"Brilliant, elegant, and shy, Alexander Liberman was twenty-eight when he left war-torn Europe in 1940 to make a new start in New York. This is the fascinating biography of the Russian-born painter, sculptor, and photographer who - from 1943 to 1962 as art director of Vogue and from 1962 to the present as editorial director of all Conde Nast magazines - has been the mysterious and legendary force responsible for shaping the look and content of the most powerful magazine publishing empire in the world. Having witnessed the Bolshevik revolution as a child in St. Petersburg, he spent his turbulent youth in Moscow, London, and Paris, where evenings at home included, among others, Leger, Cocteau, Chagall, and Bronislava Nijinska. His life would be marked by two strong and exotic women: his mother, Henriette Pascar, who would push him to paint, and his second wife, Tatiana, who would push him to succeed." "Here is the inside story of Conde Nast, the publishing colossus that has played such an influential role in defining American culture. For half a century, Liberman has overseen the editorial content, from articles to layout, of Vogue, House & Garden, Glamour, and all the other Conde Nast magazines. He was also an important catalyst for the careers of photographers Irving Penn, Erwin Blumenfeld, Andre Kertesz, William Klein, Helmut Newton, and Deborah Turbeville. Here, too, is the New York art world in which Liberman was able to establish a separate and important career: openings at the Betty Parsons and Andre Emmerich galleries; friendships with Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, and Helen Frankenthaler, as well as the cream of New York's Russian society and artists-in-exile - Valentina, Iva Patcevitch, Joseph Brodsky, and Mikhail Baryshnikov." "Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins not only evoke a fascinating portrait of a man who has contributed to the worlds of high fashion, publishing, and art, but also give us an incisive look into a hugely successful media empire and the people who run it."--BOOK JACKET.