History of art Books

Book SynopsisThe alchemist Ryza and her friends had gone their separate ways, but by chance they have found each other once again. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy explores new regions from mythical ruins to deep dungeons in an all-new JRPG adventure. Atelier Ryza 2: Official Visual Collection gathers the wonderful artwork behind this new entry in the Atelier series. Included are key illustrations, character concepts, and weapon & monster designs. Also, no JRPG fan will want to miss exclusive interviews with the game’s developers.

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Book SynopsisThe book traces Malevich's development from his beginnings in Ukraine and early years in Moscow - where he was closely involved in the Futurist circle - through to the late 1920s and beyond. The authors convincingly demonstrate that it is only through a close and sustained reading of Malevich's late - and still widely misunderstood - painterly oeuvre that his extraordinarily inventive stance can truly be comprehended.

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Book SynopsisArt in Ireland since 1910 is the first book to examine Irish art from the early twentieth century to the present day. In this highly illustrated volume Fionna Barber looks at the work of a wide range of artists from Yeats and le Brocquy to Cross and Doherty, many of whom are unfamiliar to audiences outside Ireland. She also casts new light on Francis Bacon and other figures central to British art, assessing the significance of their Irishness to an understanding of their work. From the rugged peasantry of the Gaelic Revival to an increasing diversification of art practice towards the end of the century, Art in Ireland since 1910 tracks the work of artists that emerged and developed within a context of a range of very different social and political forces: not just the conflict in the North, but the emergence of feminism and migration as two of the factors that contributed to the unravelling of entrenched concepts of Irish identity. Barber looks at the theme of diaspora in the work of Irish artists working in Britain during and after the 1950s, investigating issues similar to those facing artists from other former British colonies, from India to the Caribbean. She chronicles a period that culminated with art practice and the sense of Ireland as a nation that would have been unrecognizable to its people a hundred years before. Richly illustrated, Art in Ireland since 1910 is essential reading for anyone interested in modern art, Irish Studies and the history of Ireland in general.Trade Review'easily the best history of modernity and Irish art to date' - Irish Arts Review 'Fionna Barber's Art in Ireland is that rare thing: a book that is needed ... this richly illustrated and critically engaged book offers a very welcome attempt to outline the story of irish art from 1910 to the present ... an engaging overview for the common reader, as well as a starting point for further critical debate.' - Apollo Magazine 'Making use of theoretical approaches drawn from Irish Studies, Barber avoids the conventional formalist and canonical art history which has held sway in established studies of Irish art. It brings together a wide range of literature, including the more recent work of Irish art historians who, like Barber, seek to contextualise the production of Irish art ... Art in Ireland succeeds in proposing original ways of assessing Irish art and offers exciting alternative avenues of exploration.' - Burlington MagazineTable of ContentsChronology Introduction: The Ghost Ship, Nation and Modernity 1. Ethnicity, Revolution and the Modern, c. 1910-1918 2. Modernity and Independence 3. The West, the South and the North: Art in Ireland in the 1930s 4. War, its Aftermath and the Visual, 1939-1947 5. The Significance of the Overlooked 6. Irish Art and Diaspora in the 1950s 7. Modernization and its Consequences: The 1960s 8. The Conflict in the North and Irish Art, 1968-1979 9. Postmodernism and Ireland 10. The Unravelling Nation, 1990-1998 11. After the End of Progress References Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisIn this fascinating study, Alison Cole explores the distinctive uses of art at the five great secular courts of Naples, Urbino, Ferrara, Mantua, and Milan. The princes who ruled these city-states, vying with each other and with the great European courts, relied on artistic patronage to promote their legitimacy and authority. Major artists and architects, from Mantegna and Pisanello to Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci, were commissioned to design, paint, and sculpt, but also to oversee the court''s building projects and entertainments.The courtly styles that emerged from this intricate landscape are examined in detail, as are the complex motivations of ruling lords, consorts, nobles, and their artists. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, Cole presents a vivid picture of the art of this extraordinary period.

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Book SynopsisOver the past two decades contemporary African art has taken its rightful place on the world stage. Today, African artists work outside the confines of limiting categories and outdated perceptions; they produce art that is as much a reflection of Africa's tumultuous past as it is a vision of its boundless future. Far-reaching in its scope, African Art Now celebrates the diversity and dynamism of the contemporary African art scene across the continent today.Featuring the work of Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Michael Armitage, Amoako Boafo, Cassi Namoda, Cinga Samson, Zina Saro-Wiwa and many more.Trade ReviewPublished in collaboration with the Tate, this expansive and far-reaching overview features some of the most interesting and innovative artists working today * Artmag *

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Book SynopsisAn artist's obsession with Géricault's monumental painting The Raft of the Medusa, and an intensely personal reckoning that delves deep inside the making of an artwork. Artist Tom de Freston has long had an obsession with Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa, and the troubling story behind its creation. The monumental canvas, which hangs in the Louvre, depicts a 19th century tragedy in which 150 people were drowned at sea on a raft lost in a stormy sea, when the ship Medusa was wrecked on shallow ground. When de Freston began making an artwork with Ali, a Syrian writer blinded by a bombing, The Raft's depiction of pain and suffering resonated powerfully with him, as did Géricault's awful life story. It spoke not only to Ali's story but to Tom's family history of trauma and anguish, offering him a passage out of the dark waters in which he found himself. In spellbinding, visceral prose, de Freston opens a window onto the magnetic frisson that runs between a past masterpiece and contemporary artistic endeavours. He asks powerful questions about how we might translate violence, fear and trauma into art, how we try to make sense of seemingly unthinkable acts, and the value in facing and depicting the darkest horrors.Trade ReviewGéricault''s Raft stands as a statement as much as painting, a history lesson, a nightmare, a gigantic perfidy, a visual shorthand for abuse and disaster rendered in exquisite oils... In pulses of literary reference and art history and Gericault''''s own radical life story, de Freston evokes a provocative new voyage for the rotting raft - seen through his own visceral experience of the vast painting, and its uproarious terrors and visions, which hold a mortal but undying resonance for our own times... A stupendous work -- Philip HoareTo read Wreck is to observe a mind as it delves into the pentimenti of the past, moving through complexities of horror, art, solidarity, and trauma. Unforgettable -- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the ThroatNot only an extraordinary exploration of how an artwork is created but a devastating portrayal of what it means to means to struggle, to be human, to find hope. A darting, incredibly ambitious book which brings together the head and the heart. I am still ringing with the experience of reading it -- Daisy Johnson, author of SistersWreck is a stunning piece of writing - powerful, moving, and raw. It is electrifying -- Louise O'NeillI've never read a book like Wreck before. It pulled me in, engulfed me, cast me up, left me beached, left me wrecked. There are sudden vivid plunges into historical dreaming, dazzling close-readings of artworks, profoundly courageous passages of memoir, and as one proceeds through it one learns how to read it: by rhymes, echoes and flashes of lightning -- Robert MacfarlaneA mix of art, identification and memoir... [Wreck] is a strange hybrid, but [de Freston] finds the right tone, and it becomes clear that what [he] is examining is not so much one painting as the relationship between art and suffering * New Statesman *Burns with an intensity that's sometimes disturbing and bewildering and, more often than not, powerfully moving -- Mark Bostridge * Oldie *A beguiling hybrid of memoir, art history and fiction... imaginative... lyrical * TLS *

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Book SynopsisIn this readable and highly original book, John J. Curley presents the first synthetic account of global art during the Cold War. Through a careful examination of artworks drawn from America, Europe, Russia and Asia, he demonstrates the inextricable nature of art and politics in this contentious period. He dismantles the usual narrative of American abstract painting versus figurative Soviet Socialist Realism to reveal a much more nuanced, contradictory and ambivalent picture of art making, in which the objects themselves, like spies, dissembled, housed and managed ideological differences.

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Book SynopsisA book full of laugh-out-loud memes that will make you look twice at classic artworks! From Renaissance classics to Romantic favourites, even more historical artworks are given a modern twist with the next in this popular series. What is really going on in these pictures? Dance moves, helmet hair, pub quizzes, dating, rush hour and turmeric lattes all feature here. This compact gift book offers up a unique perspective on art history - one that is sure to make you laugh out loud as the old is juxtaposed with the very new. Ideal for art history buffs with a cracking sense of humour!

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2022 National Book Critics' Circle John Leonard Prize for best first book '...I don't know what comes after, once I decide to let desire have its way with me. How to un-melt the melted? How to turn the ground powder back into a person? This idea points to a knowledge that I don't have: how to love without losing the self.' Plumbing the well of culture for clues about love and loss - from Agnes Martin's abstract paintings to Anne Carson's Eros the Bittersweet to Frank Ocean's Blonde - this brilliant work of debut nonfiction explores the state of falling in love, whether with a painting or a person. Pham creates a perfectly fractured portrait of modern intimacy, triumphant in its vulnerability and restlessness. Pop Song is a book about distances: the miles we travel to get away from ourselves, or those who hurt us, and the impossible gaps that can exist between two people sharing a bed. Here is a map to all the routes by which we might escape our own needs before finally finding a way home.Trade ReviewGenerous, insightful, and piercingly honest ... brings new light to the hidden contours of the heart. -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of IntimationsThere are so many times in my past when reading Pop Song could have saved my life. It may very well save yours -- Esmé Weijun Wang, author of The Collected SchizophreniasReading Pop Song is like being deep in a midnight email exchange with the first person who broke your heart. Pham darts between heartbreak and fine art with startling and delightful ease. -- Rowan Hisayo BuchananCombines the thrilling and agonized travails of her young narrator with the lucid and steady eye of a born critic ... A bold and promising debut -- Melissa Febos, author of Abandon MePop Song takes me everywhere I didn't realize I was longing to go ... I am absolutely in love. You will be, too. -- Kristen Radtke, author of Imagine Wanting Only ThisA roadmap to transcendence, in essays that are as intimate as their subjects -- Tony Tulathimutte, author of Private CitizensA vulnerable, nuanced story about the non-linear process of overcoming heartbreak and letting go. Like your favourite song or first love, Pham's words won't just get stuck in your head, they'll stay there * Bust *Her gaze is ceaselessly empathetic, and it is this generosity that binds the reader to her quest for understanding ... even with all the pain of heartbreak, violence and loss, Pham manages to generate sincere hopefulness * Observer *In a manner reminiscent of contemporaries Leslie Jamison and Jia Tolentino, Pham seamlessly blends the personal and the cultural, the confessional and the critical, the cerebral and the sentimental, to create an exciting and imaginative memoir. * Kirkus *A masterclass in emotional vulnerability ... Pop Song pivots between art and personal narrative with such dexterity that they begin to feel inseparable. * Nylon *Pham takes your head in her hands, looks you in the eyes, and makes her desire known. That's what the journey is all about * Bitch magazine *Pham's attention is delicate and lucid, cleaving to her subjects like film... As accessible as it is smart. Pham's introspection is never solipsistic, but rather an insight into a mind tuned to life's minute rhythms. * Columbia Review *Blends memoir with commentary acutely attuned to various art objects and experiences in the present. Pop Song explores what it means to want a life and to strive for it: * LA Review of Books *

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Book Synopsis16th-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder redefined how people perceived human nature. Bruegel turned his critical eye to mankind’s labours and pleasures, its foibles and rituals of daily life. Portraying landscapes, peasant life and biblical scenes in startling detail, Bruegel questioned how well we really know ourselves and also how we know, or visually read, others. This superbly illustrated volume, now in paperback, examines how Bruegel’s art and ideas enabled people to ponder what it meant to be human. It will appeal to all those interested in art and philosophy, the Renaissance and the painting of the Dutch Golden Age.Trade Review‘In his landscapes, views of peasant life, and biblical scenes, sixteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder focused on daily rituals of labor and pleasure. His wry works, often portraying workers in the fields or citizens going about their business in Antwerp or Brussels, emphasize the futility of ambition and the absurdity of pride.’ — Art in America; ‘In this elegantly written and illustrated book, Elizabeth Alice Honig explores the discursive nature of Pieter Bruegel’s art . . . the book offers an encyclopaedic investigation of the myriad human conditions Bruegel masterfully captured in his oeuvre and the cultural and social concerns to which they spoke . . . a thorough work of scholarship that argues that Bruegel conceived of his works as pieces to provoke and promote contemplation and discussion—whether that be with oneself or between others – about the idea of human nature . . . An enjoyable read, Honig’s book encourages us not only to reflect on the many conversations that Bruegel’s art could have engendered, but also to use his work to explore our own ways of understanding human nature.’ — Renaissance and Reformation; ‘Bruegel’s paintings are conversation pieces depicting ordinary people rather than heroic figures, and they reveal human nature through proverbs and morals. Influenced by humanist scholars, Bruegel visualized philosophical ideas for people outside the academic world, and his prints and paintings depict folk tales and historical adages, sometimes in humorous form, that were important to civic education. He showed physical features that reveal inner character, utilizing a repertoire of human personality traits found in physiognomy books. Books such as Juan Luis Vives's On Assistance to the Poor, published in Bruges in 1526, confirmed people’s distrust of the disabled and poor as lazy, dishonest, and punished by God, yet in The Fight Between Carnival and Lent (1559) Bruegel shows the beginnings of a desire to keep social order through charity by bringing the marginalized to the center of his works. In Utopia (1516) Thomas More first suggested that those who mock are the disfigured. Honig’s thorough readings of Bruegel’s paintings give fresh interpretation of this idea. Recommended.’ — Choice; ‘In this detailed and very readable book, to coincide with the 450th anniversary of Bruegel's death, Alice Honing explores how people perceived human nature. Bruegel's success is to show us how insignificant we are throughout a life that throws everything at us; a great artist's work is able to speak for every generation and in Bruegel we learn how to fully understand our own fragile humanity. Full of beautiful illustrations, this is a book that will surprise and entertain you.’ — Yorkshire Gazette and Herald; ‘In his own time, Pieter Bruegel’s art has been praised as the ultimate achievement in the representation of nature . . . Elizabeth Honig’s book is the first to make us realize that this appraisal pertains to the representation of human nature of the people surrounding him – workers in the field, citizens of Antwerp and Brussels, noblemen, children, mercenaries, lepers, religious dignitaries, art lovers, humanists and the like – and of humanity in general, inward and outward woman and man included. Bruegel’s own personality and convictions, she writes, largely remain opaque, but it is thanks to Honig’s marvellous descriptions of some of Bruegel’s most renowned pictures that our eyes are opened to both the ‘idea of nature’ as people conceived of it in his time, but also to Bruegel’s personal, deeply perceptive ideas about human nature.’ — Reindert Falkenburg, Professor of Early Modern Art and Culture, NYU Abu Dhabi; ‘Eloquently and effectively, Elizabeth Honig fulfills the promise of her title with a fresh, close look at Bruegel, amongst contemporaries, within his tumultuous era. She clearly articulates how the artist examined themes concerning basic human nature across his career. But in the process, she reminds us that while this thoughtful, engaged man laughed at the vices and follies of all humankind, like Democritus, he also, self-consciously, ultimately left us mute images to interpret alone.’ — Larry Silver, Professor Emeritus of History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and author of Rembrandt's Holland

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Book Synopsis"Born in the 1360s, Andrey Rublev was a Muscovite monk and icon painter who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is acknowledged as the supreme medieval Russian painter of icons and frescos, yet much about him remains mysterious. To date there is no volume in English on him or his work. This book addresses the gap, giving an overview of Rublev’s own times and later reputation, and taking in the most recent Rublev scholarship. It uses Russian-language material (including Old Russian), but is thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist reader. Andrey Rublev is profusely illustrated with previously unpublished images, bringing the story of Rublev’s ‘rediscovery’ right up to date.Trade Review'Informed by extensive scholarly research, keen esthetic analysis and, most importantly, bold intuition, Robin Milner-Gulland has produced a magical account of the life and work of Andrey Rublev, whose icons and frescoes illuminated the dark ages of medieval Russia. Supported by colour reproductions of relevant icons, embroideries and ecclesiastical structures, the story, narrated in a sincere, engaging and unpretentious style, provides a broad and vivid context for understanding and evaluating the art of Rublev anew, from his masterpiece the Old Testament Trinity, to his manuscript illustrations and his frescoes for the Trinity Monastery.' – John E. Bowlt, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Southern California; 'Robin Milner-Gulland is just the author to introduce us to Rublev and his world – both little known and much misrepresented . . . Comparing and contrasting his work with that of contemporaries and colleagues, gliding lightly over differences of scholarly opinion without getting bogged down in the detail, [Milner-Gulland] evokes the man and the artist as a living presence.' – Avril Pyman, Reader Emeritus in Russian, University of Durham

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Book SynopsisIn 1917, Marcel Duchamp sent out a 'telegram' in the guise of a urinal signed R. Mutt. When it arrived at its destination a good forty years later it was both celebrated and vilified as proclaiming that anything could be art; from that point on, the whole Western art world reconfigured itself as 'post-Duchamp'. This book offers a reading of Duchamp's telegram that sheds new light onto its first reception, corrects some historical mistakes and reveals that Duchamp's urinal in fact heralds the demise of the fine arts system and the advent of what Thierry de Duve calls the 'Art-in-General' system. Further, the author shows that this new system does not date from the 1960s but rather from the 1880s. Duchamp was neither its author nor its agent, but rather its brilliant messenger.

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Book SynopsisAn engaging study of the provocative and inventive artist Henry Fuseli.

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Book SynopsisThe sadness, as well as the joy, of unexpected discoveries.

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Book SynopsisA rich and original history of Edo, the shogun's city that became modern Tokyo.

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Book SynopsisSpanning from the classical sculpture of Ancient Rome to contemporary performance art, this vibrantly illustrated guide provides a rich overview of art history, covering many topics explored in a history of art degree.Written by expert art historian John Finlay, A Degree in a Book: Art History is presented in an attractive landscape format in full-color, featuring iconic works of art through the ages. With timelines, feature spreads and information boxes, readers will quickly get to grips with the fundamentals of art and its fascinating evolution across history. Learn to distinguish Impressionism from Post-Impressionism, analyze a painting''s brush strokes and discover the influences of Pablo Picasso. ABOUT THE SERIES: Get the knowledge of a degree for the price of a book in Arcturus Publishing''s A Degree in a Book series. Featuring flow charts, infographics, handy timelines, feature spreads and margin annotations, these illustrated books are perfect for anyone wishing to master seemingly complex subject with ease and enjoyment.

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Book SynopsisSpectacle and Display: A Modern History of Britain’s Roman Mosaic Pavements is the first narrative to explore responses and attitudes to mosaics, not just at the point of discovery but during their subsequent history. It is a field which has received scant attention in the literature and provides a compelling insight into the agency of these spectacular remains. Analysis shows how mosaics have influenced and have been instrumental in the commodification of the past, the development of conservation practice and promoting the rise of the archaeologist. ‘The most spectacular remains of Roman Britain’ is a familiar description applied to the discovery of mosaics floors. They are exceptional symbols of Roman life in the province of Britannia and each new discovery is eagerly reported in the press. Yet one estimate suggested that 75% of all known mosaics from Britain have been lost, and they are commonly displayed out of context, wall mounted as artwork in museums and exhibitions and far from their role as floors. This is a contested narrative in which spectacle and survival, conservation and fine art, ownership and curation provide the discourse and texts of contemporary attitudes.Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Mosaics Make a Site ; 2. Politics, aristocrats and antiquarians from the earliest discoveries to taste and vertue ; 3. Taste, entertainment and recreation from private patronage to popular display ; 4. Guardians, caretakers and museums – mosaics in the 19th century ; 5. The rise of the professional: the influence of state, profession and community to the mid-20th century ; 6. Crises and response 1970s – 1990s ; 7. The Most Spectacular Roman Remains in Britain ; 8. The glory of Rome? – Mosaics in the face of uncertainty 2000-2016 ; 9. Postscript ; 10. Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAdd sparkle to your sticker books with beautiful jewel art!Decorate 8 foiled cards with shiny, colourful jewel stickers and become a jewel art superstar in no time. Simply take the sheet of special stickers and create pawsome patterns on the adorable animal pictures.

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Book Synopsis"These experimental translations will grab you — some will give you goose bumps, some will rub off their lyric pensiveness and cheeky melancholia; some will make your fierce-pipped heart feel fiercer again, in solidarity." - Sophie SeitaDebut collection of mistranslations of Petrarchan love poems by Kat Addis. For Fans of: Shakespeare, Anne Carson, Katherine Angel, Jacqueline Rose, Alice Notley.

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Book SynopsisThe Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece is a fascinating reference work, spanning both political history, society, war, culture, philosophy and mythology ranging from the founding of the Minoan civilization in the 3rd millennium BCE to the heights of the Athenian civilization in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the fascinating life of a master of 19th century art and design William Morris was a man of extraordinary diversity and application, turning his attention to the mastery of as many skills in one lifetime as most men would achieve in several. He became an artist in oils, stained glass and ceramic tiles, a weaver, decorator, textile designer, calligrapher, type designer, typesetter, bookbinder, printer, novelist, poet and lecturer. One of his most influential concepts embraced the ‘small is beautiful’ ideal: suppose people lived in little communities ... and had few wants; almost no furniture for instance, and no servants, and studied ... what they really wanted. Then, Morris felt, life might begin to take on its proper form. He was unquestionably one of the first conservationists. Certainly, a century later, his ideas and his designs are still valued and enjoyed by people everywhere.

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Book SynopsisLondon Underground By Design is the beautifully illustrated new book from Mark Ovenden, the acclaimed author of Great Railway Maps of the World, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Tube in 2013.Since its establishment 150 years ago as the world's first urban subway, the London Underground has continuously set a benchmark for design that has influenced transit systems from New York to Tokyo, Moscow to Paris and beyond. London Underground by Design is the first meticulous study of every aspect of that feat, a comprehensive history of one of the world's most celebrated design achievements, and of the visionaries who brought it to life.Beginning in the pioneering Victorian age, Mark Ovenden charts the evolution of architecture, branding, typeface, map design, interior and textile styles, posters, signage and graphic design and how these came together to shape not just the Underground's identity, but the character of London itself. This is the story of celebrated designers - from Frank Pick, the guru who conceptualised the modern Tube's look under the 'design fit for purpose' mantra, to Harry Beck, Tube diagram creator, and from Marion Dorn, one of the twentieth century's leading textile designers, to Edward Johnston, creator of the distinctive font that bears his name, as well as Leslie Green, designer of central London's distinctive ruby-red tiled stations, and the Design Research Unit's head, Misha Black, who in the 1960s rebranded British Railways and created the Victoria line's distinctive style, and Sir Norman Foster, architect of Canary Wharf station.'Fascinating ... authoritative ... bristles with photographs I've never seen before ... the book does ample justice to a network that - overcrowded and overpriced - is a glorious palimpsest of design' Andrew Martin, Observer'I wouldn't ordinarily enthuse about one book at such length, but this is an important work...not because it's an entertaining read (it is), but because it identifies the birth of a brand...and records the birth of a new idea - the transport interchange' Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs Magazine'Mark Ovenden has devotedly documented the designs associated with [the Underground] ... "addictive" for anyone interested in the look of everyday life' Telegraph'This beautifully illustrated history is a worth tribute [to 150 years of design]' Shortlist'A wonderful, handsome book ... it makes me want to nerd out, get a travel card and whiz out to the strange ends of Metroland or the UFO shape of Southgate station' Robert Bownes/Andrew Tuck, Monocle Weekly (Radio programme)Mark Ovenden is a British writer and broadcaster. His previous books are Metro Maps of the World, Paris Metro Style and Great Railway Maps of the World. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and lives in London.Trade ReviewI wouldn't ordinarily enthuse about one book at such length, but this is an important work...not because it's an entertaining read (it is), but because it identifies the birth of a brand...and records the birth of a new idea - the transport interchange. -- Kevin McCloud * Grand Designs Magazine *Mark Ovenden has devotedly documented the designs associated with [the Underground] ... "addictive" for anyone interested in the look of everyday life. * Telegraph *A wonderful, handsome book ... it makes me want to nerd out, get a travel card and whiz out to the strange ends of Metroland or the UFO shape of Southgate station. -- Robert Bownes/Andrew Tuck * Monocle Weekly *This beautifully illustrated history is a worthy tribute [to 150 years of design]. * Shortlist *[Praise for Great Railway Maps of the World]: Just the ticket ... it is a glorious celebration of the pioneering history - and romance - of the railways * Sunday Times Travel Books of the Year 2011 *This is a terrific coffee table book. It's a work of art in itself. Mark Ovenden has created a book that will transport the lucky recipient on an eccentric and world tour they will not forget * Bookseller *

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Book SynopsisThe history, artist biographies and paintings of the Impressionist movement, with 350 gorgeous reproductions.

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Book SynopsisMichael Jacobs was haunted by Velázquez's enigmatic masterpiece Las Meninas from first encountering it in the Prado as a teenager. In Everything is Happening Jacobs searches for the ultimate significance of the painting by following the trails of associations from each individual character in the picture, as well as his own memories of and relationship to this extraordinary work. From Jacobs' first trip to Spain to the complex politics of Golden Age Madrid, to his meeting with the man who saved Las Meninas during the Spanish Civil war, via Jacobs' experiences of the sunless world of the art history academy, Jacobs' dissolves the barriers between the past and the present, the real and the illusory. Cut short by Jacobs' death in 2014, and completed with an introduction and coda of great sensitivity and insight by his friend and fellow lover of art, the journalist Ed Vulliamy, this visionary, meditative and often very funny book is a passionate, personal manifesto for the liberation of how we look at painting.

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Book SynopsisExploring Emily Young's carved works from the 1980s to the present, Jon Wood's thoughtful survey places her sculpture within its resonant contexts, both art historical and more broadly cultural. In doing so, it draws attention to the richness of her sculptural imagination and the issues that charge it, from ecology and environmentalism to poetry and philosophy. The inclusion of Young's early paintings also draws out her long-standing preoccupation with narrative. Probing the relationship between the artist's sculpture and the material life of things, Young's original way of thinking, seeing and feeling is skilfully presented, so enriching our understanding of this important contemporary figure.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Turnbull (1922-2012) stands as one of Britain's foremost artists in the second half of the twentieth century. Both a sculptor and a painter, he explored the changing contemporary world and its ancient past, actively engaging with the shifting concerns of British, European and American artists.Presenting interpretations of Turnbull's work from an impressive roll-call of over sixty art historians, curators, critics and artists, a picture emerges of an innovative artist who determinedly followed his own path, drawing on influences as diverse as ancient cultures and contemporary music. Expansive in its breadth, William Turnbull: International Modern Artist will stand as the authoritative book on this fascinating artist.With contributions by Oliva Bax, Paul Becker, Andrew Bick, Antonia Boström, Mel Brimfield, Bianca Chu, Matthew Collings, Ann Compton, Sam Cornish, Keith Coventry, Elena Crippa, Amanda A. Davidson, Michael Dean, John Dee, Richard Demarco, Edith Devaney, Norman Dilworth, Patrick Elliott, Ann Elliott, Garth Evans, Pat Fisher, Neil Gall, Margaret Garlake, Antony Gormley, Kirstie Gregory, Kelly Grovier, Nigel Hall, Bill Hare, Daniel F. Herrmann, Peter Hide, Ben Highmore, Nick Hornby, Tess Jaray, Julia Kelly, Phillip King, Liliane Lijn, Clare Lilley, Jeff Lowe, Tim Martin, Ian McKeever, Henry Meyric Hughes, Catherine Moriarty, Richard Morphet, Jed Morse, Peter Murray, Matt Price, Peter Randall-Page, Guggi Rowen, Natalie Rudd, Michael Sandle, Dawna Schuld, Sean Scully, Jyrki Siukonen, Chris Stephens, Peter Suchin, Marin R. Sullivan, Mike Tooby, William Tucker, Johnny Turnbull, Alex Turnbull, Michael Uva, Brian Wall, Nigel Walsh, Calvin Winner, Jon Wood, Bill Woodrow, Greville Worthington, Emily YoungTrade Review'Turnbull’s time as an RAF fighter pilot in the second world war informed much of his work and the artist is best known for totemic sculptures that reflect a devastated Europe, exemplified in the Barbican’s ongoing Postwar Modern exhibition.' – Financial Times'With this new major publication, the editor Jon Wood, distinguished curator and critic, has brought together a very impressive body of wide-ranging writings from an array of important supporters and admirers of Turnbull’s art.' – Scottish Art NewsTable of ContentsForeword; Introduction; Timeline; Part 1: Sculptor and Painter; Turnbull in the early 50s; Turnbull and America; Part 2: Writings on Art; The Long Tradition of Sculpture; Sculptures 1963-75; W. Turnbull: Sculpture and Painting; Part 3: Music and Sculpture; The Anthropological Imaginary of Turnbull's Sculpture; Turnbull at the YSP; Turnbull: Outdoors; Turnbull's Bronze Foundries and Patinas; Contributors; Collections; Exhibitions; Bibliography; Credits; Acknowledgements; Index

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Book SynopsisHughie O’Donoghue (b. 1953) explores themes of universal human experience, ideas of truth and the relationship between memory and identity. Often standing apart from his contemporaries in the scale and ambition of his paintings, O’Donoghue’s work addresses the need to learn the lessons and complexities of recent history through the lens of the often overlooked and anonymous individual. Beautifully illustrated, encompassing four decades of work, this major publication is the broadest survey of the artist to date. Including new writing from the artist alongside four commissioned essays by leading art historians and critics, with a preface by the poet Tom Paulin, this comprehensive book documents O’Donoghue’s ambitious vision.Table of ContentsForeword; Preface; 1 ‘The Mud that is Paint’: Hughie O’Donoghue and the tradition of painting; 2 ‘The Essence of the Past’: History, Identity, Memory; 3 ‘Uncovering and Covering’: sources and traces; 4 ‘The Laboratory and the Library’: Painting, Literature and Poetry; Hughie O’Donoghue: Selected Writing; Plates; Autobiographical Notes; Notes; Biography; Exhibitions and Collections; Index

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Book SynopsisSheila Fell (1931-1979) was one of the most talented British artists of her generation: a figurative painter with a singular and powerful vision of the Cumbrian landscape of her childhood. Here, for the first time, the full breadth of her artistic achievement is recorded in a catalogue raisonné of her paintings. The book features 472 expertly researched catalogue entries alongside a substantial art-historical narrative that charts Fell's entire career and provides unique insights into the artist's background, inspirations, technique and legacy. As such, and in the context of the dearth of recent literature on the painter, this invaluable resource will stand as the definitive publication on Sheila Fell for many years to come.

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Book SynopsisModernism is usually thought of as a shock wave of innovations hitting art, architecture, music, cinema and literature - the work of Picasso, Joyce, Schoenberg, movements like Futurism and Dada, the architecture of Le Corbusier, T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and the avant-garde theatre of Bertolt Brecht or Samuel Beckett. But what really defines modernism? Why did it begin and how long did it last? Is Modernism over now? Chris Rodriguez and Chris Garratt's brilliant graphic guide is a brilliant exploration of the last century's most thrilling artistic work - and what it's really all about.

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Book SynopsisCanadian-born Agnes Martin was one of the pre-eminent painters of the second half of the twentieth century, whose work has had a significant influence both on artists of her own time and for subsequent generations. A contemporary of the abstract expressionists though often identified with minimalism, Martin was of the few woman artists who came to prominence in the predominately masculine art world of the late 1950s and 1960s, and became a particularly important role model for younger women artists. This groundbreaking survey provides an overview of Martin's career, from lesser-known early experimental works through her striped and grided grey paintings and use of colour in various formats, to a group of her final works that reintroduce bold forms. A selection of drawings and watercolours is also included. With essays by leading scholars that give a context for Martin's work - her life, relationship with other artists, the influence of South- Asian philosophy - alongside focused shorter pieces on particular paintings, the book will appeal to art students, academics and all those interested in abstract art. Presenting new research, and beautifully designed, the book is also an opportunity to introduce the life and work of Agnes Martin to those unfamiliar with her oeuvre.

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Book SynopsisSoul of a Nation shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists to a dramatic period in American art and history. In the period of radical change that was 1963 to 1983, young Black artists at the beginning of their careers in the USA confronted key questions and pressures. How could they make art that would stand as innovative, original, formally and materially complex, while also making work that reflected their concerns and experience as African Americans? This significant new publication surveys this crucial period in American art history, bringing to light previously neglected histories of twentieth-century Black artists, including Frank Bowling, Sam Gilliam, Melvin Edwards, Bettye Saar, Jack Whitten and William T. Williams. This book presents era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America, and features substantial essays from curators Mark Godfrey and Zoe Whitley, writing on abstraction and figuration respectively. It also explores art historical and social contexts with subjects including black feminism; AfriCOBRA and other artist-run groups; the role of museums in the debates of the period; and where visual art sat in relation to the Black Arts Movement.

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Book SynopsisAs an underground art star, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was the antidote to the prevalent abstract expressionist style of 1950s America. He introduced popular everyday subjects into his practice and openly acknowledged the wide-ranging influences on his work. Throughout his career, his forays into advertising, fashion, film, TV and music videos, marked a fascination with mainstream popular culture. This book will position Warhol at the vanguard of artistic experimentation. Looking at his background as an immigrant, ideas of death and religion, and his queer perspective, it will explore his limitless ambition to push the traditional boundaries of painting, sculpture, film and music, and reveal Warhol as an artist who both succeeded and failed in equal measure; an artist who embraced the establishment while cavorting with the underground. It will further highlight Warhol's knowing flirtation with the commercial world of celebrity alongside his socially engaged collaborations and advocacy of alternative lifestyles. Including his iconic depictions alongide lesser-known works, as well as an installation of his Silver Clouds, this fascinating book returns Warhol to his conceptual ambition and positions him within the shifting creative and political landscape in which he worked, permitting a broad view of how Warhol, and his work, marked a period of cultural transformation.

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Book SynopsisBlack artists in Britain have long been making major contributions to art history. While some of these artists have been embraced at times by the art world, for the most part they have not received the recognition they deserve. Taking as its starting point the London-based Caribbean Artists Movement, this concise introduction showcases the work of over sixty Black British artists from the 1960s until the present. The works included here offer a lens through which to understand and contextualise the political and cultural climate, while shedding light on the unique Black British experience. Constructed around contemporary thoughts on race, nationhood, citizenship, gender, class, sexuality and aesthetics in Britain, this book explores themes at the heart of Black British Art. At a time when representation of Black artists and the interrogation of the ethics of the art world have taken on a renewed urgency, this is a timely and accessible publication which celebrates Black artists in Britain and their outstanding contribution to art and global culture.

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Book SynopsisEmbarking on dangerous journeys to flee violence and persecution, migrants and refugees arrive on the shores of Britain to seek help and hope. And yet, they become scapegoats, vilified by anti-immigrant rhetoric. Examining the work of artists like Tania Bruguera, Arshile Gorky and Mona Hatoum, Look Again: Strangers challenges this narrative. It sidesteps the dehumanising language in political depictions of migrants, offering a deeper insight into the struggles and humanity of these strangers.  Look Again is a new series of short books from Tate Publishing, opening up the conversation about British art over the last 500 years, and exploring what art has to tell us about our lives today. Written by leading voices from the worlds of literature, art and culture, each book sheds new light on some of the most well-known, best-loved and thought-provoking artworks in the national collection, and asks us to look again.

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Book SynopsisThe Updated and Expanded edition of The Art of Feminism charts the birth of the feminist aesthetic and its development over two centuries that have seen profound and fast-paced change in women's lives across the globe. Including over 350 remarkable artworks, ranging from political posters and graphics to stunning and provocative pieces of painting, sculpture, textiles, craft, performance, digital and installation art, the book begins with poster images produced by the Suffrage Atelier in the nineteenth century, moving on to developments of both World Wars before arriving at the `birth' of feminist art in the 1960s. More recent artworks describe the development of feminism from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present day, including examples by Zanele Muholi, Paula Rego, Lenka Clayton, Sethembile Msezane, Andrea Bowers, Tanja Ostojic, Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and Zoe Leonard. Other featured artists include Valie Export, Ketty La Rocca, Ewa Partum, Carolee Schneemann, Sanja Ivekovic, Senga Nengudi, Eva Hesse, Lynda Benglis, Suzy Lake, Barbara Kruger, Sophie Calle, Nancy Spero, Marina Abramovic, Mary Kelly, Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold and Sonia Boyce. UPDATED AND INCLUSIVE: This edition of the book features an even more diverse array of artists and artworks than the original, from the beautiful figurative paintings of Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil to the thoroughly researched and extravagantly costumed self-portraits of American photographer Ayana Jackson. Edited by Helena Reckitt, with texts by Lucinda Gosling, Hilary Robinson and Amy Tobin, The Art of Feminism also includes a preface by Maria Balshaw, Director, Tate, and a foreword by Xabier Arakistain, former director of del Centro Cultural Montehermoso Kulturunea, Spain.

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Book SynopsisFrom Tudor times to the First World War, Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 15201920 will chart the journey of women to becoming professional artists. From Levina Teerlinc, a miniaturist at the court of Elizabeth I, to Laura Knight, the first woman to be elected a member of the Royal Academy after a gap of more than 150 years, women have been a constant presence in the art world, conducting commercially successful careers and exhibiting in public exhibitions. Against society's expectations of wives, mothers and daughters, limited to the private domestic sphere, they dared to pursue public careers, and to paint history pieces, battle scenes and the nude, usually regarded as the preserve of men. An examination of figures such as Mary Beale, Angelica Kauffman, Elizabeth, Lady Butler and many more will reveal careers very far from the stereotypical view of women as amateur watercolourists, pursuing art as a ladylike accomplishment. Instead, they are revealed as professional women who

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Book SynopsisBuilding on the achievements of Goethe in his Theory of Colour, Rudolf Steiner shows how colour affects us in many areas of life, including our health, our sense of well-being, and our feelings. Distinguishing between 'image' and 'lustre' colours, he lays the foundation, based on his spiritual-scientific research, for a practical technique of working with colour that leads to a new direction in artistic creativity. His many penetrating remarks on some of the great painters of the past are supplemented by a deep concern to see a cultural, spiritual renewal emerge in the present time. 'If you realize', he states, 'that art always has a relation to the spirit, you will understand that both in creating and appreciating it, art is something through which one enters the spiritual world.' This volume is the most comprehensive compilation of Rudolf Steiner's insights into the nature of colour, painting and artistic creation. It is an invaluable source of reference and study not only for artists and therapists but for anyone interested in gaining an appreciation of art as a revelation of spiritual realities.

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Book SynopsisThis beautifully illustrated book in the National Gallery's new One Painting, One Story series explores the making and meaning of Vigée Le Brun's Self Portrait in a Straw Hat.

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Book SynopsisA masterpiece of medieval Arab metalwork revealed, shedding light on courtly life in northern Iraq under the Mongol governorship. Accompanying a major scholarly exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery, this book explores one of the most beautiful and enigmatic objects in The Courtauld’s collection: the so-called ‘Courtauld wallet’, a brass container richly inlaid with gold and silver, imitating a lady’s textile or leather bag, and probably made in Mosul in northern Iraq around 1300. No other object of this kind is known. Decorated all round with courtly figures and on the top with an elaborate banqueting scene featuring an enthroned couple, it has long been recognised as a masterpiece of Arab metalwork. Yet, despite the superb quality of its design and craftsmanship and its status as a unique object, this exceptional metalwork bag has never been properly published. Thus it remains little known outside a small circle of specialists, and little understood even within that circle. Encompassing a variety of multidisciplinary essays by distinguished historians and art historians– on subjects ranging from music at the Mongol court, Mosul under Mongol governorship and Mongol marriage customs to the role of women under the Ilkhanids–this publication aims to explore the origins, function and iconography of this splendid luxury object as well as the cultural context in which it was made and used. It will bring together other images of enthroned Mongols with female consorts, as well as scenes of hunters, revellers and musicians in a variety of media, including illustrated manuscripts, ceramics, textile, and metalwork. By presenting the bag alongside carefully selected contemporary material, it will provide an insight into courtly life under the Mongols in the newly conquered areas of their empire, and will also provide an unrivalled opportunity to investigate the inlaid brass tradition in Mosul after the Mongol Conquest. Objects made before and after this seismic event will be reproduced side by side to demonstrate how the Mosul metalworkers adapted their work for their new patrons.

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Book SynopsisMinami Kobayashi''s The Song of Jujubes showcases surreal paintings exploring memory, nostalgia, and belonging.Minami Kobayashi (b.1989) is a Japanese artist based in London. Covering a significant period of development in her practice as a painter, this publication coincides with her second major solo exhibition, The Song of Jujubes, at Frestonian Gallery, London. Kobayashi?s paintings depict familiar yet surreal scenes, created from an amalgamation of memories, places, and ordinary people. In her dream-like ambiguous narratives, nature, animals, and humans are given equal status; her realms are symbiotic societies with multiple creatures. She captures transitory and fluctuating moments, depicting her protagonists in states of flux, vulnerability, and openness. Rendered in a post-Impressionist palette, her compositions are a potent mix of playfulness and deeper themes of human and natural life. Bringing together eleven new canvases, The Song of Jujubes takes its title from a song that the artist used to sing as a teenager in her hometown of Nagoya, Japan. It begins with a girl eating one jujube fruit every night, wondering what she will do when they are all gone. Imbued with a sense of nostalgia and loss, the works consider what "home" means and the strong relationship between people and place. This publication documents Kobayashi?s paintings chronologically, from her early works of 2016 to 2024. In a foreword, the Directors of Frestonian Gallery, Matt Incledon and Rollo Campbell introduce the inner world of the artist and the themes of The Song of Jujubes. In an interview with Lisa Wainwright, Kobayashi discusses her time studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her unique painting technique, and the symbolism in her scenes. She also expands upon her artistic influences, including Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, the tenets of Buddhism, Tarot, and the Nabi painters, such as Félix Vallotton, Édouard Vuillard, and Pierre Bonnard. In her essay "Temperature of a Memory", Laura Allsop analyzes Kobayashi?s recent paintings in relation to memory and place, particularly the artist?s hometown of Nagoya. Edited by Incledon and designed by Joe Gilmore, the book is co-published by Frestonian Gallery and Anomie Publishing, London.Minami Kobayashi (b.1989, Nagoya, Japan) lives and works in London. She holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago (2018) and a BA in Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts (2016). Kobayashi makes figurative paintings that combine intimacy and mystery through their depictions of ordinary people, animals, and places, that seem vaguely surreal and ever so slightly off-kilter.Recent solo or duo exhibitions include I Spell a Word to Free You (with Adrianne Rubinstein) at Et Al Gallery, San Francisco (2024), Place and Presence (with Patrick Procktor) at Frestonian Gallery (2023), and Somewhere not here at Goldfinch Gallery, Chicago (2022).

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Book SynopsisTo give political legitimacy to his Empire, in just fifteen years Emperor Napoléon I created an enduring image of Napoléonic France as the contemporary equivalent of Imperial Rome. He did this by the deft use of iconography and what today would be called ‘branding’, which he applied to every aspect of his family, the government, the military, the monuments to his achievements, his palaces and their furnishings. The tangible remains of this grand, imperial ‘theatre’ has excited royal and other collectors ever since. The Imperial Impresario take a wholly new look at Napoléon and the First Empire by interpreting the era in theatrical terms: the players, the sets, the props, the costumes, the tours and the script, much of which has survived. The fully illustrated book includes a wide range of Napoléonica in royal, national, regimental and private collections, as well as lost treasures such as the Emperor’s campaign carriage, captured in the immediate aftermath of Waterloo and destroyed in a fire at Madame Tussaud’s in 1925. For readers coming to the subject for the first time, The Imperial Impresario is a fascinating and informative introduction to the Napoléonic era; for those already steeped in the period, it is an invaluable companion to existing books about Napoléon and his Empire.Trade Review‘This book provides a fascinating look at the by-products of the Napoléonic era.’ The Duke of Richmond and GordonTable of ContentsForeword by the Duke of Richmond Acknowledgements Timeline of the rise and fall of Napoléon Authors’ Note Introduction 1. Creating the Star Role 2. Other Starring Roles 3. Principal and Supporting Players 4. Props 5. Building and Dressing the Set 6. On Tour 7. Merchandise 8. Collectables 9. The Fan Club 10. The Final Curtain About the Authors Index

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