| Title | The Shakespeare 400 |
| Subtitle | Complete 37 Book Set |
| Artist / Creator | Linda Welch |
| Artist's Nationality | American |
| Place of Publication | Ames, Iowa |
| Publication Date | 2016 |
| Process / Technique | Book pages from The Riverside Shakespeare, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974 |
| Structure / Binding | Complete set of 37 altered books |
| Medium / Materials | Original book pages, folded, restructured and rebound with painted covers. Each books contains the entire play and notes. Set also includes his poems and sonnets. Each book in slipcase, entire set in clamshell box. |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | Clamshell box measures 14.5 x 18 x 3.5 inches. Each play and slipcase variable size. Slipcases measure approximately 3 x 5.5 inches (w x h). Depth varies with play length |
| Edition Size | Unique set of 37 books |
| Box / Wrapper | Each individual book presented in a matching, titled slipcase. Entire set presented in custom clamshell box. |
| Signed & Numbered | Each book signed by the artist |
The Shakespeare 400 by Linda Welch
$4,200.00
Four hundred years after Shakespeare's death, 23 Sandy's most popular painter and book artist, Linda Welch, celebrates the legacy of arguably the greatest playwright in the English language with this remarkable set of 37 of his plays, poems and sonnets—each re-bound in painted covers with matching slipcases. Linda's work is always popular. She creates one-of-a-kind, abstract, layered, mixed media books that incorporate oil painting, collage, screen printing, found book pages and wax.
Linda tells us, "In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, I have reconstructed this complete set of Shakespeare's plays. The Riverside edition is a large, heavy, coffee table book; offering all the plays, poems and sonnets along with plenty of history, illustrations, and notes in one volume. By folding and restructuring the pages, I took this chunky, weighty volume, and reduced it to small individual books. Thirty seven books in all. The plays are meant to stand alone; to be read and appreciated one at a time. I know that individuals relate to one play or another for different reasons and here, they can be enjoyed singly or in a group. I know I have my favorites... I love to restructure a piece of literature, altering the way it is viewed and read. Shakespeare, in particular, lends itself to this process. This is the second set of Shakespeare's plays I have reconstructed, and certainly not the last."
Artist Bio
Linda Welch is a painter, sculptor and book artist living in Portland Oregon. She grew up in Iowa and lived for many years in California. She received a B.F.A. in Ceramics from Long Beach State and an M.F.A. in Textile Design from UC Davis. Her work is in private and public collections including UCLA Fine Art Library and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.