Matisse, Picasso, Miro--As I Knew Them

Bernier, an American, arrived in Paris in 1947 and spent more than 20 years there. Founder of the art journal L'OEil , which she edited until 1969, she was a friend and associate of many famous artists, including the trio profiled in this snazzily illustrated book, replete with 350 reproductions and photographs (200 in color), and based on her lectures at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In southern France she met Matisse, ``a benign figure of Edwardian elegance,'' a world traveler who ``made everywhere work for him,'' whether he was in Morocco, Tahiti, Saint Tropez or Spain. She limns Picasso as a man of multiple selves, ``Prince Charming and Jack the Ripper'' all in one. In Barcelona she befriended Miro, seen here as a dark surrealist visionary ``eaten alive by his visions,'' rather than the purveyor of gentle whimsy beloved of the public. Bernier's enchanting reminiscences are rich in anecdote and insight. 40,000 first printing; BOMC selection; author tour. (Oct.)