Portraits and self-portraiture in the arts Books

Book SynopsisAmber Creswell Bell is a Sydney-based arts, design and lifestyle writer and curator. She is currently the Director for Emerging Art for Michael Reid galleries. About Face is Amber's sixth book with Thames & Hudson.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe art of Donald Andrus defies categorization. Although principally known for his abstract paintings, Andrus has, throughout his career, combined his first love — drawing — with a deep engagement with colour, a desire for experimentation, a keen interest in the physical qualities of his materials, and the sensory experience of the viewer. Donald Andrus: The Shape of Desire brings together four major essays, including one by the artist, and more than eighty full-colour reproductions to assess a body of work that extends from abstract paintings to portraits. Roslyn Rosenfeld writes about Andrus’s early abstract work, Ihor Holubizky considers Andrus’s portraits, and Pan Wendt revisits Andrus’s contemporary abstract paintings. Taken together, the essays and images take full measure of the entirety of Andrus’s career and influences — from the landscapes of Greece and the poetry of George Seferis to the cinematic works of Andrei Tarkovsky and the pioneering work of contemporary German artists Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer. Donald Andrus has been painting for over thirty-five years. His work has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout Canada and may be found in both private and public collections. He has previously worked as a curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, as a lecturer at the University of New Brunswick, and as a professor of art history at Concordia University. Andrus now lives and works in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first book to concentrate on Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals’s highly innovative approach to male portraiture. Frans Hals is one of the greatest portrait painters of all time and, together with Rembrandt, is one of the most eminent seventeenth-century Dutch artists. Published to coincide with the Wallace Collection’s exhibition of the same name, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait explores the artist’s highly innovative approach to male portraiture, from the beginning of his career in the 1610s until the end of his life in 1666. Through pose, expression and virtuosic painterly technique, Hals revolutionised the male portrait into something entirely new and fresh, capturing and revealing his sitters’ characters like no one else before him. This book includes the first in-depth study of Hals’s great masterpiece, The Laughing Cavalier, from 1624. The extravagantly dressed young man, confidently posed with his left arm akimbo in the extreme foreground of the picture and seemingly penetrating into the viewer’s space, has been charming audiences for over a century. Richly illustrated, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait situates The Laughing Cavalier within the artist’s larger oeuvre and demonstrates how, at a relatively early point in his career, Hals was able to achieve this great masterpiece.Trade Reviewbeautifully presented and lavishly illustrated catalogue [...] as accessible and exciting for the general reader as for specialist conservators. -- James Innes-Mulrainethis lavishly illustrated paperback shows how Hals was able to achieve a masterpiece at a relatively early stage in his career. * Arts & Collections *This book you can treasure forever. * Historical Association *The catalogue, by Lelia Packer and Ashok Roy, is a brilliant book that’s concise, detailed, and informed. Its treatment of iconography is, to me, a feast. -- Brian T. Allen * National Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Director's Foreword Sponsor's Foreword Frans Hals: A Short Biography 1. Frans Hals and the Male Portrait 2. Hals's Masterpiece: The Laughing Cavalier 3. The Laughing Cavalier and the Revival of Frans Hals 4. The Making of The Laughing Cavalier 5. Frans Hals and Portraiture: Style and Painting Techniques Interwoven Appendix: Provenance of The Laughing Cavalier Bibliography Endnotes Index Picture Credits

Read more less

Book SynopsisRob Wareing has built a formidable international reputation as a portrait artist. This is his first book, and here he draws on over 40 years' experience to provide a complete guide to painting portraits in oils. In Rob's view, the most effective way to capture character is by working from life rather than photographs, and to follow the alla prima method to create a painting in one sitting. Starting with a fascinating overview of the subject, Rob then guides the reader through the materials he uses, explains how to pose and light the sitter, and how to prepare the work area before starting to paint. This is followed by detailed coverage of design and composition, the importance of proportions, and the painting process itself – from colour mixing through to finishing a painting without over-working. With clear, step-by-step demonstrations and numerous examples of the author's work throughout, this book provides both an expert guide to portrait painting and a unique insight into the working methods of one of the world's leading portrait painters.Trade ReviewSought-after tutor, and The Artist contributor, Rob Wareing, draws on 40 years of experience for his first book, Painting Portraits in Oils. Working from life, Rob encourages students to complete their painting in one sitting. His alla prima method is explained here in great detail, from the initial overview of the subject and preparing your work area to how to post and light the sitter. Every stage of the process is covered – composition, proportions, colour mixing and skin tones, to finishing touches – with clear step-by-step demonstrations and plenty of the artist's work included throughout. * The Artist *Acclaimed portrait artist Rob Wareing shares more than 40 years of experience in his first book, Painting Portraits in Oils. If you're ready for a new challenge, discover how to paint a subject from life, beginning with the materials needed, how to light and pose your sitter, to the painting process itself. * Crafts Beautiful *Portraiture in Oils. Difficult, messy, best left to the professionals. And, you know what, I wouldn't disagree. Until now, right up to the moment I discovered this amazing guide. Rob is a portrait painter with an international reputation and some four decades' of experience. What impressed me most about this book is how Rob breaks what is indeed a complex subject, down into easily-understood parts. You can (and should) get the sense of a book by flicking quickly through its pages. This one is not just phenomenally unintimidating, but actually welcoming. So how is this sleight of hand achieved? Simple lessons – one thing at a time, carefully graded stages. Let's look at the first few: Materials (of course), Planning, Preparation, Composition, Lighting, Studies. There are plenty of examples and illustrations, but this is about getting to know them. This not only puts both of you at ease, but also helps you understand character and expressions. Groundwork, you see. The rest of the book proceeds in the same way. Rob teaches specific painting skills – facial features, hard and soft edges (even how to keep the sitting the right length) through examples and simple exercises. Rob is nothing if not a patient teacher and we're some 100 pages in before a full sitting appears and, by now, you'll be ready for the heavy lifting. Even here, Rob takes things slowly (you can with oils), taking time over drawing, initial paint layers, construction of features and the final refining. This is a careful and believable book; perhaps its greatest trick is to convince you that you really can do what you thought wasn't possible. -- Henry Malt * Paint Magazine *This beautifully produced book takes us through the stages of painting oil portraits from life. From materials and equipment, choosing a model, composition, lighting, achieving a likeness, values, edges, and colour, to step-by-step demonstrations of the whole process, the book is packed with great tips and advice. The sections showing how to avoid common mistakes, like making the nose too long, are particularly useful. Everything is well illustrated with photos, and explained clearly. Anyone wanting to learn to paint portraits from life, or to improve their skills, would find lots of advice and inspiration here. Although the book is primarily concerned with painting 'alla prima', (in one sitting), there's plenty of information which would equally apply to other types of portrait, and to other subjects and mediums. It's a book that I'm sure will become a well used friend in future. -- Sarah Ledger * Amazon *Oil portraits are often regarded as the highest form of art, certainly one to be taken with the utmost seriousness. Capturing a likeness as well as the character of yout subject requires planning, preparation and persistence and is not for the faint-hearted. Rob's four decades of experience have imbued him with a deep understanding not merely of the subject, but of the processes involved. This is a thoroughly researched and presented course that teaches you everything you need to know progressively. Explanations are succeeded by exercises until the final sitting, so that you understand what you're trying to do and how to work before getting to grips with real people. Such a solid grounding can only lead to confidence and success. Rob makes light of learning and his thorough approach is never hard work, but rather a journey of discovery. If you've ever wanted to try your hand at portraiture, there's no better place to get started. -- SAA * SAA *Painting portraits in oils is generally regarded as one of the highest art forms, something refined, complex and generally best left to the specialist. That’s hardly surprising as oils do require a fair amount of equipment. Finding suitable sitters, as well as the little matter of getting a worthwhile likeness, are considerable obstacles for the amateur. So how do you set about getting started? Until now, that’s been the conundrum. There have been few books and those that exist have been, well, rather so-so. This is different. Rob is a portrait artist with considerable experience, but he also has a YouTube channel where he posts demonstrations, and this experience shows. This is a book aimed at the needs of the learner rather than at the subject of portraiture itself. It’s a subtle but important difference. Open the pages at random and you’ll find yourself in the middle of a complete project. Look further and you’ll struggle to find the smaller lessons and exercises you’d be expecting. This is, in part at least, an extension of his online method. However, the idea of not having to wade through pages of eyes, ears, mouths and hands has an appeal, as long as it works. Portraiture is a language and has a grammar – there are technicalities you need to know as part of the foundations and to short-circuit those can be dangerous. Rob, however, is a patient and thorough explainer and all these foundations are here, but he manages to make them interesting. All those details come up both in the projects and also discussions of various approaches – mixing colours, preparing canvases, getting to know your subject. There are examples on every page that precisely illustrate each point that’s being made. The whole process is intensely practical and Rob manages to make what is genuinely a complex subject seem, if not easy (that would be sleight of hand), at least manageable. Knowing the limits of what you can teach is perhaps Rob’s greatest skill and this is a truly remarkable piece of work. -- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *Painting portraits in oils is often regarded as the highest form of art, and also not to be tackled by any other than the specialist. In this book, Rob - who has some four decades of experience - takes on a massive and daunting subject and, without trivialising, succeeds in making it manageable. This is an achievement that should be celebrated in itself. There are no sleights of hand, quick fixes or shortcuts. Rather, from a deep understanding of approaches and working processes, he adopts a methodical path that breaks everything down into a series of comprehensible steps. From getting to know your sitter to mental and technical preparation, basic skills, colour and values, everything works up to a final study and sitting. Each stage is packed with examples and exercises and, by taking a visual approach, Rob leads from the front, allowing the build-up to appear before your very eyes. -- Henry Malt * The Artist *I am quite new to oil painting and have only ever attempted landscapes. This book is well written and contains just about everything you need to know about painting portraits. I can’t wait to get started. Illustrated with lovely coloured photos the author gives step-by-step instruction on how to construct your painting with whole chapters on composition, materials, mixing your colours, using light and dark values, capturing light, angles, edges, proportions and common mistakes. The only other thing that I felt could have been included is a section on the painting's background, how and when to paint it without distracting from the main portrait etc -- Lyla Horley * Amazon Customer Review *Table of ContentsForeword 6 Introduction 8 Working from life 10 What makes a portrait? 12 Materials 22 Composing your paintings 34 Preparation 36 Drawing and painting 56 Drawing skills 58 Painting alla prima 70 Values 82 Colour 92 Skin tone 106 The sitting 116 The Portrait 118 Going further 134 Other types of portrait 136 Settings and background 156 Index 160

Read more less

Book SynopsisA new generation of women is taking the art world – online and offline – by storm. In an image-obsessed culture saturated with social media, these 40 artists are using photography and the female gaze to redefine the fields of fashion, art, advertising and photojournalism, making a profound impact on our visual world.Trade Review"A startling and stunning book that offers a rich, varied alternative to the idea of the selfie as the contemporary feminist art form."-ELLE "As Girl on Girl makes clear, the female gaze offers a powerful lens through which to view, and better understand, the world."-Artsy "Jansen has curated a compelling group of photographers, asked difficult questions, and produced a beautifully illustrated book . . . [Girl on Girl] manages to be of interest to photographers and historians of photography while staying accessible to readers who are interested in learning about contemporary photography. It's definitely worth a read."-Jezebel "Striking in its breadth."-The Huffington Post "What Jansen's book smartly makes clear is that there is no singular female gaze."-ArtSlant "Women like those in Jansen's book are challenging female representation in visual culture, and perhaps with their ideas in mind, we can begin to challenge the current standards of female visual representation ourselves"-Creator's Project at VICE

Read more less

Book SynopsisEDITOR'S PICK ON AMAZON.COM'As captivating and nuanced as the drawings themselves' - The New York Times'Against the odds, her prose keeps pace with her pastels' - Patrick Bringley, author of All the Beauty in the World'Readers will be hard-pressed to put this down' - Publisher's WeeklyA penetrating, compulsively readable memoir about the four-decade career of a top courtroom sketch artist.Jane Rosenberg is America's pre-eminent courtroom sketch artist. For over forty years, she's been at the heart of the story, covering almost every major trial that has passed through the New York justice system. From mob bosses to fallen titans of finance, terrorists and sex abusers, corrupt cops and warring entertainment icons, she has drawn them all.In Drawn Testimony, Rosenberg brings us into the high-stakes, dramatic world of her craft, where art, psycho

Read more less

Book SynopsisAIDS & Representation explores portraits and self-portraits made in response to the AIDS epidemic in America in the 1980s and 1990s. Addressing the work of artists including Mark Morrisroe, Robert Blanchon and Felix Gonzalez-Torres through the interrelated themes of sickness and mortality, desire and sexual identity, love and loss, Fiona Johnstone shows how the self-representational practices of artists with HIV and AIDS offered a richly imaginative response to the limitations of early AIDS imagery. Johnstone argues that the AIDS epidemic changed the very nature of visual representation and artistic practice, necessitating a radical new approach to conceptualising and visualising the human form. An extended epilogue considers the ongoing art historicization of the epidemic, re-contextualising the book’s themes in relation to contemporary photographic works. More than just a historical discussion of the art of the AIDS crisis, AIDS and Representation contributes to an emergent body of scholarship on the visual representation of illness. Expanding the established genre of the autopathography or illness narrative beyond the predominantly textual, this important contribution to art history and health humanities sensitively unpicks the entanglements between aesthetic form and the expression of lived experiences of critical and chronic ill health.Trade ReviewJohnstone’s book provides excellent context for the emergence of visual art in the time of crisis – and during the emergency years of the AIDS crisis in particular. AIDS changed art, this book argues, showing us how to develop a complex appreciation and understanding of these crucial portraits. * Monica Pearl, Senior Lecturer, Twentieth Century American Literature and Film, University of Manchester, UK *Arguing for a more expansive understanding of self-portraiture in its revisiting and queering of AIDS portraiture in the 1980s and 1990s, this book offers a critical reappraisal of the significance of portraiture as an aesthetic and activist response to crisis. * Lisa Diedrich. Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stony Brook University, USA *Enjoyable and accessible, this book bears witness to Mark Morrisroe, Robert Blanchon, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ queer tactics of portraiture, meanwhile locating their work within well researched and fascinating contexts that illuminate a kinship of ideas, connections, and tensions across disciplines and timelines. * Theodore (ted) Kerr, co-author of We Are Having This Conversation Now: The Times of AIDS Cultural Production (2022) *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction 1. A Crisis of Representation: constructing an epidemic 2. Putting a face to AIDS: critiquing documentary portrait photography 3. Mark Morrisroe: a grandiose aesthetic encounter 4. Robert Blanchon: abjection, ‘absence’ and autobiography 5. Felix Gonzalez-Torres: falling out of time Epilogue: In/visible: picturing HIV in ‘endemic time' Endnotes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFacing China is an exploration of the portrait arts in China from the dynastic to the modern and contemporary, in painting, sculpture, photography and video. The book focuses on truth and memory in the portraiture process, from encounters between subject, portrait and artist, to broader familial, social and political arenas. It also examines the influence of location on portrait production, reception and display, from tombs, ancestral shrines, temples, gardens, and palace halls to public and private spaces. Featuring 150 fine illustrations, with 100 in colour, Facing China has much to say to specialists in the field as well as general readers interested in Chinese art.

Read more less

Book SynopsisStyle Legends, Rebels, and Visionaries is an inclusive and eclectic collection of 50 illustrated portraits by the immensely talented artist Bijou Karman. This curated collection of portraits features vintage and contemporary style legends such as Cher, Harry Styles, Grace Jones, Tilda Swinton, Diana Ross, Timothee Chalamet, and many more. Featuring a range of style luminaries-drawn from the heights of Hollywood glamour, the shining stars of the music industry, and the elite of fame and fashion-this collection is sure to delight a broad audience of fashion lovers. Each colorful and detailed portrait evokes the distinct sensibility of the unique and influential icon featured and includes an illuminating bio focusing on the sartorial choices of that legend, rebel, or visionary. Additionally, fashion insider Booth Moore provides an insightful introduction to this curated list of one-of-a-kind style icons. A FASHION BOOK WITH A UNIQUE VIEWPOINT: Bijou Karman's colorful and visually stunning illustrations and her distinct aesthetic bring a fresh perspective to viewing these celebrated individuals and their contributions to modern fashion. ARTUL FASHION ILLUSTRATION BOOK: A dazzling departure from fashion photography books or designer retrospectives, this gender- and age-inclusive collection is a curated take of iconoclasts known for their distinctive style. Includes Harry Styles, Tilda Swinton, Timothee Chalamet, Rihanna, Iris Apfel, David Bowie, Yayoi Kusama, and many more, celebrating the distinct fashion sensibility of each of these unique and beloved icons from the fields of music, fashion, art, cinema, and more. THE ULTIMATE GIFT FOR STYLE LOVERS: An introduction by a noted fashion industry insider gives additional insight into the style preferences and influences of each of the featured individuals. This text, paired with a sophisticated design package, makes this a beautiful gift or self-purchase to feature on a coffee table or shelve alongside favorite fashion design books. Perfect for: • Fashionistas • Art book lovers • Design enthusiastsl

Read more less

Book SynopsisArtisan Art Notebooks, the new Journals from Flame Tree in a range of hues to suit the moment and featuring magnificent art. They’re hand crafted with decorated edges overflowing with petals, teasing vines and patterns. A unique blend of the practical and beautiful, with two ribbons and lined pages, the Artisan Art Notebooks are perfect for notes, creative writing, poetry, doodles and lists. And, with robust flexi covers, they’re easy to slip into your bag, a pleasure to use. Simply, they feel good! Renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt is well known for his richly decorative commissioned portraits and murals. The Kiss is a prime example of Klimt's 'Golden Phase', in which he began to feature especially sumptuous ornamentation on a regular basis in his paintings. The couple in this artwork represent the mystical union of spiritual and erotic love, and the connection of life and the universe.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJohn Berger, one of the world's most celebrated storytellers and writers on art, tells a personal history of art from the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet caves to 21st century conceptual artists. Berger presents entirely new ways of thinking about artists both canonized and obscure, from Rembrandt to Henry Moore, Jackson Pollock to Picasso. Throughout, Berger maintains the essential connection between politics, art and the wider study of culture. The result is an illuminating walk through many centuries of visual culture, from one of the contemporary world's most incisive critical voices.Trade ReviewJohn Berger's "Portraits" is among the greatest books on art I've ever read. -- Zadie Smith * New York Times *A volume whose breadth and depth bring it close to a definitive self-portrait of one of Britain's most original thinkers -- Financial TimesPerhaps the greatest living writer on art . reminds us just how insufficient most art commentary is these days . an indispensible guide to understanding art from cave painting to today's experimenters. -- Spectator [Books of the Year]In this extraordinary new book, John Berger embarks on a process of re-discovery and re-figuring of history through the visual narratives given to us by portraiture. Berger's ability for storytelling is both incisive and intriguing. He is one of the greatest writers of our time. -- Hans Ulrich Obrist, author of 'Ways of Curating'Berger's art criticism transcends its genre to become a very rare thing-literature * The Nation *Berger is a writer one demands to know more about ... an intriguing and powerful mind and talent. * New York Times *Much of his best critical prose appears in [this] chunky volume * Economist *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first book to address the long art history of dynastic marriage exchange between Denmark and Britain between 1600 and 1900. It explores an intersection of three themes trending in early modern studies: portraiture, gender and the court as a centre of cultural exchange. This work re-evaluates the construction and staging of gender in Northern consort portraiture over a span of three hundred years, examining the development of the scientific and social paradigms inflecting consort portraiture and representation, with a view to excavating portrait images' agency at the early modern moment of their conception and making. The consort's liminal position between royal houses, territories, languages and sometimes religion, has often been equated with political weakness, but this new work argues that this position endowed the consort with a unique space for innovation in the representation of elite identity. As such, consort imagery drew upon gender as a generative resource of motifs and ideas. Each chapter is informed by new archival research and introduces the reader to little known, yet astonishing works of art. Collectively, they seek to trace a shift in practices of identity formation over time; the transition from an emphasis on rank to an increasingly binary emphasis on gender.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Figure List; Introduction; 1 Anna of Denmark (1574—1619); 2 Prince George of Denmark (1653—1708); 3 Louisa of Great Britain (1724—1751); 4 Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (1751—1775); 5 Alexandra of Denmark (1844—1925); Bibliography; Endnotes

Read more less

Book Synopsis'What happens when Black artists depict Black figures? What art does this produce, and what worlds of possibility does this reveal?' - Ekow Eshun Reframing the Black Figure showcases more than 20 of the most important Black figurative artists working in the UK and US today. This visual giftbook introduces readers to the field of Black figuration by highlighting a selection of key works from the National Portrait Gallery exhibition, The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure. Readers will encounter contemporary Black artists producing beautiful, urgent artworks that presents the Black form with nuance and depth. Richly illustrated with artworks and visual details, alongside short biographies for all featured artists, this accessible publication offers an opportunity for readers to experience some of the most exciting artworks depicting the Black form. Within this context, they take on a dual role, as the accomplished work of individual artists on the one hand, and as a collective assertion of Black presence on the other. Featured artists include Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Noah Davis, Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Denzil Forrester, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Jennifer Packer, Thomas J. Price, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, Henry Taylor and Barbara Walker.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure edited by Ekow Eshun celebrates flourishing Black artists whose work illuminates the richness, beauty and complexity of Black life. "There is never a time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment, the time is always now." - James Baldwin 'Angry, elegiac, critical and celebratory, The Time Is Always Now brings together 22 leading black artists working in the UK and US.' - The best art and architecture shows to visit in 2024, The Guardian The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure assembles contemporary African diasporic artists working in the UK and US whose practice foregrounds the Black figure. Edited and with texts by Ekow Eshun, and original essays by Bernardine Evaristo, Esi Edugyan and Dorothy Price. Published to coincide with the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, this publication explores and celebrates contemporary Black artists internationally who work within Black figuration. This visual and beautifully produced book examines contemporary figurative artworks against a backdrop of heightened cultural visibility. Within this context, its collected paintings, drawings and sculptures take on a dual role as the accomplished work of individual artists and as a collective assertion of Black presence. Through a three-part structure containing detailed artist profiles and stunningly reproduced artworks, the publication examines Black figuration as a means to address the absence and distortion of Black presence within Western art history. Profiled artists include Hurvin Anderson, Michael Armitage, Jordan Casteel, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Noah Davis, Godfried Donkor, Kimathi Donkor, Denzil Forrester, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Titus Kaphar, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Chris Ofili, Jennifer Packer, Thomas J. Price, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Lorna Simpson, Amy Sherald, Henry Taylor and Barbara Walker.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEdvard Munch Portraits brings together 80 of Munch's most significant portraits, showcasing the wide array of styles, techniques and mediums that he employed. Edvard Munch (1863 1944) is widely regarded as one of the great artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although he was lesser known for portraiture, his portraits were central to his art and vision. During the course of his long life he made hundreds of portraits of friends, patrons, models and above all himself, in a range of media that encompassed painting, drawing and print. Edvard Munch Portraits explores the range of portraits Munch created during his lifetime, and by placing his work in the cultural and historical background of his period, provides readers with a greater understanding of the time in which his works were produced. This publication gives deep insight into the artist's family and bohemian social circles, along with his German and Norwegian patrons and the friends who helped establish his reputation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWomen at Work: 1900 to Now reveals the sometimes overlooked stories of women from 1900 to the present day who have shaped history and culture in Britain and beyond. Women at Work: 1900 to Now celebrates over 100 influential and inspiring women and their achievements in fields including science, activism, photography and design. Their fascinating and sometimes untold stories are illustrated with artworks from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection, new acquisitions and commissions supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund, and rare archival images. Sitters include Bernardine Evaristo, Margot Fonteyn, Mo Mowlam, Beatrix Potter, Zadie Smith, Amy Winehouse, Virginia Woolf and Malala Yousafzai.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNational Portrait Gallery: The Collection introduces the key people who have shaped the history of Britain, its culture and identity, by exploring essential highlights from the National Portrait Gallery’s unrivalled Collection. National Portrait Gallery: The Collection is published to celebrate the reopening of the Gallery after a three-year redevelopment project. Designed by Daniela Rocha, this engaging and inviting book takes the reader on a chronological journey through Britain’s history in portraiture, from the Tudors to Now, featuring the country’s most impactful and famous individuals, from Queen Elizabeth I to Mary Seacole, and Virginia Woolf to David Bowie. The book is richly illustrated with beautiful paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings and digital works. Readers will enjoy a selection of the most popular and recognisable portraits from the Collection, accompanied by short chapter introductions that introduce key historical periods, their most exciting figures, and their most important historical, political, social and cultural moments. This accessible structure allows the reader to dip into any of the beautiful portraits and their stories, and understand their place in British history. An Introduction by Director Dr. Nicholas Cullinan will highlight why portraiture has been fundamental to people and society historically, but also to contemporary audiences, by exploring themes of culture, identity and the representation of diversity. This will also introduce readers to the nation’s newly-reopened National Portrait Gallery, explaining how it came to be the nation’s home of portraits and the world’s most significant Collection of people.Table of ContentsIntroduction15001600170018001900–19501950–20002000Index of sitters and artistsPicture Credits

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe National Portrait Gallery’s collections hold numerous portraits of creative partnerships. This book looks at the extensive collection of the Gallery and explores the role of love and the people featured both as sitters and artists. Drawing on recent scholarship, the exhibition will explore changing ideas of love, and give readers the opportunity to discover love stories both tragic and transcendent. The stories cover a variety of topics, including: the role of the muse, featuring stories such as George Romney, Lady Emma Hamilton and Nelson, and the Bloomsbury group; scandal and tragedy, exploring the relationships of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono; literary love, highlighting the tales of Mary and Percy Shelley, and Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes; a shared studio, featuring the stories of artists Lee Miller and Man Ray, and Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson; and love and the lens, which explores the stories of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, and Mick and Bianca Jagger.Love Stories will be brought to life through the perspective of various authors, using material from the sitter’s own letters, diaries and poetry, while highlighting their connection and influence on some of the greatest masterpieces of art.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe National Portrait Gallery holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits: a museum of people, a gallery of stories and ideas, and a home of artistic masterpieces. It celebrates the power and creativity of individuals – artists as well as their sitters. Icons and Identities draws upon the outstanding collections of the National Portrait Gallery to investigate and celebrate the variety and complexity of the genre. It draws together ‘icons’ – the most famous faces from British history from Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Isaac Newton to Audrey Hepburn and The Beatles – alongside less well-known sitters that provide a fascinating insight into the representation of identity in portraits. It also includes some intriguing surprises to reflect the diversity of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection and to introduce audiences around the world to exceptional portraits of many kinds. This publication will show how artists, working across a range of media including painting, photography and multimedia, have revealed the visually stimulating and intellectually vibrant tradition of portrait making. It is structured around a series of key timeless themes and each section will include a selection of works from a range of periods, allowing audiences to consider how artists and sitters have engaged with themes of power, fame, the self, innovation, identity, memory and loss.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA unique collective portrait of the United Kingdom during the national lockdown of 2020. Introduction by The Duchess of Cambridge. Text by Lemn Sissay MBE. Sunday Times Bestseller. ‘Every bookcase should have this book’ ‘Beautifully heart-warming’ and ‘a keepsake for years to come’. Focused on three key themes – Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness, this book presents a unique portrait of the UK during the 2020 lockdown, through 100 community photographs. The net proceeds from the sale of the book will be equally split to support the work of the National Portrait Gallery and Mind, the mental health charity (registered 219830) Spearheaded by The Duchess of Cambridge, Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, Hold Still was an ambitious community project to create a unique collective portrait of the UK during lockdown. People of all ages were invited to submit a photographic portrait, taken in a six-week period during May and June 2020, focussed on three core themes – Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness. From these, a panel of judges selected 100 portraits, assessing the images on the emotions and experiences they conveyed. Featured here in this publication, the final 100 images present a unique and highly personal record of this extraordinary period in our history of people of all ages from across the nation. From virtual birthday parties, handmade rainbows and community clapping to brave NHS staff, resilient keyworkers and people dealing with illness, isolation and loss. The images convey humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope – expressing and exploring both our shared and individual experiences. Presenting a true portrait of our nation in 2020, this publication includes a foreword by The Duchess of Cambridge, each image is accompanied by the story behind the picture told through the words of the entrants, and further works show the nationwide outdoor exhibition of Hold Still.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith just under a thousand portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, the National Portrait Gallery boasts some of the most treasured and famous official portraits of the Queen captured at key historic moments, as well as day-to-day images of the monarch at home and with family, following her journey from childhood, to princess and Queen, mother and grandmother. This publication highlights the most important portraits of Elizabeth II from the Gallery’s Collection. Paintings and photographs from the birth of Elizabeth II to the present will take readers on a visual journey through the life of Britain’s foremost icon. The book will reflect on the Queen’s life, presenting family photographs alongside important formal portraits to explore how, as her reign became record-breaking, she became an iconic figure in modern British culture and history. The publication features works by key artists depicting the Queen from 1926 to the present day, including Baron, Cecil Beaton, Dorothy Wilding, Patrick Lichfield, Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz and David Bailey. This book features an introductory essay by Alexandra Shulman, exploring how the collected portraits depict the Queen throughout her life and reign, and a timeline of key historical events and moments from Elizabeth II’s life.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis richly illustrated publication explores the lasting influence of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy on British art and culture Marking the return of Gainsborough’s Blue Boy to the UK exactly 100 years since it left for the United States, this richly illustrated publication will explore the lasting influence of this iconic painting on British art and culture. During the nineteenth century, the painting’s fame grew and full-length portraits by Gainsborough and his contemporaries became much sought after by wealthy American collectors. The sale of The Blue Boy to the American railroad magnate and collector Henry E. Huntington in 1921 was unsurprisingly viewed as a national tragedy—emblematic of a shift in economic and cultural power. However, its afterlife, as a permanent ambassador for British art, has undoubtedly fed into ideas of Britain and Britishness—its history, society, culture and character—that still resonate today. Including a select group of paintings that demonstrate the profound influence of Sir Anthony van Dyck and the old master tradition on Gainsborough’s practice and identity, Gainsborough’s Blue Boy will examine this masterpiece within the context of the National Gallery’s collection. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Read more less

Book SynopsisA significant publication of original writing on Lucian Freud, including interviews with leading contemporary artists, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth Lucian Freud (1922–2011) was one of the greatest figurative painters of the twentieth century. With an unflinching eye and an uncompromising commitment to his work, he created masterpieces that continue to inspire contemporary artists to the present day. Spanning nearly 70 years, Freud’s career has often been overshadowed by his biography and celebrity. This book re-examines his paintings through a broad series of original approaches. Texts by a variety of rising and established international writers explore topics ranging from the compositional echoes of old master paintings in Freud’s works, to the contextualization of his practice within the class struggles of 1980s Britain. Throughout the book, leading contemporary painters such as Tracey Emin and Chantal Joffe give insightful testimony to the relevance of Freud today. Marking the 100th anniversary of Freud’s birth, this publication accompanies the first major exhibition of his work in 10 years. Presenting fresh perspectives on his paintings, it introduces Freud to a new generation of scholars and enthusiasts – demonstrating his lasting international importance. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press

Read more less

Book SynopsisQuotations from leading women artists paired with iconic artworks, offering powerful insights into their creative journeys and the challenges they've faced over 150 years.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis beautifully illustrated volume showcases over 70 exquisite pieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art's internationally important collection of British portrait miniatures which range in date from the 17th to the 19th century. It features the work of leading miniaturists, including Nicholas Hilliard, Isaac Oliver, Samuel Cooper, as well as an extensive collection of miniatures by Richard Cosway, much of it shown here for the first time. Author Cory Korkow includes new research about the artists, sitters and owners of these precious miniatures. Each is accompanied by a detailed catalogue entry including notes on both the work and biographical information on the artist, as well as a dramatic full-page colour plate. Supplementary illustrations show the front and back of the miniatures to scale, which, along with numerous conservation photographs, index of artists allows this stunning collection to be studied in detail for the first time. The volume also includes an index of artists.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword; Acknowledgements; Essay; Main catalogue: entries for up to 73 objects plus up to 262 comparative images - including a front and back to scale shot of each object; Documentation; Further reading; Index of artists.

Read more less

Book Synopsisfirst complete catalogue raisonee and comprehensive essay of this twentieth century artist

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores new approaches to portraying identity and the human face and figure, through works from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's collections and other institutions. Is there more to portraiture than eyes meeting eyes? Beyond the Face: New Perspectives on Portraiture presents sixteen essays by leading scholars who explore the subtle means by which artists - and subjects - convey a sense of identity and reveal historical context. Examining a wide range of topics, from early caricature and political vandalism of portraits to contemporary selfies and performance art, these studies challenge our traditional assumptions about portraiture. By probing the diversity and complexity of portrayal, Beyond the Face fills a gap in current scholarship and offers a resource for teaching art history, subjectivity, and the construction of identity. AUTHOR: Wendy Wick Reaves is senior curator of prints and drawings, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. SELLING POINTS: . A general guide to the portraiture genre . Introduces the reader to fresh methodologies and modern studies . Explores new approaches to portraying the human face and figure 132 colour images

Read more less

Book SynopsisIllustrated with 167 full colour images, this landmark book charts Alexander Moffat’s career from student days at Edinburgh College of Art in the 1960s to the recent Scotland’s Voices. Iconic portraits of major figures in literature and the other arts are represented. The cultural significance of the visual chronicle Moffat has created lies in his approach to portraiture. He aims not only to capture a sitter’s appearance but also to convey something of their inner character, reaching ‘a balance between emotional expression and compositional order’.Trade Review'illuminating, lavishly illustrated and long overdue retrospective of Moffat's work' -- ALAN TAYLORTable of ContentsForeword by Duncan Thomson 7 PERSONAL, PARTICULAR, PUBLICThe Portraits of Alexander Moffat 11 A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A PORTRAITIST Bill Hare in Conversation with Alexander Moffat 89 Alexander Moffat Chronology 175 List of Images 183 Acknowledgements 191

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrits Lugt (1884–1970) had a passion for miniatures that began early on in his life. He demonstrated it in the small but ardent Le portrait-miniature of 1917, the year in which he bought the first portrait miniature for his collection. Since then it has been constantly enriched, and now numbers more than 100 works by artists from Great Britain, the Low Countries, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland, covering the period from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Thanks to the expertise of specialist Karen Schaffers-Bodenhausen, who has studied the growing collection in recent years with great dedication and patience, we now have this first catalogue of the portrait miniatures in the Frits Lugt Collection, Fondation Custodia, Paris. In addition to a foreword by director Ger Luijten, the first volume contains detailed descriptions and exhaustive analyses of the portraits, their attributions, and identifications of the sitters. The author also examines the techniques employed and sets out to establish a date for each portrait. The volume closes with a table of concordance, a detailed index of proper names and a comprehensive bibliography. Comparative illustrations are incorporated in the descriptions. The second volume has colour plates of all the works in the collection, almost all of them full size, and concludes with reproductions of the backs of the miniatures if they provide additional supporting information.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMausoleum of Imperfection is a collection of picturesque and satirical portraits made by Slavko Krunić that refute the idea of separation between the observer and the work of art. Th us, it creates a certain intimacy; we feel we are the portraits’ companions and they are our fellow travellers in an imaginary life. Th e comical fantasy of these melancholy characters, who are watching us from the images, allows us to listen to their life stories whilst observing them in their immobility. Bill Gould wrote a short biography of an imaginary witness inspired by Krunic’s work. From this symbiosis arose an unusual combination of different artistic expressions, which was then shaped into Mausoleum of Imperfection.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fascinating look at how Elizabethan England was transformed by its interactions with cultures from around the world Challenging the myth of Elizabethan England as insular and xenophobic, this revelatory study sheds light on how the nation’s growing global encounters—from the Caribbean to Asia—created an interest and curiosity in the wider world that resonated deeply throughout society. Matthew Dimmock reconstructs an extraordinary housewarming party thrown at the newly built Cecil House in London in 1602 for Elizabeth I where a stunning display of Chinese porcelain served as a physical manifestation of how global trade and diplomacy had led to a new appreciation of foreign cultures. This party was also the likely inspiration for Elizabeth’s celebrated Rainbow Portrait, an image that Dimmock describes as a carefully orchestrated vision of England’s emerging ambitions for its engagements with the rest of the world. Bringing together an eclectic variety of sources including play texts, inventories, and artifacts, this extensively researched volume presents a picture of early modern England as an outward-looking nation intoxicated by what the world had to offer.Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British ArtTrade Review“A compelling analysis [. . .]” It has wonderful illustrations of maps and globes, portraits, calligraphy, prints, textiles and porcelain”—Ann Hughes, Times Higher Education Supplement“A pleasure to hold and peruse: a luxury good in its own right”—Elizabeth Goldring, The Burlington Magazine

Read more less

Book SynopsisA new account of painting in early modern England centered on the art and legacy of Anthony van Dyck As a courtier, figure of fashion, and object of erotic fascination, Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) transformed the professional identities available to English artists. By making his portrait sittings into a form of courtly spectacle, Van Dyck inspired poets and playwrights at the same time that he offended guardians of traditional hierarchies. A self-consciously Van Dyckian lineage of artists, many of them women, extends from his lifetime to the end of the eighteenth century and beyond. Recovering the often surprising responses of both writers and painters to Van Dyck’s portraits, this book provides an alternative perspective on English art’s historical self-consciousness. Built around a series of close readings of artworks and texts ranging from poems and plays to early biographies and studio gossip, it traces the reception of Van Dyck’s art on the part of artists like Mary Beale, William Hogarth, and Richard and Maria Cosway to bestow a historical specificity on the frequent claim that Van Dyck founded an English school of portraiture.Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Read more less

Book SynopsisA groundbreaking approach to the problem of realism in Tudor art In Tudor and Jacobean England, visual art was often termed “lively.” This word was used to describe the full range of visual and material culture—from portraits to funeral monuments, book illustrations to tapestry. To a modern viewer, this claim seems perplexing: what could “liveliness” have meant in a culture with seemingly little appreciation for illusionistic naturalism? And in a period supposedly characterised by fear of idolatry, how could “liveliness” have been a good thing? In this wide-ranging and innovative book, Christina Faraday excavates a uniquely Tudor model of vividness: one grounded in rhetorical techniques for creating powerful mental images for audiences. By drawing parallels with the dominant communicative framework of the day, Tudor Liveliness sheds new light on a lost mode of Tudor art criticism and appreciation, revealing how objects across a vast range of genres and contexts were taking part in the same intellectual and aesthetic conversations. By resurrecting a lost model for art theory, Faraday re-enlivens the vivid visual and material culture of Tudor and Jacobean England, recovering its original power to move, impress and delight. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British ArtTrade Review“The achievement of this wonderfully illustrated and bountifully referenced book is to make us question how we should look at post-Reformation art, and to find delight in its eccentricities.”—Brett Dolman, History Today

Read more less

Book SynopsisFace to Face presents a selection of portraits of artists by three of the most prominent portrait artists of our time. Bringing together the diverse and distinctive work of Tacita Dean, Brigitte Lacombe, and Catherine Opie, this book forms an investigation into the charged genre of portraiture and its various approaches, navigating tensions between intimacy and publicity. While the three artists collected here share a wide set of historical touchstones, each deploys the camera differently: Dean exploits cinema's capacity for duration; Lacombe takes her cameras out on assignment; Opie works in the tradition of the studio photograph. Often overlapping in the subjects depicted, Face to Face offers an opportunity to look closely at bracing, intimate, and resonant portraits of the seminal thinkers and makers that these artists have encountered across the fields of music, painting, photography, film, and literature, among them Hilton Als, Maya Angelou, Richard Avedon, Joan Didion, David Hockney, Joan Jonas, Fran Lebowitz Patti Smith, Kara Walker, and many others. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York, the book includes essays by the exhibition's curator, Helen Molesworth, and the artist and writer Jarrett Earnest

Read more less

Book SynopsisBrilliantly explores how portraits can help us relate to other people in an intentional and expectant way* Written in an accessible manner, this is a book that will deepen our empathy for friends and strangers* Uses a three-step method of noticing, responding, and reflecting to help us recognise ourselves and others in portraits* I found the approach of this book to be transformational in my own spiritual journey'' ~ Dr Anne Moseley, Faculty member, Oxford Centre for Mission StudiesOur lives are made up of a complex web of relationships with those we initially get to know through their face. The quality of these relationships influences what we believe and value, and how we think and behave. Focussing on the human face, Stephen Girling explores how portraits can help us relate to other people in a new way. Outlining a three-step method of noticing, responding, and reflecting, he gives the reader a tool with which we can go beyond the face in a portrait to see something of the eternal'

Read more less

Book SynopsisJoin man’s best friend on a walk through art history.From ancient Egyptian busts to 1960s screenprints, portraiture is an historic art form beloved of painters, sculptors and photographers alike. A History of Portraits in 21 Dogs offers a fun, unique guide to this fascinating genre, with 21 of the most important and recognizable masterpieces recreated with dashing dog subjects. Each reimagined artwork is accompanied by information about the original artist and portrait, as well as a bitesize, illustrated breakdown of all the key elements of the piece.Illustrated by art-lover and animal enthusiast Nia Gould, A History of Portraits in 21 Dogs is an accessible, engaging and imaginative companion to feline favourite A History of Art in 21 Cats.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis beautifully and thoroughly illustrated book, which constitutes the first serious investigation of the relationship between Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley, will be of considerable interest to both British and American art historians, and appeal to art lovers from both countries. West and Copley have always and properly been viewed as the two pre-eminent eighteenth-century American artists, despite the fact that, at the age of twenty-one, West left his native shores in 1760, never to return. He went on to become immensely successful in England, becoming, among other things, the second president of the Royal Academy of Arts. Copley spent half his working life also in England. However, before making the move across the Atlantic, he made his mark as an exceptionally talented artist, who, without any real training, painted likenesses of fellow Bostonians, including ones of figures such as John Hancock and Paul Revere, that have become icons of American history. While those portraits remain his most widely admired works, after 1775 and his resettling in England, he started painting distinctly different types of pictures, initially showing modern historical subjects in emulation of the model provided him by West, following, for example, West's celebrated Death of General Wolfe, exhibited in 1771, with his own Death of the Earl of Chatham, begun in 1779. For a brief span of time, the two expatriate Americans had a close working relationship, that we can see substantially reflected in both the formal language and the subject matter of many of their best works, but it eventually and inevitably turned into rivalry. The book begins with a brief prologue discussing the earliest of West's depictions of recent historical events and of subjects set in America, painted prior to Copley's arrival in England. It then follows the year-by-year evolution of Copley's painting from 1775 to his death in 1815, with an underlying focus upon his ongoing give-and-take with West, and it ends with examination of hitherto little-known and unstudied major late paintings, from after 1800, by both artists.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFamilies come in all sizes, shapes, and traditions, each a unique variation of a universal human theme. Whether one comes from a heterosexual, single-sex, or one-parent home, stability and love are paramount. Unfortunately, in the United States, the absence of fathers from their children’s lives has become a real problem. In fact, the Brookings Institute has identified absentee fathers as America's most pressing problem—greater than the economy, education, the environment, health care, infrastructure, you name it. Why? Because nearly every social ill finds an umbrella, a home if you will, in the fatherless home. Choosing Fatherhood: America's Second Chance is meant to explore this issue as no previous book has. And it does so through the art of photography, in which Lewis Kostiner makes portraits of dads who are involved in their children's lives. The book is also accompanied by essays written by leading authorities on the subject: Juan Williams of FOX News, David Travis who was Curator of Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago for more than thirty-five years, sociologist Shipra Parikh at Loyola University in Chicago, sociologist Derrick M. Bryan at the Morehouse College, and Roland Warren, former director of the National Fatherhood Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing fatherhood in America, who also served on President Obama's task force on fatherless homes. Getting fathers to be more involved in their children’s lives is of paramount importance, if the United States is to regain ground as an international leader. Right now, the statistics look grim: forty years ago only eleven percent of America's children lived in homes without fathers, but today more than a third do. This translates into high poverty rates, high drop-out rates in high school, high rates of incarceration, multiple behavioral problems, and the list goes on. As President Obama has declared, fatherhood does not begin with the ecstasy of conception but with the beauty of childbirth and the responsibilities that come with creating and caring for a human life. Although changes in custody rulings and other policy remedies are possible, behavioral patterns are often outside the reach of policy. Choosing Fatherhood offers a hopeful direction that America does have a second chance at correcting a troubling trend, but time is slipping, and awareness of the problem is an important start. (See the publishers website for further information about events and a slide show from the book: http://gftbooks.com/books_Kostiner.html ) Go here to see an interview with the photographer Lewis Kostiner and Juan Williams who wrote the introduction: http://video.foxnews.com/v/2197946608001/

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less