Fifty New York Artists

Marshall doesn't quite live up to his wish ""to convey a sense of the quality and diversity of contemporary art being done in New York City.'' Most of the 50 artists represented here, including Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, are worthy of recognition, but all are successful and most are white and malenot exactly a cross section of New York's frenetic, crowded, multifaceted art scene. Also, the book's format does the artists a disservice: there is a brief statement about each artist, accompanied by a photographic portrait that is equal in size and sometimes larger than the single artwork reproduced. In fact, Mapplethorpe's striking photographs, appearing in their original medium, overwhelm both the reproductions of sculptures, paintings and drawings and the often-thoughtful statements. (November)