehensive online troves of Lucebert material, spanning his poetry, his painting, and the design world (Crouwel, Sandberg) that shaped how his work was presented.
Just a little extra promotion for FTN books;-)
here is the latest addition to the large Lucebert inventory. www.ftn-books.com
