History of art Books

Book SynopsisA new, updated and expanded edition of this classic survey on the history of Caribbean art, featuring the work of over 100 artists from the period of colonialism to the present day. Caribbean Art presents and discusses the diverse, fascinating and highly accomplished work of Caribbean artists, whether indigenous or from the diaspora, popular or high' culture, rural or urban based, politically radical or religious. This expanded edition has a new preface, and has been updated to reflect on recent challenges to the ideological premises and institutions of conventional art-historical practice and their connections to histories of colonialism, Eurocentricity and race. Two new chapters focus on public monuments linked to the history of the Caribbean, and the intersections between art and tourism, raising important questions about cultural representation. Featuring the work of internationally recognized artists such as Sonia Boyce, Christopher Cozier, Wifredo Lam, Ana Mendieta, ETable of ContentsForeword Introduction 1. Prehispanic and Colonial Art 2. Decolonization and Creative Iconoclasm 3. Modernism and Cultural Nationalism 4. Popular Culture, Religion and the Festival Arts 5. ‘Dangerously Close to Tourist Art’ 6. Political Radicalism, Abstraction and Experimental Art 7. The Land, the Sea and the Environment 8. The Personal and the Political 9. The Caribbean Contemporary Bibliography List of Illustrations

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Book SynopsisAn accessible history of the Bauhaus, tracing the ideas behind its conception and its highly influential teaching methods.Trade Review'‘Concise, well constructed, entertaining and eminently readable’' - Architects’ Journal'‘A much needed and very lucid account’' - The Times Educational SupplementTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. Aims and Ambitions • 2. Art, Crafts, Architecture and the Academies 3. Art Education Reformed • 4. The Founder • 5. Problems • 6. The First Appointments 7. The Students • 8. Achievements • 9. New Arrivals • 10. The Basic Course: Colour and Form • 11. Going Dutch • 12. Towards a New Unity: Moholy-Nagy and Albers • 13. The Public Face • 14. Dessau • 15. Young Masters • 16. A New Director • 17. The Bitter End 18. Judgments

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Book SynopsisPresents Van Goghs lifelong love affair with the garden. This title illustrates a range of works, from iconic oils such as Irises to exquisite etchings and intimate sketches.Trade Review'Constant, though, is the thrilling intensity of Van Gogh’s engagement with the gardens, backyards, parks and allotments he encountered … teases out all the creative and psychological implications' - The Scotsman'A fresh perspective on Van Gogh’s artistic evolution towards his vibrant and vividly coloured style' - Metro'The perfect gift for Van Gogh fans and garden lovers alike' - Daily ExpressTable of ContentsIntroduction: Life happens above all in the garden • 1 Vincent’s Love of Gardens • 2 Vincent’s Dutch Gardens, 1881–85 • 3 Vincent’s Parisian Gardens, 1886–88 • 4 Vincent’s Provençal Gardens, 1888–90 • 5 Vincent’s Gardens in Auvers, 1890 • Bibliography • List of quotations • List of illustrations

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Book SynopsisExplores various paintings in the context of Van Goghs short but brilliant career, allying the works to his correspondence.Table of ContentsIntroduction • Early Work – Belgium and Holland • Antwerp and Paris – 1886–1887 • Arles 1888 • Arles – Saint Rémy 1889 • Auvers 1890

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Book SynopsisExplores the connections between modern and premodern art, offering a radical reading that reveals the underlying patterns and ideas traversing centuries of artistic practice. This book reconsiders from a double perspective some key issues in the history of art, from iconoclasm and illusionism to the status of painting, and installation.Trade Review'Brilliant, original and provocative' - Linda Nochlin'Alexander Nagel reminds us, throughout the skilful weave of his argument, that there is much more medievalism in the art of the present, and much more contemporaneity in the art of the distant past, than we often realise' - Independent'A wide-ranging bravura display of intellectual erudition and exemplary curiosity' - The Spectator'A rich and important contribution to modernist studies, amply demonstrating that our age has got the medievalism it deserves' - The Art Newspaper

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Book SynopsisMarcel Duchamp (1887-1968) has entered mainstream culture as one of the founding fathers of modern art. This book explores the artist's life and work. It features more than 200 entries on the interesting and important artworks, relationships, people and ideas in Duchamp's life.Trade Review'Girst's The Duchamp Dictionary is exactly the sort of book Duchamp himself would have enjoyed reading. The entries are well researched and written, informative and entertaining. You can't ask for more' - Francis Naumann'It’s about time that a publication reveals the vastness of Duchamp’s influence and thinking in the 20th and 21st centuries. I have absolute praise for Girst’s achievement with this historic publication' - Jeff Koons'Girst elegantly unravels the skeins of Duchamp’s thinking. ‘The Duchamp Dictionary’ is an essential compendium for puzzling out an essential artist' - Richard Armstrong, Director Guggenheim Museum and Foundation

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Book SynopsisAn important new survey on abstract art that takes content as a guide to form, and breaks open the canon to make room for artists from across the globe.Trade Review'Karmel approaches the field not as a steady tunnelling toward nothingness, as figures and other discernible objects fell away, but as something more dynamic - and much less white, Western, and male' - Vogue.com'Handsomely illustrated' - Best Art Books of 2020, Sunday Times'Magnificent … warmly recommended to anyone who loves art and possesses an open mind' - Evening Standard'Carefully conceived and beautifully produced... an original and valuable way to approach twentieth and twenty-first-century abstraction' - artblog.comTable of Contents1. Bodies: Dancers, Athletes and Poets; Workers and Machines; Totems; Presences; Organs and Fluids • 2. Landscapes: Vortexes and Gusts; Cliffs, Waterfalls and Fog; Waves; Open Windows; Vibrations • 3. Cosmologies: Orbits; Suns and planets; Star Charts • 4. Architectures: Towers, Buildings and Boxes; Windows, Plans and Elevations • 5. Signs & Patterns: Fabric and Decoration; Typography; Calligraphy; Maps and Charts

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Book SynopsisCasts new light on 75 masterpieces of modern art, revealing details that even those familiar with the works may previously have missed.Trade Review'A handsome and useful guide to how great paintings work their magic upon us' - Independent'This inspiring book takes you where so many other art books fear to tread: up close … The results are revelatory' - Artists & Illustrators'Written entertainingly and with clarity … Read this and you really will start to appreciate the mastery of the art of our recent times' - The ArtistTable of ContentsIntroduction • 75 artworks

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Book SynopsisOpens readers' eyes to the wonders of Indian painting, and shows them new ways of seeing art.Trade Review'An out-and-out masterpiece ... will undoubtedly come to be looked on as one of the greatest books ever written on Indian art' - William Dalrymple, Guardian'Wonderful … a book to make both layman and connoisseur alike realize why pre-modern Indian painting is one of the great arts of the world' - Neil MacGregor'Professor Goswamy’s book meets a long-felt need. In all the years I have been involved with Indian art I have repeatedly been asked to recommend a book which covers the whole subject. This is it. This is it. This is it' - Sir Howard Hodgkin'No one knows more about Indian painting than B.N. Goswamy and in 'The Spirit of Indian Painting' he shares a lifetime of knowledge and insights' - Glenn Lowry'A thrilling and novel survey … a wonderful primer to an unfamiliar world of art' - RA MagazineTable of Contents1. Visions • 2. Observation • 3. Passion • 4. Contemplation

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Book SynopsisA one-of-a-kind book of pop-ups based on the works of Leonardo da Vinci.Table of Contents1. Self portrait 2. Annunciation 3. Ornithopter 4. Virgin & Child 5. Architecture – an overview of his drawings and designs 6. Vitruvian Man

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Book SynopsisIn 1972 Henry Moore's sculpture studios in the English countryside at Much Hadham were filled with preparations for his retrospective exhibition in Florence. A small room overlooked a field of sheep, which he began to draw, returning later in the year when they had been shorn.Trade Review'Brought to life with a humorous touch that somehow retains all the characteristic dark intensity of Henry Moore’s grander works, this gem of a sketchbook gives a rare close-up glimpse into the private inspirations of this enigmatic giant of 20th-century British art' - The Art Book

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Book SynopsisDemonstrates how Renaissance artists used mirrors and lenses to develop perspective and chiaroscuro challenging our view of how these two foundations of Western art were established.Trade Review'The most talked-about art book of the year' - Sunday Times'It will change our views of Western painting' - London Review of Books'Hockney has utterly transformed the scope and basis of the debate… He is making us look at things afresh' - Martin Kemp, University of Oxford'Hockney is a superb communicator, his prose as lithe and vivid as his own pencil line' - Guardian'Sparkling, brilliantly analysed treatise on the use of optics in art and one of the most important books on painting published in the last 100 years' - State magazineTable of ContentsIntroduction • The Visual Evidence • The Textual Evidence The Correspondence • Endmatter

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Book Synopsisâ??Many of the images are today iconic masterpieces. . . . One of the most influential art books of its time.â? â??The Big Issue In 1984 the groundbreaking Subway Art brought graffiti to the world, presenting stunning photographic documentation of the burgeoning movement in New York. Thirty years later, this bible of street art has been updated with over seventy photographs not included in the original edition and new insights on an incredibly rich period for urban art and its legacy. In new introductions, authors Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant recall how they gained entry into the New York City graffiti community in the 1970s and 1980s. New afterwords continue the story, tracing the decline of the subway and graffiti scene in the late 1980s to its unexpected rebirth as a global art movement. The authors reveal how the lives of the original subway artists have unfolded and mourn the loss of several to the darker forces of the street.Trade Review'The ultimate book for fans of graffiti … captures 1980s-cool' - City MagazineTable of Contents‘Why don’t you photograph graffiti?’ Martha Cooper • ‘If art like this is a crime, let God forgive me.’ Henry Chalfant • SUBWAY ART • ‘We may have lost the trains...’ Martha Cooper • ‘... but we’ve gained the whole world.’ Henry Chalfant

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Book SynopsisExplores different formal ways of representing the passage of time and at the same time the unavoidable but marvellous stillness of portraits.Trade Review'An utterly compelling rogues’ gallery of the famous, the infamous and the anonymous' - The Spectator'Attractive and entertaining ... Hockney’s gifts (close observation and an elegantly expressive line) have always been evident in his portraits' - Sunday Times'An elegant framework for an account of a life which is also a study and a celebration of that life’s work … virtually every page turned is another encounter with Hockney’s distinctively expressive sense of line and colour' - Times Literary Supplement'A Thames & Hudson treat' - Vogue

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Book SynopsisFeatures revealing interviews with Francis Bacon that was conducted over a period of 25 years by a distinguished art critic. In this book, Bacon considers the problems of realism, sheds new light on aspects of his life, talks about his aims as a painter and ways in which he works.Trade Review'A classic' - Guardian'Compelling ... a profound, lucid text, precisely illustrated' - Sunday Times'When it comes to illuminating the work of the artist, this short, nourishing book is hard to beat' - Observer'May well have as great an influence on painting during the last quarter of the [20th] century as the critical writings of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot had on poetry during the 1920s and 1930s' - Stephen Spender'Endlessly fascinating' - The Spectator'The most celebrated documentation of the painter' - Sunday Telegraph'An intriguing book capable of shedding light on the life of one of the most influential figures of the 20th century ' - DazedTable of ContentsPreface • 9 interviews • Editorial note

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Book SynopsisMartin Kemp, described by The Times as the world's leading authority on Leonardo', relates his fifty-year relationship with the most famous artist of all time.Table of ContentsPreface • Introduction: Art History in Action • Prologue: a Sketch of Leonardo • 1. The Last Supper and the First Steps • 2. The ‘Original’ Last Supper • 3. Looking at Lisa • 4. The Stolen Madonna • 5. The Beautiful Princess • 6. Ugly Arguments • 7. The Saviour • 8. Science and Seeing • 9. Codices and Computers • 10. Exhibitions • 11. Codes and Conjectures

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Book SynopsisThe final edition of the late Tom Phillips's defining masterpiece of postmodernism'. In 1966 the artist Tom Phillips discovered A Human Document (1892), an obscure Victorian romance by W.H. Mallock, and set himself the task of altering every page, by painting, collage or cut-up techniques, to create an entirely new version. Some of Mallock's original text remains intact and through the illustrated pages the character of Bill Toge, Phillips's anti-hero, and his romantic plight emerges. First published in 1973, A Humument as Phillips titled his altered book quickly established itself as a cult classic. From that point, the artist worked towards a complete revision of his original, adding new pages in successive editions. That process is now finished. This final edition presents an entirely new and complete version of A Humument. It includes a revised Introduction by the late artist, in which he reflects on the 50-year project, and 92 new illustrated pages.Trade Review'Simply astounding ... and addictive' - Stephen Fry'One of the most original, fascinating and lovely books of all time' - Brian Eno'The closest thing a book has come to being an art object' - The New York Times'Sly, humorous, erotic and endlessly fascinating' - Edward Lucie-Smith, Sunday Times'A teeming world of humour, sex, sadness and art' - London Review of Books'Turns a forgotten work into a thing of rare beauty' - Bernard Levin, Sunday Times'Intricate, philosophical, romantic ... and often funny' - Michael Kustow, Guardian'One of the freshest and most original pieces of art literary work you are likely to see' - The Spectator

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Book SynopsisModern Art takes the reader through individual movements from Impressionism to Conceptual Art, situating these within five broader chronological themes. Starting with Impressionism in 1860, Dempsey proceeds through the essentials of Modernism, the post-war New Disorder and beyond. The material is arranged with great care to lead the reader through over seventy essential topics of modern art in a practical and easy-to-navigate structure. Each boldly designed feature includes a clear definition of the theme, a list of key artists, features, media and collections, and expertly curated illustrations with explanatory captions. A reference section includes a useful glossary of modern art terms, an easy-to-navigate timeline and suggestions for further reading.Trade Review'The ideal companion for anyone wishing to understand the key developments in western art over the last century and a half' - Caroline Douglas, Contemporary Art SocietyTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. Rise of the Avant-Gardes 1860–1900 • 2. Modernisms for a Modern World 1900–18 • 3. Search for a New Order 1918–45 • 4. A New Disorder 1945–65 • 5. Beyond the Avant-Gardes 1965–today

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Book SynopsisSmall, smart, essential a chronological introduction to women artists through 500 years of history, providing a rich understanding of key female artists from the Baroque to today.

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Book SynopsisAn international survey exploring the many ways in which painting is re-approached, re-imagined and challenged by todayâs artists.Trade Review'Hudson’s overview brings together more than 250 artists from Cecily Brown to Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Kara Walker, examining and unpicking queer narratives, race, activism and climate issues' - The Art NewspaperTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. Appropriation • 2. Attitude • 3. Production and Distribution • 4. The Body • 5. Beyond Painting • 6. About Painting • 7. Living Painting • Further Reading

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Book SynopsisSunday Times Art Book of the Year 2018'If you are interested in modern British art, the book is unputdownable. If you are not, read it.' - Grey Gowrie, Financial Times 'All the good stories, and more, are here â this is a genuinely encyclopaedic work, unlike anything else I have come across on the topic, informed by a deep love and understanding of modern painting. Everybody interested in the subject should read it.' - Andrew Marr, Sunday Times A masterfully narrated account of painting in London from the Second World War to the 1970s, illustrated throughout with documentary photographs and works of art The development of painting in London from the Second World War to the 1970s is the story of interlinking friendships, shared experiences and artistic concerns among a number of acclaimed artists, including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Gillian Ayres, Frank Bowling and Howard Hodgkin. Drawing on extensive first-hand interviews, many prevTrade Review'All the good stories, and more, are here … a genuinely encyclopaedic work … Everybody interested in the subject should read it' - Andrew Marr, Sunday Times'Superb … you hang on to every word' - Rachel Cooke, Observer'A seminal work: limpidly written, replete with lightly worn scholarship and unrivalled intimate knowledge' - William Boyd, New Statesman'A masterpiece … a major work of art history' - Wall Street Journal'A wise and authoritative account of the post-war London art scene' - Artists & Illustrators'An anecdote-rich study of the geniuses and oddballs – Bacon, Freud, Hockney and more – who revived British art after the Second World War' - The Times'Superb, with vivid vignettes of the likes of Lucian Freud' - Daily Telegraph'At once scholarly and wonderfully gossipy' - ChoiceTable of Contents1. 14 Abercorn Place • 2. Pope Francis • 3. Euston Road in Camberwell • 4. The Spirit in the Mass (at Borough Polytechnic) • 5. Girl with Roses • 6. Leaping into the Void • 7. Translating Life into Art: Bacon and Freud in the 50s • 8. Two Climbers Roped Together: Auerbach and Kossoff • 9. An Arena in Which to Act • 10. What Makes the Modern Home so Different? • 11. The Situation in London, 1960 • 12. The Artist Thinks: Hockney and his Contemporaries

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Book SynopsisAn updated and expanded third edition of the definitive book on Grayson Perry, bringing the reader right up to date with the work of the Turner Prize-winning artist.Trade Review'Clear, generous and insightful … In unravelling the mystique behind Perry, Klein shows why this unlikely artist is, in fact, most likely a national treasure' - Financial Times'Lavish … Jacky Klein leads us into the warped world of this crossdressing potter with a keen intellect and a sharp social insight' - The Times'A gorgeously splashy volume, spliced with sharp, sober commentary, and invaluable words from Perry himself' - World of Interiors'Many if not all of the answers to the many, many questions Grayson’s spellbindingly unique work throws up' - Proper Magazine'A sumptuous publication that covers just about every aspect of Perry’s work ... There are as many top-quality illustrations as you could wish for and the generous page size means you can examine everything in detail … this gorgeous volume has taught me to appreciate him even more than I hoped it would' - Artbookreview'A sumptuous production which, if you’re not already a fan of Perry’s work, should help to convert you. There are plenty of generously-sized images, and it has been updated to include recent work such as 'A House for Essex' from 2015' - The Artist'Lavishly illustrated … a key to the artist’s imagination, and a first-hand insight into his creative process' - Contemporary Lynx MagazineTable of ContentsIntroduction • Mapping the World of Grayson Perry • 1. Beginnings • 2. Pottery and Aesthetics • 3. Class • 4. War and Conflict • 5. Sex and Gender • 6. Religion and Folk Culture • 7. Inner Landscapes • 8. The Art World • 9. Pilgrimage • 10. A House for Essex • 11. Identifying Politics

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Book SynopsisA photographic voyage to the remote studios of Japanâs most fascinating and ingenious contemporary craftspeople.Trade Review'A catalogue of the kind of artisans not found anywhere else' - The Herald'Reveals the work of craftspeople across the country who create designs that are both beautiful and functional' - i newspaper'An outsider's view of centuries of tradition, expressed with skill and ingenuity by makers working today' - House & Garden

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Book SynopsisStephanie Straine is Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. She was previously Curator of Exhibitions and Projects at Modern Art Oxford and has worked at Tate Liverpool and The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh. She publishes widely on modern and contemporary art, with a focus on artists working with drawing.Table of ContentsIntroduction • Multiple Beginnings • Constructing an Abstract Vocabulary • Abstract Expressionism and its Legacies • Global Geometries • Minimal, Conceptual and Process Art • Abstraction in the Digital Age

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Book SynopsisA concise, accessible and up-to-date overview of the arts of Africa from prehistoric times to the present day. This indispensable introductory guide explores the art of the African continent from its early origins over 150,000 years ago to the contemporary, set in the context of post-colonial debates, the restitution of cultural objects and artefacts, and the challenges of the present. This enormous and complex field of study, once under-appreciated by the Western art world, is now of global importance and an essential subject of education in art history. For ease of reference and analysis, this indispensable guide is structured chronologically into manageable and meaningful chapters covering ancient art, the Middle Ages, travel and trade, encounters with Europe in the age of exploration, the colonial era, the rebuilding of the continent in recent times, and contemporary art. It addresses core, continent-wide themes in African visual and cultural expression, from the life-cycleTrade Review'Highly engaging, entertaining, and delightfully instructive … a must read for any of us seeking to explore the unique ways of seeing emerging from the continent to which each of us can trace our ancestry' - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'A visually stunning and long-overdue global historical treatment of African art from the entire continent. Its carefully curated images and daring insights take us into comparative realms that encourage greater familiarity with the many themes and changing character of African artistic expression over time. Brava!' - Dr. Candice Goucher, Professor Emerita of History, Washington State University'Suzanne Preston Blier highlights the extraordinary richness of Africa’s visual culture … I applaud the extraordinary artists and creativity featured here' - King Aderemi Adedapo (Yoruba, Nigeria); Convener General, Council of Traditional African Leaders'Blier’s breadth and depth of knowledge affords a timely introduction … at its heart are highpoints of the dazzling artistry that reflect unparalleled cultural dynamism that has flourished across the continent' - Alisa LaGamma, Pulitzer curator for Arts of Africa and Curator in Charge of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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Book SynopsisThe Lives of the SurrealistsUnlike the impressionists or the cubists, the surrealists did not obey a fixed visual code, but rather the rules of surrealist philosophy: work from the unconscious, letting your darkest, most irrational thoughts well up and shape your art. An artist himself, and contemporary of the later surrealists, Morris illuminates the considerable variation in each artist?s approach to this technique. While some were out-and-out surrealists in all they did, others lived more orthodox lives and only became surrealists at the easel or in the studio.Focusing on the thirty-two artists most closely associated with the surrealist movement, Morris lends context to their life histories with narratives of their idiosyncrasies and their often complex love lives, alongside photos of the artists and their work.Trade Review'A delight ... Morris writes with a pleasingly conversational tone and a dry humour and affection that undercuts the more preposterous behaviour described here … Juicy little nuggets litter the book' - The Times'Gossipy, waspish, biased, score-settling and very entertaining' - Literary Review'Uproariously funny … [Morris’s] anecdotes are all told with a dry but good-natured humour … these figures make for highly entertaining company' - The Spectator'An exceptionally lively, crisply written, independent-minded survey of one of the most bizarre groups of misfits who ever lived' - Mail on Sunday'A carnival of wackiness' - Big Issue'A compelling compendium of all the major players … page-turning … The book strikes the right balance between recognizing the artistic achievements of the milieu, as well as their colourful personal lives' - ArtnetTable of ContentsForeword Introduction Eileen Agar Jean (Hans) Arp Francis Bacon Hans Bellmer Victor Brauner André Breton Alexander Calder Leonora Carrington Giorgio de Chirico Salvador Dalí Paul Delvaux Marcel Duchamp Max Ernst Leonor Fini Wilhelm Freddie Alberto Giacometti Arshile Gorky Wifredo Lam Conroy Maddox René Magritte André Masson Roberto Matta Edouard Mesens Joan Miró Meret Oppenheim Wolfgang Paalen Roland Penrose Pablo Picasso Man Ray Yves Tanguy Dorothea Tanning Major Surrealist Group Exhibitions

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Book SynopsisThe natural Japanese affinity for decorative art is apparent in this striking collection of 104 exquisite stencil designs, reproduced from a rare 19th-century publication. Motifs depict among other subjects lush florals, bamboo branches, birds on the wing, and rustic country homes. Captions identify the patterns.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating new accountof the work and lives ofBritain?s women artists inthe twentieth century.Trade Review'A wonderfully rich panorama of creative lives, by turns elegiac and celebratory. Truthful, practical and open-minded, Trant’s book points us in new directions' - Alexandra Harris'Offers a powerful and important corrective to historical accounts that continue to draw on the same small pool of participants ... It was a pleasure to discover for the first time so many women artists overdue serious attention' - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisA brand-new perspective on early modern art and its relationship with nature as reflected in this moving account of overlooked artistic genius Adam Elsheimer, by an outstanding writer and critic. Seventeenth-century Europe swirled with conjectures and debates over what was real and what constituted 'nature', currents that would soon gather force to form modern science. Natural Light deliberates on the eraâs uncertainties, as distilled in the work of painter Adam Elsheimer â a short-lived, tragic German artist who has always been something of a cult secret. Elsheimerâs diminutive, intense and mysterious narrative compositions related figures to landscape in new ways, projecting unfamiliar visions of space at a time when Caravaggio was polarizing audiences with his radical altarpieces and circles of ânatural philosophersâ â early modern scientists â were starting to turn to the new âworld systemâ of Galileo. Julian Bell transports us to the spirited Rome of the 1600s, where ElsheTrade Review'Beautiful. . . . The gentle play with the size of pictures, when so much in Elsheimer depends on size, is especially touching. The book speaks eloquently to Elsheimer’s new pictorial world' - TJ Clark'Julian Bell writes on painting as a painter himself, whose intense feel for light mirrors that of Adam Elsheimer, a German painter drawn to Italy in the age of Caravaggio and Galileo. Bell turns over Elsheimer’s little paintings like objects in amber to reveal their secrets, gently mapping intricate yet ultimately world-spanning webs of artistic allusion and scientific insight. A wunderkammer' - Jonathan Jones'Marvellous, engrossing and illuminating … Natural Light is as light and natural as its subject warrants, a ‘mysterious journey’ on which we will encounter wondrous sights and uncover troves of treasure. It’s even funny in places' - Observer'This is a book as rich in ideas as Elsheimer’s art. Rubens, in a eulogy to his friend, felt Elsheimer’s death to be a loss at which ‘our whole profession should clothe itself in mourning’, and this impressively scholarly and sympathetically intuitive book shows that he was not exaggerating. Bell has brought him back into the light' - Literary Review'Engrossing... Elsheimer's works, little only in size, unlocked new possibilities for art at a time when contemporary astronomy unlocked the heavens... Mr. Bell’s incandescent prose offers a perfect verbal analogue for Elsheimer’s hushed intensity; it has a tactile, prehensile quality, as if the words had formed themselves in the writer’s mind and then taken on a life of their own before he found the time to stick them in a sentence' - The Wall Street Journal'Bell explores the rich and significant detail, particularly botanical and astronomical, with Elsheimer’s pictures, in spite of their size, and takes us down the paths of his relationships to the art and science of his time' - RA Magazine'This study does discerning justice to [Adam Elsheimer's] achievement. Bell’s focus is not just on Elsheimer’s registering of natural details, as the title suggests, but also on his evocation of the supernatural - never richer than in his final masterpiece, "The Flight Into Egypt", with its miraculous interfusing of homeliness and immensity' - The New Yorker'Art historian Bell has produced a fascinating, meticulous book about a painter of whom a contemporary once said “grasped Nature’s spirit and essence”' - The Oldie

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Book SynopsisA compelling and lively history that examines the lives of British artists from the late-19th century to today. In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the long twentieth century', from the closing years of Queen Victoria's reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistler's defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson's melting icebergs in LoTrade Review'This is Tomorrow is the work of an undercover agent – one who has bravely realigned the familiar legacies of British twentieth-century art. Thrilling accounts, forensically investigated, offer behind-the-scenes revelations of artists’ lives, as to how the complexities of the twentieth century impacted on who they were, where they came from, how they thought, worked and lived – it is a fast-moving and compelling read' - Dame Phyllida Barlow'An exhilarating insight into a whole wealth of artists who shaped Britain in the twentieth century' - Katy Hessel, @thegreatwomenartists and author of 'The Story of Art Without Men''Bird writes beautifully, researches heftily and thinks creatively around his subject. He makes us look at familiar things anew by his descriptions... It’s a brilliant book, by far the best survey of a period that I’ve read in years' - Andrew Lambirth, The Spectator'A timely update of the story of British art, packed with contextual material and photographs … Mr Bird gives voice to artists previously sidelined in such historical overviews: Sir Frank Bowling, Lubaina Himid, Mary Kelly, John Latham, Phyllida Barlow…. Mr Bird’s evocative prose keeps us turning the pages, from his immersive introductions that take us back to key moments in history to his pithy descriptions' - Charlotte Mullins, Country Life'An enjoyable book, one which will entertain and inform even those who consider themselves well versed in this country’s art history. Bird also writes with a witty verve' - Country & Townhouse Magazine'[Michael Bird’s] pithy analysis touches upon socio-political trends, reflecting how people in Britain experienced an unprecedented pace of change, in culture and society, politics, technology and many other fields' - The Art Newspaper'Bird has fantastic access to the stories, anecdotes, and personal recollections of those who were actually there. He threads together an incredible network of artists, gallerists, designers, socialites and more, bringing a hundred years of history to life' - Elephant'Bird’s sinuous narrative calls up the texture of history, constructing art less as something shaped by events than as something that eddies its way through and around them' - Times Literary Supplement'By exploring the ways in which their work was influenced by class, injustice and war, [Bird] also offers a creative-tinged history of the wider forces that buffeted the nation – from the end of the Victorian era through to the heyday of the Young British Artists' - BBC History Revealed Magazine'Beautifully produced and elegantly written' - The Critic'This is a story that unrolls the narrative of a whole century, and Michael conjures up in words all the pictures you’ll need. It’s a heck of a journey' - artbookreview.com'Bird's authoritative survey is thoroughly and engagingly preoccupied with the 'nature of art's potential contribution to the cause of social progress' - Shelf AwarenessTable of ContentsIntroduction: a moving train 1. Fireworks 2. Pushed by surroundings 3. Kimonos on the Clyde 4. Shadows in my room 5. Who’s afraid of the avant-garde? 6. Primitive mercenaries 7. A chamber of horrors 8. White walls and sandals 9. Deep Britain 10. Storm and progress 11. Curious liberty 12. A different kind of life 13. Cold War modern 14. Tomorrow today 15. Glorious Technicolor 16. Act now 17. The longest revolution 18. We will be 19. Shark pool 20. Inside stories 21. The silence of mirrors

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Book SynopsisNicholas Thomas is Professor of Historical Anthropology, University of Cambridge. Among his previous books are Oceanic Art in the World of Art series and Islanders: the Pacific in the Age of Empire, which won the Wolfson History Prize in 2010.Table of ContentsIntroduction – What is ‘body art’? • 1. Humanity • 2. Society • 3. Theatricality • 4. Beauty • 5. Criminality • 6. Identity • Afterword

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisLeading art critic and writer Richard Cork tells the stories of his personal encounters with some of the world's most influential modern and contemporary artists. Richard Cork draws on his impeccable skills as a critic and writer to tell the story of his encounters with some of the world's most influential artists. Through a series of frank interviews, some scheduled, others serendipitous, he uncovers artists' inner thoughts, anxieties and creative ambitions, to reveal the personalities behind the art. From individuals who are able to look back over a lifetime's work, such as Louise Bourgeois, Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns, to young artists encountered at the beginning of their careers, including Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, from a drive through the Yorkshire countryside with David Hockney to a tour of Soho drinking establishments with Francis Bacon, alongside remarkably insightful encounters with artists as varied as Gerhard Richter, Doris Salcedo, Sonia Boyce, Luc Tuymans Table of ContentsForeword by Cornelia Parker Introduction Pablo Picasso Henry Moore Francis Bacon Louise Bourgeois Lucian Freud Helen Frankenthaler Roy Lichtenstein Anthony Caro Ian Hamilton Finlay Jasper Johns Bridget Riley Gerhard Richter Howard Hodgkin Bettina Pousttchi Frank Stella David Hockney James Turrell Rebecca Horn and Masanori Handa Gilbert & George Richard Long Rachel Whiteread Antony Gormley Anish Kapoor Doris Salcedo Luc Tuymans Langlands and Bell Damien Hirst Jenny Saville Tracey Emin Sarah Lucas Jake and Dinos Chapman Sam Taylor-Wood Steve McQueen Annette Messager Claes Oldenburg Tony Cragg Frank Auerbach and Lucian Freud Eva Rothschild Cornelia Parker Sonia Boyce

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Book SynopsisThe significance of Hannah Ryggen (18941970) as one of the most important figures in the history of Scandinavian art has only recently been recognized internationally. Beloved and renowned for her original contributions to modernist tapestry, Ryggen made radical political statements against Fascism and Nazism before and during the Second World War. Using primary sources, Ryggen expert Marit Paasche brings us a much fuller knowledge of the artist, weaving her life and work into a story that illuminates not only the artist herself, but also 20th-century art history in general. Hannah Ryggen's visually spellbinding tapestries, made on a homemade handloom in her small farm on the remote Norwegian coast, depict a wealth of subjects: Mussolini's Abyssinian campaign, her husband's internment in a Nazi camp in occupied Norway, the post-war growth of nuclear power, and media coverage of the Vietnam War. At once hard-hitting and humorous, her works combine personal candour, social and political engagement and visual majesty. Paasche explores both the artist's bold subject matter and particular balance of abstraction and figuration within the context of her life and beliefs. Including a comprehensive selection of works, this book provides an enthralling account of a remarkable, and unjustly overlooked, artist.Trade Review'‘Sumptuously illustrated … Marit Paasche unfolds her exceptional research into the unique art and passionate, courageous life of the pioneering tapestry-maker and weaver of stories' - Times Literary Supplement, Marina Warner’s Books of the Year'A timely biography of a woman who is once again regarded as a major artist. This is an excellent book for those interested in how artists' lives and times influence their art choices and for young artists interrogating art as social commentary. . . . Summing Up: Essential. All readers' - Choice'Establishes Ryggen as a model of artistic and political engagement' - Best Art Books of 2019, New York Times'Crackles with Ryggen’s idiosyncratic voice … indispensable to art historians and general readers alike' - Woman's Art Journal

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Book SynopsisAn absorbing group biography revealing how exiles from war-torn France brought Surrealism to America, helping to shift the centre of the art world from Paris to New York and spark the movement that became Abstract Expressionism. In 1957 the American artist Robert Motherwell made an unexpected claim: âI have only known two painting milieus well â the Parisian Surrealists, with whom I began painting seriously in New York in 1940, and the native movement that has come to be known as âœabstract expressionismâ, but which genetically would have been more properly called âœabstract surrealismâ.â Motherwellâs bold assertion, that Abstract Expressionism was neither new nor local, but born of a brief liaison between America and France, verged on the controversial. Surrealists in New York tells the story of this âliaisonâ and the European exiles who bought Surrealism with them â an artistic exchange between the Old World and the New â centring on taciturn printmaker Stanley William Hayter anTrade Review'I couldn’t believe the book hadn’t been written' - Robert Storr, art historian and ex-MoMA curator'Charles Darwent’s Surrealists in New York shows that Surrealism, not Expressionism, was the European mode that was truly abstracted in New York ... Darwent’s book … tells the real story' - Literary Review'It is a bold claim that the most influential abstract expressionist was an English geologist, but one he [Darwent] proves persuasively, using detail laced with drollness' - Sunday Times'A very readable and accessible account of a hitherto unexplored area of mainstream art history ... an important book on two counts: for its welcome reassessment of Hayter, and for the light it sheds on the links between the Surrealists and the Abstract Expressionists. Certainly it subtly alters the landscape of modern American art. Darwent writes authoritatively, marshalling a wide range of entertaining anecdotes and quotations to sustain his thesis' - The Spectator'Diverting' - World of Interiors'Absorbing … Drawing on first-hand documents, interviews and archive materials, Charles Darwent brings to life the events and personalities from this crucial encounter. In so doing, he reveals a fascinating new perspective on the history of the art of the twentieth century' - .Cent'Ambitious … [Darwent’s] account contributes significant biographical detail to the downtown network that saw mid-war Manhattan supersede Paris as the artworld capital … His consistently engaging narrative paints a fuller portrait of the conversations that propelled some of the seismic shifts in canonical modern art: from automatism to formalism, Surrealism to abstraction, Paris to New York' - Art Review'This admirably lucid and carefully researched book makes a compelling case for Hayter’s role in the revolution that took place in American painting during the 1940s. It is also a stark reminder that art history remains a work in progress' - The Art Newspaper'Eight gripping chapters, across 180 pages, uncovers a largely hitherto unexplored epoch; the tail-end of French Surrealism, merging with the beginnings of American Abstract Expressionism' - Printmaking Today'Well-researched and richly illustrated … [Darwent] provides a fascinating insight into the New York art scene in the 1940s' - British Museum Magazine

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Book SynopsisThis introduction to the art of California focuses on the distinctive role the state played in the history of American art, from early twentieth-century photography and Chicanx mural painting to the fiber art movement and beyond. Shaped by a compelling network of geopolitical influences?including waves of migration and exchange from the Pacific Rim and Mexico, the influx of African Americans immediately after World War II, and global immigration after quotas were lifted in the 1960s?California is a center of artistic activity whose influence extends far beyond its physical boundaries. Including work by artists Yun Gee, Helen Lundeberg, Henry Taylor, Richard Diebenkorn, Albert Bierstadt, Chiura Obata, and Judith Baca, among many others, art historian Jenni Sorkin tells California?s story as a place at the forefront of radical developments in artistic culture.Art in CaliforniaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Picturing Identity in Landscape 2. Los Tres Grandes in California: Establishing a Mural Tradition 3. Abstraction as a Framework, 1945–1965 4. Art as Power: Social Movements and Aesthetic Politics, 1968–1978 5. The “isms” Go to School: Conceptualism, Feminism, Post-Modernism 6. Spaces and Places: the Alternative Space Movement and the Marketplace 7. Disaster Fueling Culture: the 1990s and 2000s 8. Biennialism

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Book SynopsisA noted photohistorian documents bonnets, capes, frock coats, caps, shawls, bodices, and crinolines as people actually wore them from 1840 through 1914. More than 200 photos depict aristocrats and the middle class as well as Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Winston Churchill, Queen Victoria, and others. Commentary and annotations describe and identify the costumes.

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Book SynopsisA celebration of Ukraineâs rich cultural heritage, drawing on over 100 of the countryâs most important works of art and architectural monuments from prehistory to the present. Showcasing more than one hundred objects and buildings â from Byzantine icons and wooden churches to gold-domed cathedrals, folk art, and avant-garde masterpieces â Treasures of Ukraine chronicles the rich arts and heritage of a country currently facing destruction and devastation. The significance of the pieces is explained by renowned artists, curators, and critics, revealing the nationâs complex history and its impact on the present. From the development of ancient cultures like Trypillia and Scythia to early states such as Kyivan Rus and the Cossack Hetmanate, to the dawn of Modernism and the striking contemporary paintings and political artworks being produced today, Treasures of Ukraine reminds us that art and monuments represent powerful sources of collective memory and identity. All proceeds will Trade Review'Timely and poignant … perfectly chronicles and captures the rich artistic and cultural heritage of a country facing destruction and devastation. A forceful reminder of the importance of art and monuments as powerful sources of collective memory and identity' - Luxury London'Impactful' - Citizen Femme'Current events have taught us a great deal about Ukraine. We have all become aware that it has an entirely distinct identity from Russia – historically, socially and also artistically, as TREASURES OF UKRAINE makes clear … This handsomely illustrated volume demonstrates that there is a great deal to see there, which one hopes will still exist when the war is over' - Martin Gayford, The Spectator'A timely reminder of how much is at stake in the ongoing war with Russia ... Features a broad range of Ukrainian art ... Much of Ukraine's art is tied to religion ... but as this book shows, Ukraine is no stranger to Modernism, Art Nouveau or the Avant-garde' - NPR'A corrective to Putin's version of history, in which Ukraine has been nothing more than a part of Russia... Introduced by the novelist Andrey Kurkov, the book features eight Ukrainian academics, curators and art critics writing about works of art created inhabitants of the region, from Scythian stone stelae of the 6th century B.C. to recent videos made by graduates of the National University of Cinema in Kyiv' - The Washington Post'This gorgeous book documents the history of Ukrainian art and culture through more than 220 photographs of the country’s religious buildings, masterpieces, architectural monuments, and more' - The Washingtonian'Timely and attractive … With this fairly compact book covering such a long sweep of history, the texts on each specific subject are brief, but offer enough information to give an easily comprehensible introduction to a period and a flavour of some of Ukraine’s diverse cultural riches, from Scythian stone figures and medieval castles to experimental theatre and New Brutalism, showcased by abundant illustrations' - Minerva'With chapters on Orthodox icons and Catholic cathedrals, Soviet avant-gardism and nationalist folk crafts, this book illustrates a culture whose very diversity now puts it in danger' - New York Times'Engaging and enlightening... Tells Ukraine’s broader history through a survey of its art' - New York Journal of Books'Stunning … a rich, rewarding and ultimately moving celebration of the country’s long history' - All About History'A corrective to the destruction of war … highly readable' - Studio international'An utterly exceptional edition that reveals a panoramic representation of Ukrainian art within the intricate fabric of European culture' - ChytomoTable of ContentsIntroduction: Andrey Kurkov Map of Ukraine 1. Pre-history to Early History Andriy Puchkov 2. Kyivan Rus Christian A. Raffensperger 3. The Lithuanian–Ruthenian State Diana Klochko 4. The Ukrainian Baroque Era Maksym Yaremenko 5. The Nineteenth Century and the Fin-de-Siecle Alisa Lozhkina 6. Avant-Garde Art and Theatre Myroslava M. Mudrak 7. Soviet Rule, the Ukrainian SSR and Non-conformist Art Oleksandr Soloviev 8. Postmodern and Contemporary Art Victoria Burlaka Appendix: Folk arts Alisa Lozhkina Timeline of Ukrainian History

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Book SynopsisThe first ever comprehensive, transnational survey of the major movements and practitioners of recent art from central and eastern Europe.Table of ContentsIntroduction • 1. 1950s: Competing Paths to a Higher Form of Realism • 2. 1960s: Gestures of Liberation • 3. 1970s: Practising Impossible Art • 4. 1980s: Excesses of Non-Conformity • 5. 1990s: Critical Exposures • 6. 2000s: Radical Recollections of the Global Transitioners • 7. 2010s: Sculpting Uncertainty • Conclusion

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