A biography of one of Canada's greatest artists, lavishly illustrated and based on years of research by a leading historian. David Milne (1882-1952) is recognized as one of the most innovative and original artists of his generation.

A new intellectual history of U.S. foreign policy from the late nineteenth century to the present Worldmaking is a compelling new take on the history of American diplomacy. Rather than retelling the story of realism versus idealism, David Milne suggests that U.S. foreign policy has also been crucially divided between those who view statecraft as an art and those who believe it can aspire to the certainty of science. Worldmaking follows a cast of characters who built on one another’s ideas to create the policies we have today. Woodrow Wilson’s Universalism and moralism led Sigmund Freud to diagnose him with a messiah complex. Walter Lippmann was a syndicated columnist who commanded the attention of leaders as diverse as Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Charles de Gaulle. Paul Wolfowitz was the intellectual architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq—and an admirer of Wilson’s attempt to “make the world safe for democracy.” Each was engaged in a process of worldmaking, formulating strategies that sought to deploy the nation’s vast military and economic power—or sought to retrench and focus on domestic issues—to shape a world in which the United States would be best positioned to thrive. Tracing American statecraft from the age of steam engines to the age of drones, Milne reveals patterns of worldmaking that have remained impervious to the passage of time. The result is a panoramic history of U.S. foreign policy driven by ideas and by the lives and times of their authors.

Walt Rostow's meteoric rise to power--from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to the West Wing of the White House--seemed to capture the promise of the American dream. Hailing from humble origins, Rostow became an intellectual powerhouse: a professor of economic history at MIT and an influential foreign policy adviser to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Too influential, according to some. While Rostow inspired respect and affection, he also made some powerful enemies. Averell Harriman, one of America's most celebrated diplomats, described Rostow as "America's Rasputin" for the unsavory influence he exerted on presidential decision-making. Rostow was the first to advise Kennedy to send U.S. combat troops to South Vietnam and the first to recommend the bombing of North Vietnam. He framed a policy of military escalation, championed recklessly optimistic reporting, and then advised LBJ against pursuing a compromise peace with North Vietnam. David Milne examines one man's impact on the United States' worst-ever military defeat. It is a portrait of good intentions and fatal misjudgments. A true ideologue, Rostow believed that it is beholden upon the United States to democratize other nations and do "good," no matter what the cost. America's Rasputin explores the consequences of this idealistic but unyielding dogma.

The author selects one work, the artist's "Painting Place" and examines its development and significance through Milne's writing.

"[The manuscripts consist of] I. Charters and other documents relating to the family of Home of Wedderburn. II. Writs affecting lands originally belonging to the priory of Coldingham. III. Writs relating to various lands and families. IV. Miscellaneous writs and manuscripts."--Page 1.

"Upon his death in 1953 David Milne was hailed by art critic Clement Greenberg as one of the greatest artists of the time. Among Milne's many achievements was the invention of the multiple-plate colour drypoint. This entirely new process was the simplest of techniques. Lines are scratched into copper or zinc plates, creating a residual metal "burr" that later catches the ink, creating soft lines more akin to drawing than to the finely detailed lines of etching or engraving. Milne exploited his invention to gorgeous effect but despite - or perhaps because of - his mastery of it, other artists did not follow suit. Decades later, John Hartman was inspired to take up the technique and has produced a remarkable body of prints that shares much in common with Milne's oeuvre, in aesthetic, geographic, and spiritual terms. In order to explore the affinities between the two artists, this publication brings together forty-two prints by Milne and Hartman, including Hartman's spectacular Cities series, which demonstrates his continuing drive to push the limits of the drypoint technique. Two scholarly essays and a conversation between John Hartman and the son of David Milne are accompanied by forty-two full-page colour plates. Rosemarie Tovell is former curator at the National Gallery of Canada and a leading authority on David Milne. Anne-Marie Ninacs is former curator of contemporary art at the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec."--BOOK JACKET.