Search results for ""thames hudson ltd""

A beautifully illustrated ode to reading, and in particular to reading aloud. Morris is a cat with a clever plan. Instead of chasing mice, he’s going to make them come to him. And how will he do that? By reading them STORIES. But little does Morris realise that his brilliant scheme won’t work out quite the way he expects...

Read more less

The latest instalment in the bestselling If I had... series imagines life with a kangaroo as a pet. With rollicking rhymes and bold illustrations, this charming bedtime story follows a little girl's flight of fancy as she imagines the advantages and disadvantages of having a kangaroo as a pet. Being an ace on the basketball court is a breeze, but hold on to your stomach during the school run - it's pretty bumpy being bounced around in a pouch!

Read more less

A surreal story by Estonia's leading children's book creator about the importance of bedtime stories.

Read more less

Erik Desmazières is acknowledged as a contemporary master of the art of etching. With breathtaking virtuosity, he recreates interiors, cityscapes, landscapes and fantastical compositions from a Piranesian world. Any new work Desmazières produces is a bibliophile’s delight; and this book, the first in which he uses colour, reimagines the arcane world of the cabinet of curiosities: antiquarian collections of the recondite, rare and bizarre, which reminded the viewer of the vanity of earthly life. Patrick Mauriès’s text is in three parts. The first locates Desmazières and his work in the long tradition of artist-printmakers; the second surveys the world of 17th-century antiquarianism and its intriguing cast of characters (John Evelyn, John Aubrey and, above all, Thomas Browne, plus many of their continental counterparts); and in the third Mauriès examines today’s reawakened interest in cabinets of rarities and curiosities, and considers how a phenomenon once considered the preserve of specialists has entered the cultural mainstream.

Read more less

Since the sensuous Modernism pioneered by Oscar Niemeyer in Brazil, Latin America has become one of the most exciting locations for contemporary architecture in the world. Alejandro Aravena and Paulo Mendes da Rocha, both recent Pritzker Prize winners, are just two very different examples of the wide architectural range, set amid varied climates, social conditions and environments, that has brought international attention to a continent making a name for itself as a centre for innovation and experimentation. From the dramatic plateaux of the Andes to the lush tropics of the Amazon to the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, the rich range of climates, terrains and cultural influences across Latin America offers significant opportunities to create new residential architecture. This overview showcases the most accomplished and rarely seen contemporary houses, by established names – Isay Weinfeld, Mathias Klotz and Marcio Kogan – as well as the rising talents now receiving recognition on the world stage, including Pezo von Ellrichshausen and Giancarlo Mazzanti. Following an introduction that sets out the development of Latin American architecture since Niemeyer, the book reveals how each house has gone beyond its brief in stunning and unexpected ways, resulting in buildings that transcend their time and place.

Read more less

The magnificent wonders of China, ancient and modern, revealed by an international team of leading scholars from Asia and the West. China is the oldest continuous civilization on earth and holds a unique global place in the 21st century, this book's uniquely wide focus shows what makes it such a special country, with topics stretching from the natural wonders including mountains and rivers to the Silk Road, the technological innovations of printing and the compass and the modern vibrant cities of today as well as famous monuments such as the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall. In this new and updated edition, a team of leading scholars from Asia and the West provide an unmatched account of this vast country. Beyond the quality of the individual entries, The Seventy Wonders of China provides an unmatched account of Chinese history and culture as well as an essential contribution to understanding and appreciating this vast country.

Read more less

A mesmerizing, continent-spanning survey of the most dynamic scenes in contemporary African photography, and an introduction to the creative figures who are making it happen. Africa State of Mind gathers together the work of an emergent generation of photographers from across Africa, including both the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. It is both a summation of new photographic practice from the last decade and an exploration of how contemporary photographers from the continent are exploring ideas of ‘Africanness’ to reveal Africa to be a psychological space as much as a physical territory – a state of mind as much as a geographical place. Dispensing with the western colonial view of Africa in purely geographic or topographic terms, Ekow Eshun presents Africa State of Mind in four thematic parts: Hybrid Cities; Inner Landscapes; Zones of Freedom; and Myth and Memory. Each theme, introduced by a text by Eshun, presents selections of work by a new wave of African photographers who are looking both outward and inward: capturing life among the sprawling cities and multitudinous conurbations of the continent, turning the legacy of the continent’s history into the source of resonant new myths and dreamscapes and exploring questions of gender, sexuality and identity. Each of the photographers seeks to capture the experience of what it means, and how it feels, to live in Africa today.

Read more less

Why did the Romans never try to conquer Ireland? Why did the King of Spain give his name to an Irish county? And how did brandy change the course of Irish history? Turtle Bunbury explores unexpected corners of the past to offer an informative and entertaining glimpse into 36 lesser-known tales from Irish history, from the eruption of a massive volcano in County Armagh sixty million years ago to more recent events that have made Ireland the vibrant place it is today. In his inimitable sparkly style, Bunbury explores the people and events from high to low that played major roles in Ireland’s fascinating past but have since been overlooked. These alternative annals include tales of spymasters and scientists, battlefields and brothels, tailors and traitors. Ireland’s Forgotten Past paints a surprising, witty and engaging new portrait of an Ireland you thought you knew.With 37 illustrations

Read more less

The music of ‘Motown’ needs no introduction. Berry Gordy’s record label became a style unto itself, producing hit after suave, sassy and sophisticated hit, and shaped the careers of so many of the greatest musicians of all time. The label produced more US number-one hits than the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined. Now, and with fresh new insights and an incredible visual narrative, the official, visual history of this momentous contribution to music and American culture is told in full. This book delves deep into the success stories of Motown’s powerhouse creative team, including the Holland-Dozier-Holland triumvirate, and unpicks backstories of the Motown musicians envied by many, and covered by the rest. The roster includes Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the Jackson 5, The Temptations and Martha Reeves & The Vandellas. Motown: The Sound of Young America is dense with information and materials gathered from the personal accounts and archives of many of the key players. It is a spectacular labour of love befitting an incredible story.

Read more less

All Roads Lead to Rome, as the famous saying goes. The sites and events throughout the ancient world provided Romans with a rich tapestry to weave the stories of their past. Rome itself was a melting pot of peoples from across the Mediterranean and beyond, each bringing their myths and legends of heroes and heroines, gods and goddesses. Whether for aristocrats dressing up for banquet, or bloodthirsty audiences in the amphitheatres thrilled to watch condemned criminals forced to enact the roles of mythological creatures, Roman myths formed the backdrop to the rituals and customs of everyday life. Offering a fresh approach to Roman mythology, each site begins with a brief, evocative description of the location and landscape, followed by its associated myths and stories, as well as any rituals performed there in antiquity. Drawing on the great works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plutarch, Ovid, Horace and Virgil, and with maps, illustrations and a gazetteer giving practical information about the sites today, this is a fresh look at a subject of great fascination.

Read more less

A new work from Judy Chicago, fifty years in the making: Judy Chicago: Revelations is the work she thought would never see the light of day. Her captivating narrative combatting the erasure of women from history unites seamlessly with illustrations first made in the 1970s and new work in a striking, contemporary design. Revelations is the work that Judy Chicago believed would never be published: a radical retelling of human history in the form of an illuminated manuscript, recovering stories of women that society sought to erase. Begun alongside her iconic installation The Dinner Party in the mid-1970s, and drawing on her intensive research into goddess worship and women's history, Revelations is foundational to Chicago's decades-long practice. It is at once a vibrant narrative and a work of art, fifty years in the making. Publication coincides with an exhibition at the Serpentine, London, from 22 May to 1 September, Judy Chicago's first solo presentation in a major London insti

Read more less

A thrilling deep dive into the creation of the revered PlayStation RPG. Comprising over thirty interwoven voices, this beautifully produced book offers unprecedented insight into the craft and ambition behind the revered PlayStation RPG. An extended adaptation of Matt Leone’s celebrated 27,000 word history, published online by Polygon in January 2017, this physical version has been designed by Rachel Dalton and features sixteen specially commissioned illustrations by sparrows, eight new standalone interviews, and a foreword by series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Read more less

A journey for the senses across five continents, A Perfume Atlas traces the origins of the precious essences that create Louis Vuitton's exclusive perfumes. Louis Vuitton: A Perfume Atlas offers a rare look at the time-honoured crafts of the perfumer, with specially commissioned illustrations, photographs and texts revealing the stories of the precious natural elements that form the basis of the house's unique perfumes. With exclusive, first-hand access to Louis Vuitton's master perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, A Perfume Atlas explores how the flowers are cultivated, the growing seasons and techniques used to harvest the blossoms, and how essential oils are extracted, distilled and composed to create new and complex fragrances. From Chinese magnolia and osmanthus to India's tuberose and jasmine, each seed pod, berry, woody stem, fruit, leaf and flower opens a world that evokes the thrill of far-off places and names, trade routes, sea journeys and the rhythms of the seaso

Read more less

Monocle’s latest book is a celebration of the Nordic region, with some surprises, quirks and – maybe – a sauna or two along the way. Monocle’s journalists, editors and photographers have returned time and again to all corners of northern Europe for insights, inspiration and ideas for living better.This book isn’t about hammering the overhyped hygge trend or fussing over foamy food. Much the opposite – it’s about a shared but distinct set of values that have helped varied nations excel in quiet diplomacy, thoughtful design and reasoned debate. Monocle looks beyond the clichés and uncovers the folks, firms and stories that help the region rank highly for everything in everything from art and architecture to eating well. Far from lumping these different nations together, the Monocle team will highlight the people, places and products that show the Nordics in all their nuances: lessons we can all learn from makers in Norway’s high north or retailers reaching higher in Reykjavík; the firms building bridges in Denmark or selling Swedish soft power abroad. The world can learn a lot from our knowing northern neighbours – and The Monocle Book of the Nordics is the ideal place to start.

Read more less

Pascaline (a bat) DOES NOT WANT to go to school. It doesn't matter who else is going! She knows exactly what she doesn't want. 'Never, Not Ever!', she shrieks loudly on the first day. So loudly, in fact, that something amazing happens - and it changes everything. Charming and laugh-out-loud funny, this irresistible first-day of school saga is sure to be a repeat read.

Read more less

It’s Franklin’s birthday! While his surprise birthday party is being set up, Luna takes Franklin book shopping. They find a padlocked book of fairy tales, which the bookseller tells them is full of dangerous magic. Luna’s tortoise, Neil, can’t help picking the lock… but when he peers inside, the book swallows him whole. Franklin and Luna dive into the book to rescue Neil. They tumble into cobwebbed forests and meet dusty fairy-tale characters who have been trapped inside the pages for hundreds of years… This follow-on from the highly sucessful Franklin’s Flying Bookshop and Franklin and Luna go to the Moon offers a witty and vivid reimagining of well-loved fairy tale characters, bringing the magic of classic fairy tales into the 21st century through exquisite illustrations and a rhythmic, literary text.

Read more less

Out to Sea follows the journey of a young girl named Lara who is so sad after the death of her grandmother that she is carried out to sea on a flood of her own tears. When it seems like sadness has overwhelmed her entirely, she discovers a pearl at the bottom of the ocean that triggers memories of the many happy times Lara shared with her grandmother. With the pearl safely at her side, Lara realises that she is not alone and finds the strength to pick up her oars and row herself back home. Illustrated in Helen Kellock’s inimitable style of pencil, gouache and watercolour artworks, Out to Sea expresses the experience of anxiety and grief with unprecedented sensitivity. Unlike other books for children about loss or grief that usher their readers towards a conclusion, Out to Sea shows readers how they might ride the wave of emotions without losing perspective.

Read more less

Here is the story of Ice Age beasts as told from the unique perspective of Maisie the woolly mammoth. Maisie’s Ice Age ‘who’s who’ reveals the defining characteristics of some of the most memorable creatures from prehistoric times. Maisie’s memoir includes tales about Stella the sabre-toothed tiger, the golden girl of the Ice Age, whose megawatt smile contained 25 cm canines; the villain we all love to hate, Trevor the Titanoboa, a 13 m mega-snake who could swallow a crocodile whole; and the slightly more camera-shy Gavin the Giant Ape, who is rumoured to have inspired the myth of the Yeti! Featuring the quirky illustrations of Rob Hodgson, Maisie Mammoth’s Memoirs stands apart from other prehistoric beast titles with its characterful creatures and humorous approach to palaeontology based on some of the latest scientific research – look out for tips on how to defrost a woolly mammoth! It is the second in a series that brings animals from the distant past alive for young children.

Read more less

‘I LOVE it. It is so touching and original and delightful. Katie’s illustrations are a perfect match for the text, too’ Jacqueline Wilson Franklin the dragon loves stories and loves reading stories to people too, but everyone is too scared to even look at him. One day he meets a girl named Luna who, far from being scared, is fascinated to meet Franklin, having recently read all about dragons in one of her books. They instantly become friends and talk non-stop about what they’ve read: books about roller skating, King Arthur, spiders and how to do kung fu. Together, they hatch a plan to share their love of books with others by opening a bookshop – a flying bookshop, that is – right on Franklin’s back!

Read more less

Following on from the hugely successful The Big Book of the Blue comes this nonfiction sticker activity book that brings the marine world alive in a creative way. Taking fascinating facts as its starting point, the activities in the book invite children to draw, colour and play games with all manner of ocean wildlife, inspiring children’s interest in nature as they play. Sid the Sardine accompanies readers throughout the book, explaining the 20+ activities and games as he swims along. Yuval Zommer’s rich illustrations characterize some of the quirkiest sea-creatures and make fantastic stickers for children to use in their drawings and to complete games and puzzles with.

Read more less

For more than three millennia the cultures of Mesoamerica flourished, building the first cities of the Western Hemisphere and developing writing systems that could rival those of the Eastern Hemisphere in their creativity and efficiency. The Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs reigned over one of the greatest imperial civilizations the Americas had ever seen, and up until now their intricate and visually stunning hieroglyphs have been overlooked in the story of writing. In this innovative volume Gordon Whittaker provides the reader with everything they need to know to appreciate and understand Aztec hieroglyphs: a step-by-step, illustrated guide of how to read Aztec glyphs; an explanation of the special features of this writing system in comparison to others from around the globe; the story of how this enigmatic language has been deciphered; a tour through Aztec history as recorded in hieroglyphic codices; and demonstrations of how the writing system was adapted to transliterate Spanish words during the Conquest.With 300 illustrations

Read more less

Each book in the ‘Moments of Mindfulness’ series pairs the wise words of a great writer, master, philosopher or poet with Olivier Föllmi’s beautiful and moving photographs. Föllmi travelled far and wide to witness the celebrations, landscapes, rituals and traditions of cultures all over the world, discovering new ways of seeing as he sought to understand and capture through photography the connections linking the people to their ancestral lands. The effect is transcendental and transformative, awakening our senses and preparing our souls to receive these simple yet profound teachings.

Read more less

This comprehensive and ambitious workshop reference book for jewelers brings together a vast range of skills, techniques and technical data in one volume, providing an essential one-stop look-it-up resource for both students and professionals. The focus is on detailed explanation – with clear step-bystep photography used extensively – which means that while this book contains the expert techniques aimed squarely at professional jewelers, it is also accessible to students of any level seeking an authoritative and comprehensive bible of their craft.

Read more less

Edvard Munch (1863–1944) is best known today as a painter, but his reputation was in fact established through his prints, which were central to his creative process. His printmaking was experimental and innovative, and he continually revisited the subjects of his paintings in striking prints, in which he evoked a wide range of emotion and mood through the use of varied techniques. Munch’s early life in the industrial town of Kristiania (renamed Oslo in 1925) was marked by sickness and poverty. His first works centred on the expression of deep emotional experiences, specifically the deaths of his mother and teenage sister when he was growing up, as well as passionate yet unhappy love affairs of which his deeply religious father disapproved. Encouraged by his encounters with a Bohemian society of artists, writers and poets, he developed a visual landscape that was a radical deviation from the slick society portraits and grand Scandinavian landscapes then so much in vogue. His efforts attracted considerable attention and much criticism, and he practised with little financial success as a painter for ten years before he started to gain his reputation as a profoundly innovative printmaker. Written by a team of acknowledged experts, and with an interview by writer Karl Ove Knausgaard, this book will shed new light on the production of some of Munch’s most remarkable works.

Read more less

This illustrated introduction offers a fresh approach to the history of the Islamic world from its origins to the present day. Told in six chapters, arranged both chronologically and thematically, and richly enhanced with outstanding images, it provides an illuminating insight into the material culture produced from West Africa to Southeast Asia through art and artefacts, people and places. From pre-Islamic works that provided a foundation for the arts of Islam to masterpieces produced under the great empires and objects that continue to be made today, this expansive survey traces the development of civilizations at the forefront of philosophical and scientific ideas, artistic and literary developments, and technological innovations, exploring a wealth of cultural treasures along the way. Texts are accompanied by a wide variety of objects, including architectural decoration, ceramics, jewellery, metalwork, calligraphy, textiles, musical instruments, coins, illustrated manuscripts, and modern and contemporary art, all of which shed new light on the Islamic world both past and present. This book will inspire and inform anyone interested in one of the most influential and diverse cultures of the world.

Read more less

This gift range is inspired by Henry Wilson’s Pattern and Ornament in the Arts of India , an outstanding sourcebook of photographs and drawings for lovers of both design and India, and practising artists and designers everywhere. Henry Wilson’s drawings – which in a magically abstract form copy the decoration illustrated or perform variations on it – allow the reader to understand and revel in the Indian aesthetic. They can also inspire designers to find patterns in existing decoration and produce original results.

Read more less

How far can we expand the concept of ‘urban nature’? How would it make us feel? And how is it going to transform our cities – and, eventually, ourselves? Garden City captures the growing global movement among contemporary architects for biodesigning buildings less as skin and bodies – structure and façade – and more as living entities, capable of being ecologically autonomous, horticulturally productive and ultimately pleasing to our day-to-day lifestyles. It presents more than 100 (mostly completed) projects, a life-affirming range of buildings and design ideas that can be applied to new buildings and those needing rehabilitation. From office buildings that incorporate urban farms and exchange the CO2 produced by humans for food and oxygen produced by plants, to lightweight systems for growing gardens on vertical surfaces; from ‘tree houses’ the size of city blocks to civic buildings that are ‘plugged into’ existing water-management systems – there are rich and often unexpected ideas for every inquiring designer. The future of our urban architecture is biologically alert, naturally self-sustaining and alive. Garden City is this future’s first manifesto.

Read more less

We find ourselves square in the middle of one of the greatest periods in music packaging. Events such as Record Store Day have pushed collectible packaging back to the cultural forefront; millennials have started buying physical records; and hip clothing outlets devote massive amounts of space to record players and racks of LPs. The designers collected here are at the forefront of this movement. Some have been working in the music industry for decades, while others are fresh on the scene. They all share a desire to elevate the simple record cover and the wrapping that surrounds these products into something more, something special, something unique, something memorable. Lifelong music fans, they pour every ounce of creative energy into coming up with solutions worthy of the music inside. They also need to be inventive in how they accomplish this. Coming up with a great concept in a sketch during a meeting and actually seeing it to fruition and sitting on a shelf in a record store are two different things. As Paula Scher details in her interview, today’s designers are faced with a very different task than the record sleeve designers of the past. Outside of the mega stars, budgets are more or less non-existent, yet the pressure to deliver something jaw-dropping and mind-blowing remains. Packed with innovative artworks by one-of-a-kind designers, this is the definitive guide to album cover design in the 21st century.

Read more less

The definitive history of the Young British Artists movement, featuring extensive interviews with its key players.

Read more less

Bioluminescent algae, symbiotic aquariums, self-healing concrete, clavicle wind instruments and structures made from living trees – biology applied outside the lab has never been so intriguing, or so beautiful. Bio Design examines the thrilling advances in the field, showcasing some seventy projects (concepts, prototypes and completed designs) that cover a range of fields – from architecture and industrial design to fashion and medicine. The revised and expanded edition features twelve new projects (replacing ten existing projects): Hy-Fi (by David Benjamin); One Central Park, Sydney (Jean Nouvel); Guard from Above (Sjoerd Hoogendoorn); Cell-laden Hydrogels for Biocatalysis (Alshakim Nelson); Zoa (Modern Meadow); Amino Labs (Julie Legault); Algae and Mycelium Projects (Eric Klarenbeek); Interwoven and Harvest (Diane Scherer); Concrete Honey (John Becker); Bistro In Vitro (Koert van Mensvoort); Circumventive Organs (Agi Haines); Quantworm Mine (Liv Bargman and Nina Cutler). It also includes a new ‘how-to’ section at the end (Tips for Collaboration/FAQs/Further Resources), as well as a fully revised introduction.

Read more less

The political leaders, writers, artists and philosophers of ancient Greece turned a small group of city states into a pan-Mediterranean civilization, whose legacy can be found everywhere today. But who were these people, what do we know of their lives and how did they interact with one another? In this original new approach to telling the Greek story, David Stuttard weaves together the lives of fifty movers and shakers of the Greek world into a continuous, chronologically organized narrative, from the early tyrant rulers Peisistratus and Polycrates, through the stirrings of democracy under Cleisthenes to the rise of Macedon under Philip II and Alexander the Great and the eventual decline of the Greek world as Rome rose.With 29 illustrations, 25 in colour

Read more less

This entertaining and fact-packed guide provides all the information you’ll need to travel back in time to Elizabethan London – a booming city of courtiers, cutthroats, merchants, beggars, lawyers, dramatists, apprentices and adventurers. Find out the best way to the capital and where to stay. Saunter over London Bridge, with its hundreds of shops and houses. Glimpse Her Majesty at Whitehall, Europe’s largest palace. Watch the finest plays and players at the Rose Theatre, and marvel at the bustle of business in the Royal Exchange. Go down to Greenwich to stand on the deck of the Golden Hind, the ship that Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world. This intriguingly addictive guide provides all you need to know to sightsee, shop and meet the famous in the capital of a nation stirring to greatness.

Read more less

In February 2012, in a Munich flat belonging to an elderly recluse, German customs authorities seized an astonishing hoard of more than 1,400 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. When Cornelius Gurlitt’s trove became public in November 2013, it caused a worldwide media sensation. Catherine Hickley has delved into archives and conducted dozens of interviews to uncover the story behind the headlines. Her book illuminates a dark period of German history, untangling a web of deceit and silence that has prevented the heirs of Jewish collectors from recovering art stolen from their families more than seven decades ago by the Nazis. Hickley recounts the shady history of the Gurlitt hoard and brings its story right up to date, as 21st-century politicians and lawyers puzzle over the inadequacies of a legal framework that to this day falls short in securing justice for the heirs of those robbed by the Nazis.

Read more less

Designed to equip the cultural tourist and art student with the means to interpret each painting, building, or artifact in terms of the iconography and symbolism of Islam, this book will deepen understanding not only of Islamic art and architecture but also of Islam itself.

Read more less

Published to coincide with the major exhibition at the National Gallery this autumn, here is the ultimate book on Rembrandt’s art and life – his work as an artist, his family, friends and patrons, his place in European culture – by one of the world’s best-known writers on Dutch art. Designed to be the Rembrandt book of first resort, this complete and accessible volume, available again in a new, reduced format edition, will be an invaluable work of reference and vital reading for art lovers, art students and museum-goers.

Read more less

Body art, practised across all world cultures and throughout history, is the most intimate art form, linking the self, the senses, and the social and political. In recent years, it has proliferated in an unprecedented way, borrowing motifs and practices from many different traditions. What is it that these new and borrowed body arts do, and what do they tell us about the global culture that we now inhabit? Nicholas Thomas explores these questions and many more in this wide- ranging survey of body arts from prehistoric origins to the present. He illuminates their role in expressing cultural identity; their associations with ritual, theatricality, criminality and beauty; and their recent resurgence via the Modern Primitive movement and in the work of contemporary artists. More than 180 illustrations chronicle the diversity of body arts, from painting and scarification to footbinding, Russian prison tattoos, Harlem drag balls and the inked designs worn by celebrities such as Tupac Shakur and David Beckham. For everyone with any interest in the subject, Body Art offers an intelligent celebration of this quintessentially human art form.

Read more less

Sir Christopher Wren overcame a complete lack of formal training and firsthand knowledge of European architecture to become a master of his art. He built nothing before he was thirty; but by the time he was seventy and still very active, his achievements rivaled those of any European architect. Wren was gifted with a fertile imagination, and his artistic gifts were complemented by his brilliant technical ingenuity. This combination is apparent in Wren's greatest work, St. Paul's Cathedral in London, which required rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1666. The famous dome of St. Paul's is a masterpiece of engineering, but it is also considered among the most beautiful in the world; it occupies a striking place in the London skyline as a legacy to England's greatest architect.

Read more less

A revised edition of a compelling photographic history of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and reign This book is a photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, from her first official photograph as a baby in 1926 to her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Each of the book’s chapters begins with a text by bestselling historian and biographer Philip Ziegler, covering the key royal and historical events of the period, with some contextual photographs, followed by a sequence of plates in chronological order. With over 200 images of the Queen by internationally distinguished photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Lord Snowdon and Rankin, the Queen is captured in a variety of poses, from formal photographs as a working monarch, to intimate portraits relaxing with her family at Balmoral and Windsor. All the images have been officially approved by the Palace, making this the only illustrated book that anyone will ever need on Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more less

A compelling and lively history that examines the lives of British artists from the late-19th century to today. In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the ‘long twentieth century’, from the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistler’s defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times. At the heart of this original book are the successive waves of displacement caused by global wars and persecution that conversely brought fresh ideas and new points of view to the British Isles; educational reforms opened new routes for young people from working-class backgrounds; movements of social change enabled the emergence of female artists and artists of colour; and the emergence of the mass media shaped modern modes of communication and culture. These are the ebbs and flows that Michael Bird teases out in this panoramic account of Britain and its artists in across the twentieth century.

Read more less

The first book dedicated to Picasso’s self-portraits, many held in private collections and published here for the first time. Much has been said and written about Picasso’s life and art, but until now his self-portraits have never been studied and presented in a single book, perhaps because the artist always left many doubts about his work. However, there is no doubt that Picasso represented himself ceaselessly, whether in a dashed-off pencil sketch, as a flourish at the bottom of a letter, or on a giant canvas. At the suggestion of Picasso’s widow Jacqueline, the distinguished art historian Pascal Bonafoux began researching Picasso’s self-portraits more than forty years ago. This meticulously researched book presents the fruits of his decades-long project. From the first attributed painting in 1894 as a thirteen-year-old boy, until Picasso's final self-portrait in 1972, a year before his death, Bonafoux charts the evolution of the artist's life and art. Here is Picasso as a student; as a young bohemian; an impetuous artist in Paris; as harlequin; as lover, husband and father; and finally, as an old man confronting his mortality. The book comprises about 170 drawings, paintings and photographs, some from private collections and previously unpublished, bringing together for the first time the attributed self-portraits of this genius of 20th-century art.

Read more less

An elegant collection of Christian Dior’s maxims on style, women and inspiration, presented in a fashionable gift format. Credited with creating some of the most luxurious and spectacular haute couture pieces of all time, Christian Dior became a fashion icon overnight in 1947 with the launch of his ‘New Look’ - sumptuous hourglass silhouettes that provided a welcome tonic to the austerity of wartime. Its wild success, and the global fame that ensued, was built on the designer’s subtle understanding of fashion, couture, style, elegance and women - a perspective and insight best revealed in Dior’s own words, which are gathered here for the first time. Rightly described as the ‘Designer of Dreams’ in the recent blockbuster exhibition on the house of Dior that attracted millions of visitors the world over, Christian Dior was an unrivalled arbiter in the world of high fashion. Dior was generous with his advice on all things, from style and how to dress (‘No elegant woman follows fashion blindly’, he once declared), to his insights into the creative process, invaluable for any budding designer. Presented in a beautiful package and accessible format, The World According to Christian Dior is the perfect gift for fashion fans, publishing on the occasion of the house’s 75th anniversary.

Read more less

Explores the lifestyles of families and individuals around the world who have escaped the daily grind to create a new life in harmony with nature. The impact of climate change and the pressures of city life – not to mention the life-changing events of the last few years – have left many of us dreaming of a simpler existence that benefits the environment and resets the mind. The lifting of restrictions, including travel, has meant that more of us than ever are re-evaluating how and where we live, eschewing disposable culture in favour of a more meaningful and sustainable way of life. From a family who relocated to the remote Australian bush to a young couple who live and work on a narrowboat on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in the UK, Living Wild tells the stories of people around the world who have made the leap into the unknown, exploring what inspired them and how the move has impacted upon their families and livelihoods. From tackling the daily challenges of living off-grid to minimizing waste and growing your own food, this book will be inspirational reading for anyone who aspires to live more sustainably.

Read more less

A brand-new perspective on early modern art and its relationship with nature as reflected in this moving account of overlooked artistic genius Adam Elsheimer, by an outstanding writer and critic. Seventeenth-century Europe swirled with conjectures and debates over what was real and what constituted 'nature', currents that would soon gather force to form modern science. Natural Light deliberates on the era’s uncertainties, as distilled in the work of painter Adam Elsheimer – a short-lived, tragic German artist who has always been something of a cult secret. Elsheimer’s diminutive, intense and mysterious narrative compositions related figures to landscape in new ways, projecting unfamiliar visions of space at a time when Caravaggio was polarizing audiences with his radical altarpieces and circles of ‘natural philosophers’ – early modern scientists – were starting to turn to the new ‘world system’ of Galileo. Julian Bell transports us to the spirited Rome of the 1600s, where Elsheimer and other young Northern immigrants – notably his friend Peter Paul Rubens – swapped pictorial and poetic reference points. Focusing on some of Elsheimer's most haunting compositions, Bell drives at the anxieties that underlie them – a puzzling over existential questions that still have relevance today. Traditional themes for imagery are expressed with fresh urgency, most of all in Elsheimer's final painting, a vision of the night sky of unprecedented poetic power that was completed at a time of ferment in astronomy. Circulated through prints, Elsheimer’s pictorial inventions affected imaginations as disparate as Rembrandt, Lorrain and Poussin. They even reached artists in Mughal India, whose equally impassioned miniatures expand our sense of what 'nature' might be. As we home in on artworks of microscopic finesse, the whole of the 17th-century globe and its perplexities starts to open out around us.

Read more less

A compelling social and cultural history of Britain since the Second World War, showing how photographers have depicted the country over the last seventy years. Another Country offers a lively, vital rethinking of British documentary photography over the last seven decades. This collection includes a diverse range of photographers working in an exciting array of photographic and artistic modes, encompassing images from iconic reportage to photo-text pieces, from self-portraits to political photo-collages. As Britain takes an increasingly significant place in the history of documentary photography, award-winning photography writer and critic Gerry Badger brings vital context and breadth to the conversation. Organized chronologically, each chapter spans a particular period of social and cultural history, focusing on the major photographers, figures, institutions, publications and galleries that shaped the photographic climate of their time, as well as the broader tastes of the era. Chapter-by-chapter picture sections present famous works alongside forgotten masterpieces, interspersed with focused commentaries on selected photographs by both Badger and a range of contributors. This multilayered approach provides a rich understanding of the evolution and sheer variety of British documentary photography. With more than 165 photographers represented – including work by Bert Hardy, Lee Miller, Bill Brandt, Nigel Henderson, Don McCullin, Jane Bown, Yinka Shonibare, Maud Sulter, Nadav Kander, Tom Hunter, Chloe Dewe Matthews, Cold War Steve and many more – this book is a comprehensive overview of how photographers and photo-artists have depicted Britain and British society over the last seventy years.

Read more less

The definitive catalogue of an unparalleled collection of Indian jewelry and luxury objects made at the height of the Mughal empire and the Deccan sultanates. This is the definitive catalogue of an unparalleled collection of Indian jewelry and jewelled luxury objects made at the height of the Mughal empire and Deccan sultanates in the 16th and 17th centuries. The collection, widely regarded as one of the finest in the world, was assembled by Sheikh Nasser and Sheikha Hussa al-Sabah for The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, and reveals the beauty, sophistication and diversity of Indian jewelled arts. The Indian subcontinent is naturally rich in gems. From ancient times master jewellers developed a wide array of unique techniques and made it home to the most sophisticated jewels on earth. Exotic birds and animals, flowers, trees and mythological scenes rendered in precious gemstones, gold and enamel demonstrate these artists’ prodigious imagination and skill. They produced not only an unmatched range of jewelry to adorn the body but also ritual and household items of astonishing refinement and luxury, as well as extravagantly large engraved gemstones to serve as symbols of their princely patrons’ royal power – including a spinel of nearly 250 carats believed to be the legendary Timur Ruby. This volume includes not only the finest and most valuable pieces in the collection – some familiar to connoisseurs, others published here for the first time – but also many previously unknown types that extend our understanding of artistic output in the region. With specially commissioned photography giving unprecedented new views of more than 300 jewelled objects, this is a publication of historic importance and beauty, for all lovers of jewelry, the arts of India and of the Islamic world.

Read more less

This is the first major study of the subject in over seventy years. In a triumph of scholarship, Stefano Carboni has drawn on a huge range of sources to produce a beautiful and comprehensive history.The book is based on the superb al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait and includes detailed descriptions of some 500 objects, accompanied by hundreds of newly taken photographs and specially commissioned drawings. Beginning with the legacy of Roman and Sasanian traditions in the early years of Islam, the coverage extends well over a thousand years to the last phase of glass production in Mughal India and Safavid and Qajar Iran in the 18th and 19th centuries.Dr Carboni’s authoritative text, the beauty of the objects themselves and the fine quality of the reproductions combine to reveal to scholar and layman alike an aspect of Islamic art that has for too long been neglected.

Read more less

The Monocle team celebrates the endlessly fascinating and culturally rich country of Japan. Ever since it launched in 2007, Monocle has had a rich and deep connection with Japan. From day one the magazine has had a Tokyo bureau – which today also encompasses a Monocle shop and radio studios – run under the watchful eye of Asia bureau chief Fiona Wilson. Over the past decade the magazine has built up a unique understanding and passion for the nation. It has covered everything from a live journey on the Emperor’s jet and the tastiest places to eat in Kagoshima to the fashion designers crafting new levels of excellence and the businesses with remarkable stories untold outside Japan. This new book reveals the best of the nation in the run up to the 2020 Olympics. Complete with stunning photography and intriguing essays, it is a unique showcase of a country that for many remains a mystery.

Read more less

The Monocle team dips its toe into the world of swimming, revealing 100 beautiful and inspiring places to take the plunge. Swimming is excellent exercise of course, but it’s so much more than that: it can be a transcendental experience, offering us space to reflect and to escape. It’s an antidote to screens and all-encompassing technology. Perhaps it’s the shedding of inhibitions that come with a dip, or could it be that getting somewhere under our own steam is an act that’s health-giving, refreshing and life-affirming? Whatever it means to you, swimming – alone or with others, badly or brilliantly – is about being in the moment. This new book celebrates bathing in glorious full-colour photography, revealing the editors’ chosen spots from inner-city architectural wonders to lakes, beach clubs and bagni. So whether you’re looking to do laps in Italy, tread water in Australia, sink into the icy depths in Iceland – or perhaps just sit on the side and let others do the hard work – this guide includes a setting for everyone. Dive right in.

Read more less