William Randolph Hearst's collection of Navajo textiles is one of the most complete gatherings of nineteenth-century Navajo weaving in the world. Comprising dozens of Classic Period serapes, chief blankets, Germantown eyedazzlers, and turn-of-the-century rugs, the 185-piece collection was donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History in 1942 but for the next forty years was known only to a handful of scholars. Hearst began acquiring textiles from the Fred Harvey Company after viewing an exhibit of Indian artifacts. Over four decades he amassed a collection spanning more than a century of Navajo weaving and including nearly every major type produced from 1800 to 1920. Hearst's passion for American Indian artifacts was so strong that he had originally visualized his now-famous castle in San Simeon as a showplace for his Navajo textile collection. At a time when the Harvey Company was itself influencing the development of Indian handcrafts by opening up the tourist market, Hearst contributed to this influence by expressing his own artistic preference for rare and unusual pieces. This catalogue raisonné, featuring nearly 200 illustrations, provides the general public with the first look at this important collection. Nancy Blomberg's narrative introduces the reader to the history of Navajo weaving and documents Hearst's role in its development. The heart of the book provides a detailed analysis of each textile: fibers, yarn types, dyes, and designs. Navajo Textiles thus constitutes an invaluable reference for scholars and collectors and will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates these beautiful creations from the Navajo loom.

Illustrated here are the Castle's Spanish ceilings and other architectural fragments, medieval tapestries, Renissance furniture, nineteenth-century sculpture, and wide-ranging examples of European decorative arts, including ceramics, metalworks, textiles, and more."--BOOK JACKET.

A decadeslong collaboration between publisher William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan produced the formal terraces, swimming pools, and plants and sculptures that occupy the 120 acres of gardens and 450 square miles of coastland of San Simeon, now a California State Park. Their extensive correspondence reveals a captivating working relationship with shared concerns over every aspect of the enormous project. Hearst Castle historian Kastner's (Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House) biography of a man and of an estate is also a social study of the periodthe famous and infamous Hollywood figures who peopled the house and its grounds, the lavish lifestyle, and the mythical tales about its owner. The superb photos by Garagliano, photographer at San Simeon since 1994, capture some of the elegant views, the vast array of buildings, and the myriad details. This work of visual delight should whet the appetite for a visit to the real thing.Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

William Randolph Hearst was one of the most famous men in America in the first half of the 20th century. This work explores the phenomenal art collection that he amassed during the 1920s and 1930s, including tapestries, antiquities, silver, arms, and armor.

The definitive and “utterly absorbing” biography of America’s first news media baron based on newly released private and business documents (Vanity Fair). William Randolph Hearst, known to his staff as the Chief, was a brilliant business strategist and a man of prodigious appetites. By the 1930s, he controlled the largest publishing empire in the United States, including twenty-eight newspapers, the Cosmopolitan Picture Studio, radio stations, and thirteen magazines. He quickly learned how to use this media stronghold to achieve unprecedented political power. The son of a gold miner, Hearst underwent a public metamorphosis from Harvard dropout to political kingmaker; from outspoken populist to opponent of the New Deal; and from citizen to congressman. In The Chief, David Nasaw presents an intimate portrait of the man famously characterized in the classic film Citizen Kane. With unprecedented access to Hearst’s personal and business papers, Nasaw details Heart’s relationship with his wife Millicent and his romance with Marion Davies; his interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and every American president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt; and his acquaintance with movie giants such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Irving Thalberg. An “absorbing, sympathetic portrait of an American original,” The Chief sheds light on the private life of a very public man (Chicago Tribune).