Charles Percier: Architecture and Design in an Age of Revolutions has been awarded the 2017 Alice Award. The book is edited by Jean-Philippe Garric, professor of history of architecture at the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne and co-published by Bard Graduate Center Gallery, château de Fontainebleau, Réunion des musées nationaux–Grand Palais, and Yale University Press.

The book, published in separate English and French editions, accompanied the exhibition of the same name that was on view at Bard Graduate Center Gallery in fall 2016 and at the château de Fontainebleau in spring 2017. Barbara Glauber, of the firm Heavy Meta, was the designer.

The $25,000 annual Alice Award, inaugurated in 2013 and administered by Furthermore grants in publishing, a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, is given to a book that represents excellence in all aspects of the work, from idea to design to quality of production. Each book on the short list was also awarded $5,000.

Joan K. Davidson in commenting on the award said: “The Alice was created to encourage in some way the efforts of the writers, editors, designers, publishers, and the cultural institutions who publish books that become works of art. The Alice hopes that praise from a distinguished jury, some public attention and modest grant money can help keep these extraordinary publications coming.”

“To be named among the other distinguished books that were short-listed for this award is a wonderful tribute,” said Susan Weber, Bard Graduate Center founder and director. “I would like to thank Jean-Philippe Garric, our partners at the château de Fontainebleau and the Réunion des musées nationaux, as well as the Bard Graduate Center staff and catalogue production team who worked with the other outstanding scholars and designers to create this remarkable publication. I am honored that Charles Percier has been recognized by Furthermore and the J. M. Kaplan Fund with the Alice Award.”

The fifth Alice Award will be presented at a ceremony at the Strand Book Store in New York City in November. To date, the award has contributed $125,000 to institutions in support of illustrated publications.

2017 SHORTLISTED BOOKS
Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan by Philip K. Hu and Rhiannon Paget. Co-published by the Saint Louis Art Museum and the University of Washington Press.

Inventing Downtown: Artist-Run Galleries in New York City, 1952-1965 by Melissa Rachleff. Co-published by the Grey Art Gallery and DelMonico Books*Prestel.

Robert Winthrop Chanler: Discovering the Fantastic edited by Gina Wouters and Andrea Gollin. Published by The Monacelli Press.

THE 2017 ALICE JURY
R.O. Blechman / Illustrator
Paula Cooper / Director, Paula Cooper Gallery
David Godine / Publisher
Jock Reynolds / Director, Yale University Art Gallery, Chair