Individual artists, art monographs Books

Book SynopsisFew artists are able to work successfully on both large and small scales, but throughout his career Calder brilliantly moved from the miniature to the monumental and back again. This publication focuses on the enormous stabiles he created mostly for public places, as well as his elegant hanging mobiles in sheet metal, miniature standing mobiles, and chess sets, shedding light on the social and performative aspects of his work. Essays explore how Calder approached the effects of kinetics and space, solidity and transparency, stasis and activity, volume and void. The book also looks at how Calder’s small-scale sculptures echoed the public spectacle of his larger pieces, creating a “private drama” that encouraged direct participation. Whatever the size, Calder’s works employed movement and interaction in unpredictable ways, and this enlightening book helps readers appreciate the important continuity of his oeuvre.

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Book SynopsisIn Kyffin Williams’ centenary year, this monograph examines the life and work of an artist who, over six decades from Slade student to Royal Academician to knighthood, achieved both success and remarkable popular appeal.Best known for his rendering of the Welsh landscape, Williams conjured the mountains of Snowdonia with an instinct that stemmed from knowing every inch of the terrain since boyhood. Yet he was primarily conditioned by a European aesthetic. His espousal of a bold and thickly impasto painting-knife technique, using characteristic close tones, owes much to the affinity he perceived with Vincent van Gogh, but also with the French-Russian Nicolas de Staël, whose canvases he greatly admired.Williams’ own passionate commitment to his craft and a restlessly creative make-up meant that his output was prolific across different media and genres. Indeed, his portraiture was regarded as highly as his landscapes. Featuring some of the finest examples of an impressive oeuvre, this book – scholarly robust and visually enticing – is essential reading for all those who appreciate the importance of this gifted British painter.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Chapter 1: Inheriting Landscape; Chapter 2: Studying at the Slade; Chapter 3: The Alchemy of Oils; Chapter 4: European Horizons; Chapter 5: Truth and Interpretation; Chapter 6: The Continuing Excitement of Paint; Chapter 7: A Lasting Legacy; Epilogue; Chronology; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1883 Paul Gauguin abandons his prominent banking career and decides that »from now on I will pai nt every day«. The co - founder of Synthetism and trailblazer of Expressionism turns his back on the bourgeois world, leaves his wife and children, and, in 1891, sets out for the South Sea, financing his journey through the sale of thirty paintings. His thou ghts on art, his existential worries, his discovery of color and his search for paradise come to life again in the excerpts from his letters and statements compiled in this volume. Together with some forty color reproductions of his works, his biography, a nd a preface by an expert, the book introduces readers in a very special way to Gauguin’s universe.

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Book SynopsisChiura Obata, a gifted Japanese-born artist from California, made his first trip to Yosemite in 1927. The trip left a lasting impression in a remarkable collection of sketches, postcards, and letters. This volume includes 80 full-color reproductions of Obata’s pencil sketches, watercolor paintings, and day-by-day narratives woven through his correspondences. Named one of the “Best Fifty books of 1993? by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the book is a unique and beautiful presentation of personal artistic experience.

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Book SynopsisAn overview of the art of Stanislav Szukalski, now the focus of a major Netflix documentary.

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Book Synopsis“I was thrilled”, was Andy Warhol’s enthusiastic reaction to the pictures of Florine Stettheimer (1871–1944). Many of the elements of her work inspired his Pop Art. During Stettheimer’s life her sensuous and ironic paintings with their numerous figures were valued highly by artists and curators, although the general public remained largely unaware of their merits. Only after her death did her close friend Marcel Duchamp organise a retrospective in the Museum of Modern Art. The art and literature scene of Roaring Twenties New York gathered at Florine Stettheimer’s extravagant parties. Surrounded by the cultivated and yet unconventional “Dada flair”, the artist staged her pictures as a performance – and was thereby well ahead of her time. As an outstanding painter she was not only at the heart of the American art business, but also attracted attention with her eccentric, subversive and often humorous poems, as well as demonstrating her talent as a stage and costume designer in the theatre. This bibliophile monograph about the multitalented artist is lavishly illustrated and tells a new, exciting history of the modern age through her artworks.Trade Review“Three decades after the publication of her dissertation, Bloemink is again making the case for Stettheimer as a fascinating, and crucial, figure of art history, one deserving a place in the pantheon of American modernists.” * Vogue *“In her thrilling new book Florine Stettheimer: A Biography (Hirmer), art historian Barbara Bloemink persuasively argues that, with this painting, Stettheimer was trying to find a visual way of communicating her élan...Truer words may never have been written about Stettheimer." * ArtNews *

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Book SynopsisA prolifically creative artistic polymath, American artist Amy Sillman (b.1955) works in drawing, zines, iPhone videos, installation, collaboration, teaching and curating, but painting has remained always at the very heart of her practice. This comprehensive monograph covers two decades of production, from the late-1990s to the present. Valerie Smith’s text reveals Sillman’s uniquely time-based approach to painting, influenced and inflected as much by filmmakers and musicians and the processes of her other chosen disciplines as by strictly art-historical forebears. Sillman’s works perform an intensive cognitive and gestural interrogation of her chosen materials: discovering, undoing and reforming trains of painterly thought, often over long periods of time and across large numbers of linked works. Sillman’s painting emerges as a radically expressive force; a pointedly self-reflexive practice that reformulates contemporary painting as an ever-evolving continuum and never simply a finished work. Trade Review‘Amy Sillman is one of the most important, inventive, and intelligent painters of our time. This book offers a cogent yet probing introduction to her life and work. If you’re already a fan, you’ll learn more. If you don’t know her work yet, welcome to its rigorous, rabble-rousing, often ravishing ride.’ - Maggie Nelson‘Amy Sillman is among a handful of painters whose work is essential for our time. Her paintings are formally astute, witty, anecdotal, and deeply felt. Valerie Smith has done an excellent job of documenting Sillman’s circuitous evolution, focusing our attention on the ways in which the artist’s multi-faceted interests are embedded in her paintings.’ – David Salle

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Book SynopsisAmerican artist Glenn Ligon (b. 1960) is best known for his landmark text-based paintings, which draw on the influential writings and speeches of twentieth-century historical and cultural figures including James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston and Gertrude Stein. This catalogue accompanies a major exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, in which Ligon's art will be displayed in dialogue with objects from the Fitzwilliam and Trinity College collections selected by the artist himself. Glenn Ligon is widely considered one of the most important figures in the contemporary art world. Informed by his experiences as an African American living in New York, his art is a sustained meditation on issues of interpretation through translation and quotation, the role of the past in the present, and the representation of the self in relation to culture and history, both as the conceptual underpinning and as a critique of modern society. His text-based paintings, made since the late 1980s, engage provocatively and incisively with the written and oral legacy of writers and cultural icons, from Ralph Ellison to Richard Pryor, highlighting the social, linguistic and political constructions of race, gender and sexuality. The catalogue accompanies a major exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, while also serving as an introduction to the artist's oeuvre. A large-scale neon, Waiting for the Barbarians (2021), will be installed in the museum's grade-I listed portico and two dedicated galleries will be linked by interventions threaded throughout the museum's permanent collection, in which the artist has been invited to select artworks and objects following themes including annotation, cultural hybridity and legibility. By exploring Ligon's curatorial practice alongside his artworks, the exhibition showcases the ideas of one of the most significant Black artists working today in direct dialogue with museological tradition. Issues such as art making and aesthetics, as well as broader questions about race and its socio-political implications, will be further developed in the catalogue, which includes a series of essays and conversations between Ligon and a range of museum curators.

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Book SynopsisJames Tower (1919-1988) is best known for his elegant forms in glazed earthenware. During a career spanning four decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s, he worked unceasingly in a wide variety of media to achieve an elusive harmony of shape and surface, form and decoration, inert material and active design. His personal understanding of the purpose and meaning of abstraction embodies a perpetual dialogue between the visible world and the unseen dynamics which shape it. This centenary volume of essays considers Tower's entire output from a wide variety of perspectives, embracing paintings and drawings, as well as sculpture in bronze, terracotta and fibreglass. The contributions of leading critics and historians approach his work, situated at the junction of art, craft and design, in a broad historical and cultural context, illuminating key episodes in postwar British art, and Tower's unique place within it.

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Book SynopsisHirst takes inspiration from the corporeal practice of the Abstract Expressionists in his latest paintingsJust as Jackson Pollock once said ?I am nature,? Damien Hirst (born 1965) sets out to ?use the nature in me,? tapping into both artistic expression and innate wildness. Reverence, Revelation, Devotion is a new large-format hardback publication showcasing the complete works from three new series of paintings: the Reverence Paintings, The Revelations and The Devotions. Hirst worked on several paintings at once, applying layers to the canvases simultaneously. The result is a series of gestural, abstract paintings produced through intuition and impulsiveness. The works in each series are both mechanical and naturalistic, by which Hirst explores the possibility of ?a person trying to paint like a machine.? Featuring nearly 200 full-color reproductions of the 144 artworks, the book includes an essay by British writer and art critic Jonathan Griffin, in which he compares these series to the work of Agnes Martin, Louise Bourgeois and Robert Ryman.

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Book SynopsisGérald Genta is a substantial monograph that explores, for the first time, a lesser-known artistic side to the internationally acclaimed Swiss watchmaker. Aptly named the Picasso of Timepieces', Genta was also a passionate painter, a facet of his life often overshadowed by his watchmaking fame. This beautifully crafted book, created in collaboration with his estate, showcases the breadth of Genta's artistic talents, revealing his true passion and creativity.As his wife Evelyne fondly recalls, painting was Genta's oxygen', a constant companion throughout his travels and a true reflection of his inner drive. This collection provides a chronological journey through his works, illustrating the effortless unfolding of the figurative compositions into the abstract style of his painterly work. His work reflects a rich tapestry of art historical influences, including the work of Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Marie Laurencin, Joan Miró and Amedeo Modigliani, providing a fresh perspective on his creative output.Perfect for art enthusiasts and collectors, this monograph offers a unique opportunity to delve into the lesser-known artistic legacy of Gérald Genta, a master who left an indelible mark on both the watchmaking and art worlds.

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Book SynopsisUniversally regarded as the father of French painting, Nicolas Poussin is arguably the greatest of all painters of that school. Yet Poussin's reputation has been founded more on the intellectual and philosophical qualities of his art than its sheer visual beauty. In Poussin as a Painter: From Classicism to Abstraction, Richard Verdi redresses the balance, describing and analyzing Poussin's outstanding gifts as a pictorial storyteller, designer and colourist - in short, on the purely aesthetic (and often abstract) aspects of his art that have inspired so many later painters, from Cezanne to Picasso. The book features more than 220 fine illustrations, the majority in colour, and encompasses all aspects of Poussin's art from the mid 1620s to his death in 1665. This ground-breaking study gives new insight into Poussin, and is essential reading for all who admire this seminal French painter.Trade Review'Poussin as a Painter traces in detail Poussin's evolving approaches to painting through invention, composition and colour, showing how they combine to make his best works both unified and unalterable. By careful forensic analysis of each composition, the author reveals how Poussin's rigour and discipline forge unity from diversity, and then demonstrates how widely these principles have influenced later painters.'-Paul Spencer-Longhurst, Editor, Richard Wilson Online, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

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Book SynopsisStan Lee invented SPIDER-MAN! And IRON MAN! And the HULK! And the X-MEN! And more than 500 other iconic characters! His name has appeared on more than a billion comic books, in 75 countries, in 25 languages. His creations have starred in multibillion-dollar grossing movies and TV series. This is his story. Danny Fingeroth writes a comprehensive biography of this powerhouse of ideas who changed the world’s understanding of what a hero is and how a story should be told, while exploring Lee's unique path to becoming the face of comics.  With behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with Stan’s brother Larry Lieber and other industry legends, The Marvelous Life has insights that only an insider like Fingeroth can offer.  Fingeroth, himself a longtime writer and editor at Marvel Comics and now a lauded pop culture critic and historian, knew and worked with Stan Lee for over three

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Book SynopsisDanish artist Michael Kvium, born 1955, works in painting, prints, drawing and watercolour, and sculpture, as well as performance and stage design. His paintings and graphic works often resemble comic strip art or extensions of 17th-century Baroque paintings, depicting the more negative aspects of Western culture. Motifs include grotesque monsters, half man half woman, sometimes approaching self-portraits. He is expressing himself in a personal world of images. His works seem familiar, making the viewer smile at one time and causing disgust at another, yet in their strange way all sharing this familiarity. Kvium defines and expresses his wholly personal and unflinching understanding of powerful human presence in an area unexplored by others. This first comprehensive monograph takes the reader through Kvium's entire career since his beginnings in the 1980s. It reveals the various lines in his work from early experiments as a young artist in the world of bikers to an outspoken critic of our current Western society.

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Book SynopsisA bird-monster devouring sinners, naked bodies in tantric contortions, a pair of ears brandishing a sharpened blade: with just 20 paintings and nine drawings to his name, Netherlandish visionary Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516) secured his place as a pillar of art history. To this day, the painter par excellence of hell and its demons continues to puzzle and enthrall scholars, artists, designers, and musicians alike.Based on the best-selling XXL edition, which saw TASCHEN commission new and exclusive photography of details and recently restored works, this large-scale monograph presents Bosch’s complete oeuvre. Texts from art historian and Bosch expert Stefan Fischer dissect the many compelling elements that populate each scene, from hybrid creatures of man and beast to Bosch’s pictorial use of proverbs and idioms. By tying together the elusive threads of his oeuvre into one exhaustive overview, this book reveals just what it was about Bosch and his painting that proved so immensely influential. Features: Impeccable full-page reproductions celebrating the artist’s staggering compositional scope Enlarged details unveiling the most intricate and bizarre scenes as much as the unsuspected technical minutiae, from subtle brush-strokes to the grain of the canvas A fold-out spread drawn from the legendary Last Judgement A special chapter focusing on Bosch’s most famous work, the mesmerizing and terrifying triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights Trade Review“Superb color reproductions and numerous details allow us to examine Bosch’s fantastic imagery with a clarity seldom possible, even in a museum gallery.” * The Burlington Magazine *“Bosch in breathtakingly unearthly depth of field.” * Die Welt *

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Book SynopsisA FLAME TREE SKETCHBOOK. Beautiful and luxurious, the sketchbooks combine high-quality production with magnificent art. Perfect as a gift, the thick paper stock makes them ideal for sketching and drawing. Features a wide range of well-known and modern artists, with new artworks published throughout the year. BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED. The highly crafted covers are printed on foil paper, embossed then foil stamped, complemented by the luxury binding and bookmark ribbons. The covers are created by our artists and designers who spend many hours transforming original artwork into gorgeous 3d masterpieces that feel good in the hand, and look wonderful on a desk or table. THE ARTIST. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous centre for botanical and mycological knowledge. Kew has a gallery dedicated to the paintings of the remarkable Victorian artist Marianne North, who had a great eye for botanical detail. She set out in 1871 on a painterly progress through world flora. North’s journey to South Africa was among her last, along with trips to the Seychelles and Chile. THE FINAL WORD. As William Morris said, "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

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Book SynopsisAlexandra Lapierre is a novelist and biographer. Her book, Fanny Stevenson, won Grand Prix Litteraire des Lectrices de Elle. She currently lives in Rome.

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Book SynopsisIn his Lives of the Artists of the Italian Renaissance, Vasari demonstrated a literary talent that outshone even his outstanding abilities as a painter and architect.Through character sketches and anecdotes he depicts Piero di Cosimo shut away in his derelict house, living only to paint; Giulio Romano''s startling painting of Jove striking down the giants; and his friend Francesco Salviati, whose biography also tells us much about Vasari''s own early career. Vasari''s original and soaring vision plus his acute aesthetic judgements have made him one of the most influential art historians of all time.Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Lives:Part OneNicola and Giovanni PisanoDuccio di BuoninsegnaPart TwoLuca della RobbiaMichelozzo MichelozziAndrea del Castagno and Domenico VenezianoJacopo, Giovanni, and Gentile BelliniAntonio and Piero PollaiuoloPart ThreePiero di CosimoFra Bartolommeo of San MarcoAndrea del SartoGiovanni Battista RossoFrancesco Mazzuoli (Parmigianino)Jacopo Palma and Lorenzo LottoGiulio RomanoJacopo PontormoFrancesco SalviatiJacopo SansovinoNotes on the ArtistsFurther Reading

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Book SynopsisSuperb...Gopnik persuasively assembles his case over the course of this mesmerising book, which is as much art history and philosophy as it is biography Kathryn Hughes, The GuardianWhen critics attacked Andy Warhol''s Marilyn paintings as shallow, the Pop artist was happy to present himself as shallower still: He claimed that he silkscreened to avoid the hard work of painting, although he was actually a meticulous workaholic; in interviews he presented himself as a silly naïf when in private he was the canniest of sophisticates. Blake Gopnik''s definitive biography digs deep into the contradictions and radical genius that led Andy Warhol to revolutionise our cultural world.Based on years of archival research and on interviews with hundreds of Warhol''s surviving friends, lovers and enemies, Warhol traces the artist''s path from his origins as the impoverished son of Eastern European immigrants in 1930s Pittsburgh, through his early succeTrade ReviewJohn Lennon and I once hid from Andy in a closet at the Sherry-Netherland hotel. I wish I'd known him better. This fantastic new biography makes me feel that I do. It really reveals the man - and the genius - under that silver wig. * Elton John *Superb...Gopnik persuasively assembles his case over the course of this mesmerising book, which is as much art history and philosophy as it is biography -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *A major biography based on hundreds of interviews, which considers the artist as a symbol of gay achievement and explodes the myth of his asexuality. * Guardian *Monumental... rollicking... a formidable achievement -- Mick Brown * The Telegraph *Gripping * The Daily Mail *Full of irresistible titbits...Gopnik leaves us little doubt of the significance of Warhol at his best: the links between serial production in his Pop paintings and minimal avant-garde music; the Death & Disaster series identifying tragedy as a new form of mass entertainment; voyeuristic films occluding the line between art and life; portraits that presented America's elite like a range of luxury goods. To borrow a favourite Warholism: Wow. -- Hettie Judah * i newspaper *Gopnik's exhaustive but stylishly written and entertaining account is Warholian in the best sense-raptly engaged, colorful, open-minded, and slyly ironic. ("He had become his own Duchampian urinal, worth looking at only because the artist in him had said he was.") Warhol fans and pop art enthusiasts alike will find this an endlessly engrossing portrait * Publisher's Weekly *Serves up fresh details about almost every aspect of Warhol's life in an immensely enjoyable book that blends snappy writing with careful exegeses of the artist's influences and techniques...a fascinating, major work that will spark endless debates. * Kirkus Reviews *Blake Gopnik's incisive, richly detailed bio puts you in Andy's inner circle and sanctum from beginning to end. It breaks down how, for decades, Andy strategically defined the pop culture zeitgeist as the world's most renowned artist -- Fab 5 Freddy, graffiti and hip-hop pioneerAn excellent inside view of Andy's life, personality, and genius. -- Diane von FurstenbergArt and art history jumped the tracks with Andy Warhol. Blake Gopnik's lucid account of the artist and the wild times puts all that back on track again. An eye-opening biography that reads like a potboiler * Jerry Saltz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism *

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Book SynopsisJohannes Vermeer''s luminous paintings are loved and admired around the world, yet we do not understand how they were made. We see sunlit spaces; the glimmer of satin, silver, and linen; we see the softness of a hand on a lute string or letter. We recognise the distilled impression of a moment of time; and we feel it to be real.We might hope for some answers from the experts, but they are confounded too. Even with the modern technology available, they do not know why there is no evidence of any preliminary drawing; why there are shifts in focus; and why his pictures are unusually blurred. Some wonder if he might possibly have used a camera obscura to capture what he saw before him. The few traces Vermeer has left behind tell us little: there are no letters or diaries; and no reports of him at work.Jane Jelley has taken a new path in this detective story. A painter herself, she has worked with the materials of his time: the cochineal insect and lapis lazuli; the sheep bones, soot, earthTrade ReviewThis is not another speculative Vermeer biography, a fill-in-the-gaps, guesswork life. This is Vermeer the painter, by a painter.... Jelley's meticulous approach yields fascinating insights. * Laura Freeman, Literary Review *Well-researched... vivid... fascinating. * Lynn Roberts, Tablet *The exquisitely luminous paintings of Johannes Vermeer have long stirred debate over whether the seventeenth-century Dutch master used optical aids. Artist Jane Jelley probed the issue pragmatically. * Barbara Kiser, Nature *The appeal of Jelley's elegant book is the product of her literary style and the abundant reproductions of Vermeer's work and that of his contemporaries. Jelley's volume is a work of art in itself. * New York Journal of Books *Fascinating. Jelley brings a vast knowledge, and, more importantly, practice, of traditional painting techniques... she proposes a novel suggestion as to how exactly Vermeer could have used a camera obscura... A boon to both scholars and casual art appreciators. * Politics and Prose, Washington DC *Along the way... Jelley infuses her descriptions of Vermeer's world with a vivid immediacy, taking readers into the hustle and bustle of market day in Delft... It quickly becomes an immersive reading experience, like an excellent historical novel with 62 pages of fine-type end notes attached to help with further inquiries. * Simon Donoghue, Christian Science *In this overtly investigative yet very readable book [Jane Jelley] bequeaths the reader with an inexorable intrigue that is altogether contagious. * David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews *Magnificent. * Anna Maria Polidori, Al Femminile *Sensational... revelatory and wholly convincing. * Simon Jenkins, Guardian *A fascinating approach that throws up a plethora of intriguing details that add to the texture of Vermeer's life and technique... Jelley's ingenious experiment offer[s] a plausible suggestion as to how he set about his magical paintings. * Michael Prodger, Sunday Times *Traces of Vermeer is an intriguing account of artistic practice... [Jane Jelley's] writing is fluid and poetic, and this publication is an enjoyable read, feeling like a detective story from the outset... [the] discoveries made by the author in this book... give us valuable insights that will influence the way we view and interpret Vermeer's paintings and mysterious working practices. * Laura Hinde, The Picture Restorer *An absolute delight. A rich and highly original exploration of Vermeer's life and work seen through the eyes of a practising painter. * Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe *Featuring wonderful illustrations, engaging prose, and a deep knowledge of the craft, this is a study in art history and methodology to delight an audience beyond just visual artists. * Kirkus, Starred Review *Jane Jelley adds a unique perspective on Vermeer's techniques and style. * Johan Wagemans, University of Leuven *Table of ContentsMap of Central Delft in 1675 Chronology of Vermeer's Paintings Prelude1. A Painter at Home2. Colours of Delft3. Substance and Supports4. Working in the Studio5. Layers and Layers6. Through the Lens7. A Glimpse of Vermeer8. The Brightness of Day9. Into the Dark10. Printed LightCodaNotes Suppliers of Materials Bibliography Picture Credits Index

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Book SynopsisBenvenuto Cellini (1500-71) was a goldsmith and sculptor whose autobiography is one of the most vivid and interesting ever written. In it he describes artistic techniques such as bronze casting as well as a fascinating account of life and intrigue in 16th century Italy. This new translation is based on the latest critical edition of the text.

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Book SynopsisPiecing together the story of Piero's artistic and mathematical achievements with the story of his life for the first time, a book that at last brings this fascinating Renaissance enigma to life.Trade ReviewThanks to Banker we have an enormously clearer idea of just how common it was for Renaissance people to stay connected and use their connections in new places and for new ventures. * Gary Radke, Syracuse University, The American Historical Review *[A] remarkable biography ... This compact, clearly written book rescues Piero from the dangerous fate of being an enigma. * Caroline Campbell, Burlington Magazine *A vitally important contribution to Piero studies. * Julian Bell, New York Review of Books *Banker's scholarship and research are impeccable and should be celebrated. * Literary Review *Fascinating insight. * Good Book Guide *making compelling claims about the dating of certain works, and offering a new interpretation of the enigmatic Flagellation of Christ. * Apollo *insightful * Art & Collections *This publication is beautifully produced and is a joy to read. * The Art Newspaper *a carefully argued, highly accessible volume ... [Banker] masterfully summarizes and analyzes the sometimes daunting art historical and technical scholarship on Piero's visual and written works, offering a compelling portrait of the artist and the world in which he lived. * Gary Radke, American Historical Review *James R. Banker's magisterial study, Piero della Francesca: Artist and Man, represents a major contribution to the scholarship on this Renaissance painter and mathematician and has a grounded keel and quiet strength that is evocative of the timeless quality of Piero's paintings themselves ... Banker's study serves as the culmination of a lifetime of scholarly work that will be welcomed by serious readers looking for a detailed study of one of the most complex of Renaissance artists, Piero della Francesca. * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Piero's Formation in Sansepolcro ; 2. Piero the Incessant Learner and Traveler, 1439-1450 ; 3. Piero in the Court of Sigismondo Malatesta in Rimini ; 4. Piero in Arezzo: The Legend of the True Cross ; 5. The Confraternity and the Altarpiece of Madonna della Misericordia ; 6. Greek Geometry in Rome and Piero's Trattato d'abaco ; 7. Piero's Return to Patria and Family ; 8. An Arezzo Interlude ; 9. The Practice of Perspective: The Sant'Antonio and Sant'Agostino Altarpieces and the Flagellation ; 10. Piero della Francesca in Urbino in the Early 1470s ; 11. Piero in Sansepolcro, 1472-1475 ; 12. Piero in Urbino in 1475-1476 ; 13. The Persuasiveness of Paternal Authority, 1477-81 ; 14. Piero in the Last Decade of His Life ; Conclusion ; Chronology of Piero's Life and Work ; Index

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Book SynopsisMichelangelo's Sculpture is the first in a series of volumes of Steinberg's selected writings and unpublished lectures, edited by his longtime associate Sheila Schwartz.

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Book SynopsisNotes and Methods presents facsimile reproductions of a wide array of af Klint’s early notebooks accompanied by the first English translation of af Klint’s extensive writings.

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Book SynopsisHenri Matisse by Alastair Sooke - an essential guide to one of the 20th century''s greatest artists''One January morning in 1941, only a fortnight or so after his seventy-first birthday, the bearded and bespectacled French artist Henri Matisse was lying in a hospital bed preparing to die.''Diagnosed with cancer, the acclaimed painter, and rival of Picasso, seemed to be facing his demise. Then something unexpected happened. After a life-saving operation that left him too weak to paint, and often too frail to even get out of bed, Matisse invented a ground-breaking and effortless new way of making art. The results rank among his greatest work.In an astonishing blaze of creativity, he began conjuring mesmerising designs of dazzling dancers and thrilling tightrope walkers, sensuous swimmers and mythical figures falling from the heavens. His joyful and unprecedented new works were as spontaneous as jazz music and as wondrous as crystal-clear lagoons. Their mTrade ReviewSooke is an immensely engaging character. He has none of the weighty self-regard that often afflicts art experts and critics; rather he approaches his subjects with a questioning, open, exploratory attitude -- Sarah Vine * The Times *His shows are excellent - clever, lively, scholarly, but not too lecturey; he's very good at linking his painters with the world outside the studio, and at how these artists have affected the world today' Sam Wollaston reviewing 'Modern Masters' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisClaude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the best-known and most beloved painters in the history of art, with myriad publications and exhibitions devoted to his oeuvre. This book focuses on Monet's pastels, drawings, and sketchbooks, offering a different interpretation of the artist's life and work.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Vaughan’s magisterial, readable account gives us the whole story of this artist whose work still resonates and surprises.”—Ruth Guilding, Evening Standard -- Ruth Guilding * Evening Standard *“At every point, Vaughan refuses to comply with the image of Palmer as an isolated visionary, doing him far greater justice instead by painting a rich portrait of the age as well of the man: where he was influenced and where he influenced, where he triumphed and where he fell short.”—Alice Spawls, TLS -- Alice Spawls * TLS *“[A] substantial, fully illustrated, color monograph . . . [that] presents Palmer’s career chronologically and comprehensively.”—K. Rhodes, Choice -- K. Rhodes * Choice *“Vaughan’s Samuel Palmer, with its many gorgeously reproduced images, shows Palmer’s deeply rural world . . . Palmer was an artist of an imaginary, unspoiled Arcadian England that nonetheless referenced contemporary costume and details of domestic architecture.”—Kate Flint, Public Books -- Kate Flint * Public Books *

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Book SynopsisAn accessible survey on a genius artist, published to accompany the 500th anniversary of Bosch's deathTrade Review"Lushly illustrated with descriptions of the works . . . [in] reader-friendly prose."—Nina Siegal, New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisA revealing exploration of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s genre paintings and the cultural significance of his depictions of ordinary people

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Book SynopsisThe definitive, authorized, and first-ever biography of Terry Allen, the internationally acclaimed visual artist and iconoclastic songwriter who occupies an utterly unique position straddling the disparate, and usually distant, worlds of conceptual art and country music.    “People tell me it’s country music,” Terry Allen has joked, “and I ask, ‘Which country?’” For nearly sixty years, Allen’s inimitable art has explored the borderlands of memory, crossing boundaries between disciplines and audiences by conjuring indelible stories out of the howling West Texas wind.   In Truckload of Art, author Brendan Greaves exhaustively traces the influences that shaped Allen’s extraordinary life, from his childhood in Lubbock, Texas, spent ringside and sidestage at the wrestling matches and concerts his father promoted, to his formative art-school years in incendiary 1960s Los Angeles, and throug

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Book SynopsisThis book is both a revelatory biography and an accessible study of Leonardo''s life and multi-faceted work as a scientist and engineer. It covers all aspects of the man''s life but is also a re-interpretation of the voluminous evidence to paint an original picture of Leonardo da Vinci not only as the archetypal polymath, but as the first true scientist. Topics include:* A detailed investigation of how Leonardo''s manuscripts and notebooks were lost to the world and kept secret during his own lifetime and how this altered the progress of science.* A thorough analysis of his work as a scientist and how he predated many of the great figures of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Galileo, Kepler, William Harvey, Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton.* Leonardo''s legacy -- what did Leonardo leave in his notebooks and how may they be viewed in the light of modern scientific understanding? What did he achieve in science?Trade ReviewWhite's level-headed assessments of the scientific content of Leonardo's surviving works are characteristically clear and easy to follow . . . [White] sifts fact from opinion in the works of his predecessors, and conveys his own enthusiasm and admiration for his subject * LITERARY REVIEW *A lively and often informative book * SUNDAY TIMES *By focusing on the motivational aspects of science, White successfully expands the definition of the term "scientist" . . . [Leonardo's] spirit is present in White's careful scholarship and independence of mind * TES *Wholly fascinating. * INDEPENDENT *

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of the iconic twentieth-century photographer, pioneering documentary modernist, author and inventor.Trade Review"The founding curator of the New York Public Library photography collection offers an insightful biography of a pioneering photographer whose work over six decades helped define the modernist tradition... Van Haaften offers a sophisticated take on Abbott’s personal and artistic tragedies and triumphs." -- Ten books to read in April - BBC Culture"Berenice Abbott captures a large and star-studded life... A vital work of American cultural history." -- The New York Times"Absorbing... Abbott's integrity and sense of honor, her restless and fearless nature, and her absolute devotion to telling the truth of her experience, come through loud and clear." -- The Washington Post"Insightful... A sophisticated take on Abbott's personal and artistic tragedies and triumphs." -- Jane Ciabattari, BBC"This finely observed and assiduously researched book manages to pin down an artist who was, in her own words, “a little rebel from beginning to end”." -- The Art Newspaper

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Book SynopsisThe fascinating backstories of four women painted by John Singer Sargent come alive in this seductive, multi-layered biography.Trade Review"Ingenious." -- Frances Wilson - Times Literary Supplement"Straight from the pages of a novel by Edith Wharton or Henry James." -- The Times"[Lucey pieces together] lost stories, and the stormy brew of scandal and repression that affected these women—and Sargent himself." -- Elle"As rich as [Sargent’s] portraits are, the textural evidence in which Ms. Lucey ensnares them is finer still." -- The Wall Street Journal"It [Sargent's Women] tells of an era long gone yet still fascinating." -- Choice"[These women] were smart, passionate, willful, adventurous and striking-looking.… Lucey’s prose is invitingly conversational and quick-flowing." -- The Washington Post"... these four well-researched mini-biographies are vibrant and never less than engaging." -- The Herald

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Book SynopsisFeaturing da Vinci's world-famous Vitruvian Man illustration on the cover, this pocket-sized notebook features 64 blank pages and makes a great place to store phone numbers, appointments, and more. It's also a wonderfully portable sketchbook.

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Book SynopsisA series of enlightening perspectives on the art and visual culture of today’s world from one of our pre-eminent writers.Trade Review'Heady, thought-provoking stuff here: the author has a knack of taking initially complex subjects and making them accessible and reachable' - Actual Size'What stands out in this work is the depth of [Warner’s] engagement: she does not simply look hard at each artist’s work but interrogates hard too. Her approach is more philosophical and psychological than art historical, and what draws her to her subjects is their storytelling' - RA Magazine'[These essays] offer a trove of insight and erudition, lightly worn as ever, and provide a vision of a new aesthetics that is refreshingly optimistic' - The Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsForeword • I. Playing in the Dark • Paula Rego: Giving Fear a Face • Henry Fuseli: In the Passionate Playground • Janine Antoni: Hide & Seek • Richard Wentworth: Things That Talk • Kiki Smith: Wolf-Girl, Soul-Bird • II. Bodies of Sense • Hans Baldung Grien: A Fatal Bite • Louise Bourgeois: Cut and Stitch • Zarina Bhimji: Customs of the Country • Helen Chadwick: The Wound of Difference • Tacita Dean: Footage • III. Spectral Technologies • Joan Jonas: Future Ghosts • Sigmar Polke: Stone Alchemy • Al & Al: Visions of the Honeycomb • Jumana Emil Abboud: Dreaming the Territory • Christian Thompson: Magical Aesthetics • IV. Iconoclashes • Hieronymus Bosch: Trumpery, or The Followers of the Haywain • Damien Hirst: Once a Catholic… • Felicity Powell: Marks of Shame, Signs of Grace • Frans Masereel: Naked in the City • Cristina Iglesias: Where Three Waters Meet • Julie Mehretu: The Third Space

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Book SynopsisAndy Friend is the author of Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship, which Thames & Hudson published in 2017. He conceived and co-curated the eponymous exhibition which toured the UK in 201718, attracting c. 100,000 visitors.Trade Review'Andy Friend deftly carries the reader into a much-peopled narrative, opening up many insights into the art world at the same time that he gets inside the personal life of John Nash and his wife Christine Kühlenthal. Rarely is such extensive scholarship communicated with such ease. This gifted writer brings new depths of understanding to Nash’s achievement as an “artist-plantsman”, a label Nash himself chose' - Frances Spalding'A substantial and thorough book with much original research that tells the story not just of its subject, but also much of the development of art in the twentieth century' - Artbookreview.net'Andy Friend vividly gives [Nash] his due, portraying a sympathetic man and substantial artist' - Best Art Books of 2020, Sunday Times'An excellent book' - The LadyTable of ContentsForeword by David Dimbleby • 1. Marcoing • 2. Iver Heath • 3. Whiteleaf • 4. Meadle • 5. Wiston • 6. Wormingford • 7. Claviers • Afterword: Of Love and Solace

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Book SynopsisThe debut monograph from renowned pixel artist Waneella, showcasing a decade of her distinctive pixelated landscape compositions. This compelling monograph documents Waneella's journey from novice pixel-pusher to world-renowned artist, indisputably the leading name in this new reinvention of the once-retro pixel-art aesthetic. The book takes us from her early experiments with the pixel art form creating pseudo-videogame visuals, through to the years where her unique style crystallized, fusing sci-fi-tinged architecture, cinematic hints of narrative, and masterful deployment of light sources and shadow. Alongside this complete catalogue of Waneella's works are several Process' sections, walking the reader through Waneella's working style, which often initially draws influence from Japanese streets found via Google Streetview. Her creative process is explored step by step, detailing the underlying structure, rigorous perspective work and experimentation that goes into every piece

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Book SynopsisA deluxe large-format edition of this beautifully illustrated introduction to Katsushika Hokusai, the most prolific artist of Japan's Edo period, and master of ukiyo-e images of the floating world'. Hokusai: the blue, foam-crested wave rearing above Mount Fuji; the celebrated volcano idealized and reinvented by the artist in every nuance of view, season and painting; extraordinary bridges, the waterfalls of Japan, the contortions, costumes, gestures the very breath of men, women, peasants, townsmen, warriors, artisans, leaping horses, birds, insects, fish, almost live on the ground on which they are painted the countless imaginative drawings or the lively sketches done on the spot for the Manga, Hokusai's record of shapes and forms drawn from life or imagined over time. With a body of work comprising more than 30,000 drawings and paintings, Hokusai (17601849) was the most prolific, varied and indisputably the most creative artist of old Japan. A universal genius in everything th

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Book SynopsisBill Viola began producing video works in the early 1970s, and since then has captivated audiences with his poignant and beautifully wrought interpretations of human experience. He is considered among the most celebrated proponents of the medium of video art. This book gives an account of one of contemporary art's most powerful creative minds.Trade Review'One of the most exhaustive books about Viola ever published … unravels the artist’s mind by sharing his inner dialogues with the reader' - Artdependence'Highly readable and fascinating … there is no question that this is an important publication that is not only long overdue but also deeply insightful and thoroughly comprehensive' - Cellophaneland'This book, the first complete monograph, richly and dramatically illustrated, does him proud' - Mature TimesTable of ContentsIntroduction: Thought, Reflection, Belief • Chapter 1: The Discovery of Video • Chapter 2: 1970s: Reflections on Nature and Time • Chapter 3: 1980s: Expanded Visions of Life and Memory • Chapter 4: 1990s: The Joining of the Spiritual to the Aesthetic • Chapter 5: 1900s: Embodying Emotion on Video • Chapter 6: 2000s: A Humanism for Our Time • CODA: The Martyrs

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Book SynopsisA fascinating introduction to the art and techniques of the illustrator who, in Miffy, created one of the most recognizable characters in the world' (The New York Times).Table of ContentsIntroduction • Birth and early days • War years • London and Paris • The return • Influences • A new beginning and… • …A happy ending • Emerging artist • Publishing The Black Bear • Posters • Picture books • All change • Miffy returns • Writer and illustrator • The studio life of the artist

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