"This volume is the first full-length examination of the life and art of James Surls. In a seminal essay, art historian Mark Thistlethwaite discusses Surls's personal history, beginning in East Texas and continuing today in the Colorado meadows. He describes the creation of Surls's visual language of eyes, knives, diamonds, and flowers and the influences that have shaped him as an artist. In addition, the volume contains an interview with the artist, a tribute by his wife, Charmaine Locke, an artist herself, and commentary by Mark A. Roglan, curator of the exhibition In the Meadows: Recent Sculpture, Drawings, and Prints of James Surls (January 24-April 20, 2003). Sixty-two black-and-white and ninety-eight color illustrations, including images of early works, are featured in this catalogue, which showcases more than sixty pieces forming the core of the Meadows Museum exhibition."--BOOK JACKET.