Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Yes... BUT! I have the original Alla Prima, as well as his book on figure painting, and the new book. But here is the rub: I too was a student at The American academy of art, many years after Richard Schmidt graduated, and I studied figure and anatomy with Sala, Bill Mosby, and others 5 days a week, 3 hrs a day and twice that in summer studying the Academies great nude models for 2.5 years after similar study in Under graduate and before graduate school. I also became a professional figure painter and Professional figure and portrait artist. Thanks to books like Richard Schmidt's, early book on figure painting and the original Alla Prima, I was able enjoy his art and l benefited by buying many books of the old Masters. I always enjoyed Richard Schmidt's work. However, I must say that he must remember how we all struggled to afford supplies, as we sought the books of the masters, of which I now have hundreds of copies, and in those days I often found great bargains. That being said, however, in today's world student debt is out of sight, and the current cost of the new Alla Prima book places it well out of the reach of 98% of students. I suggest that the publisher and Richard think about creating a less expensive version for students. Right now, the price of Alla Prima 2, is high as it is, but what is worse is that the carpetbaggers are driving the prices even higher, and far out of the range of those studying art, and even high enough that many colleges are not as eager to buy such books for their own collections. I know, someone will say "Let them eat Cake..." meaning go to a library. Well right now students are say the waiting lists are backed up for months, and I verified that. Professor Peter Bagnolo