Paris is known as the City of Lights, but it is really the City of Museums. Explore iconic centers of fine art with fresh eyes and dig deeper to uncover a world of museums dedicated to art and artists, science and industry, literature and film and curiosities both unusual and fascinating.
Can you identify all the great artists of French impressionism? Do you know about French contributions to early automobiles and airplanes? Are you fascinated by haute couture? Would you like to visit the ateliers of great painters and sculptors? Do you love music and film? Are you an obsessive collector of something truly peculiar? Or do you simply want to learn about new and compelling things in the world around you?
111 Museums in Paris That You Shouldn’t Miss highlights destinations, both well-known and obscure, where you will discover new treasures throughout this magnificent city.
These pages tell the story without words of a journey through Spain in which the author, the photographer Fernando Manso, visited unknown and hidden corners and captured them on the plates of his large-format camera. From the remotest parts of Galicia to those of Almería, he passed through coasts, deserts and mountains, stopping at old churches, ghostly castles or majestic cathedrals, in forests and gorges, at natural pools and salt mines, and at cemeteries, Arab baths and hermitages carved out of the rock.
Fernando has made the light of these places into the leading figure of his journey. His is a different light, as he has relinquished blue skies and brilliant sunshine, often the stuff of clichés, to make way for visions of places that appear to us with such intimate truth that even if we know them, we can barely recognize them. This is thanks to his technique, his art and the patience with which he waits for the light.
Fernando’s luxury is being able to use all the time in the world to draw us into an artistic heritage that is sometimes secret and hard to reach, and which the viewer has to know how to see. He reveals these places, often in danger of disappearing, after detailed investigation. Both architecture and landscape – for he knows that natural scenery is also a major patrimony that has to be affectionately preserved and protected from speculation – belong to all of us, and we are responsible for their care. We must be aware of this.
The result of that trip is this publication, with beautiful images in reproductions of exceptional quality that present us with a vision of Spain in a different light.
Liverpool’s unique history as an international port and a cultural melting pot has given it a character all its own. The city has produced music that conquered the world and is home to more historic buildings than any other British metropolis outside London. It features two magnificent cathedrals and many world famous museums. But beyond its renowned exterior, is an eclectic assortment of places hidden and unknown.
This deliciously offbeat guidebook will lead you to a different Liverpool: down tunnels, up skyscrapers, and into secret bars, speciality shops, and disused factories. You will see Balenciaga trainers and vintage planes, rolling bridges and disappearing statues, Liver birds and celebrity suitcases, home-baked cakes and cast-iron churches.
Stroll under the palms in a magical glasshouse, explore a 1950s kitchen or a museum of false teeth. Relax in a hip tea bar with over 50 varieties of tea (loose leaf naturally). Marvel at the world’s most expensive book or largest brick building (27 million bricks!). Go underground to explore a network of mysterious tunnels or a perfectly preserved World War II bunker. Drink in a prison cell, picnic in a graveyard, or stay in the hotel where Winston Churchill and Bob Dylan were guests.
Think you know Liverpool? Think again! Whether you’re a long-time local, a first-time tourist, or a repeat visitor, prepare to be charmed and intrigued by 111 eccentric and unusual spots you’d never expect to find in the city best known for football and the Fab Four.
This photographic collection will take you on a journey through some of the world’s most stunningly unusual and imaginative buildings, from the terracotta-pink bubble palaces of southern France to the mind-bendingly warped houses of Poland. You’ll discover structures shaped like dogs, shoes, and picnic baskets—each one a testament to the playful possibilities of architecture. From private homes to national libraries, towering churches inspired by mountains and glaciers, and architectural marvels spanning from Bilbao to Beijing, these buildings are united by a spirit of adventure and an unconventional approach to design. Each structure in this collection challenges traditional ideas of form and function, celebrating creativity and pushing the boundaries of what architecture can be.
This book of photography is the result of two great loves. A journey through the streets of Florence through a little girl’s eyes, so bright and full of joy.
Windows and shop-windows act as if they were eyes too, capable of reflecting images of buildings and churches, so as to keep them inside, as well as in our memories or in our hearts.
A sort of journey to discover and rediscover aspects, anecdotes and curiosities of this atypical city, where every street, even the narrowest one, tells a story.
Text in English and Italian.
Alejandro Merizalde began photographing in Venice in 2008. In his early visits he found the city stiflingly overcrowded, but during a brief winter trip a few years later, the overcast skies and foggy atmosphere allowed him to draw out Venice’s legendary beauty without the disruptions of mass tourism.
In 2013 he started experimenting with longer exposures to eliminate the distractions of human activity and enable him to concentrate on his architectural compositions. This shift in approach was gradual, but it helped him realize that he was no longer interested in recording iconic features like St Mark’s Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs and the gondola, to name a few. From then on, he dropped the predictable locations and buildings and trained his lens on the Venice lagoon and areas of the city where Venetians actually spend their lives.
Text in English, French and Italian.
The best of urban exploration. JONK presents a collection of images showcasing abandoned places reclaimed by nature. Country houses, luxurious mansions, churches, farms, factories, institutions, train stations, planes, cars, tanks, trains, palaces, spaces of work, play, life, and death—all captured in the vivid process of returning to nature. A wide range of architectural styles, from classical to ultra-modern, is depicted under the influence of a wild and resurgent natural world. Poetic, powerful, and fascinating images that provoke reflection.
A leading figure in the world of urban exploration, JONK travels across the globe in search of abandoned places. Over time, his focus has shifted toward what he finds most compelling within this vast theme of abandonment: locations reclaimed by nature. There is something poetic, almost magical, in watching nature take back what was once hers—re-entering through broken windows and cracks into spaces built and then deserted by humans, until they are completely overtaken. This book contains 226 photographs taken in 14 countries.
Built in the heart of Paris between the 12th and 14th centuries, Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most iconic monuments in the history of France. Standing over the Île de la Cité, it has weathered eras, revolutions, wars, and the capital’s many transformations while remaining a universal symbol of French heritage. This book traces the major stages of its construction, the richness of its architecture, and the key events that have marked its history, up to the 2019 fire and its subsequent rebirth.
Written by Armelle Le Gendre, an art historian, journalist, and teacher, this richly illustrated book offers a fascinating immersion into the history of one of the greatest masterpieces of Gothic art.
Nineteenth-Century European Painting: From Barbizon to Belle Époque represents a comprehensive guide to the range of stylistically diverse genres of nineteenth-century European painting. Accessible and insightful, this exquisitely illustrated volume presents the historical context behind the century’s essential artistic movements including Romantic Painting, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Realist Painting, Academic Painting, and Impressionist Painting. Influenced by an overwhelming wave of political, military and social change, nineteenth-century Europe represented an era more diverse in painterly subjects and styles than any before it. Indeed, it was a period that saw many European painters moving away from the strictures of the academy system, choosing instead to use their training to develop new techniques and traditions. A collection of independent stories, this book also outlines the unique progression between the different movements, exciting and enlightening the reader about the most magnificent period of art the world has ever known. Contents: Foreword; Dr. Vern G. Swanson; Introduction; Author’s Note; STYLES: The Barbizon School; Romantic Painting; Orientalist Painting; The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Realist Painting; Academic Painting; Impressionist Painting; The Newlyn School; Post-Impressionist Painting; SUBJECTS: Landscape Painting; Venetian View Painting; Maritime Painting; Sporting Painting; Animal Painting; Genre Painting; Cardinal Painting; Costume Painting; British Neoclassical Revival Painting; Belle Époque Painting; Conclusion; Endnotes; Bibliography. Featured works from museums and collections including: Louvre, Paris, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Wallace Collection, London, Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, The Tate Gallery, London, The Schaeffer Collection, New South Wales, The Royal Collection, The Royal Academy of Arts, England, The Musée D Orsay Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Collection), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, England, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Stanhope Forbes, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, PA, USA, Paisnel Gallery, London, National Gallery, London, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museo e Gallerie Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, Museo de Arte, Ponte, Puerto Rico, Musée Marmottan, Paris, Musée D Orsay, Paris, Auguste Renoir, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among many others.
Margaret Mercer Elphinstone (1788-1867), with her powerful mind and independent spirit, was never daunted by adversity as she sought to realize her ambitions for her family against the background of intellectual upheaval and social and political change which followed the French Revolution and the end of the ancien régime. The turning-point in her life was her controversial marriage in 1817 with the general Charles de Flahaut (1785-1870), which, contrary to all expectations, resulted in one of the most successful partnerships in the ‘auld alliance’ between France and Scotland.
Whereas the life of her husband, the dashing Napoleonic general and diplomat Charles de Flahaut, is well known, Margaret has remained in the shadows. Yet this biographical study, based on unpublished correspondence in the Archives Nationales, Paris, reveals her to have been the more interesting of the two. It shows how much he depended on her brains, political judgment and artistic taste as well as her fortune to guide him in his career. Her lively, observant but wicked pen takes us with her on visits to Talleyrand, to the marquis de Lafayette, to the duchesse de Praslin, to house parties in stately homes of England and Scotland. Acknowledged a superb hostess, her descriptions of the menus, and entertainments organized in her homes in Scotland, London and Paris, and at the Flahaut embassies in Vienna and in London capture the flavor of those cosmopolitan gatherings. A lifelong liberal in politics and an upholder of Whig principles, her politicomanie inspires sharp comments on the opponents of Reform in England and on the self-seeking ministers of Louis-Philippe in France.
With a penchant for painting and an appreciation for the well-designed home since he was a child, Gary McBournie has perfected the art of creating interior spaces with an impeccable eye for color. He established his design firm in Boston in 1993 and has since created warm, elegant, and timeless classic American homes, always with a twist on tradition. Finely attuned to his environment, McBournie develops each interior with a color palette that matches its surrounding exterior, splashing cool and restful hues for a cottage in New England, shades of lime and papaya in the tropics, and warm sunset tones for a ski house in Montana. Featuring personal photographs and the inspirations behind his color choices, Living Color is a must-have for anyone looking to be tickled pink by gorgeous, twenty-first-century renditions of the comfortably chic American home.
“Showcasing 25 residences by today’s leading classical architects, this wonderful new book also addresses the fundamental issue of collaboration between architect, decorator, landscaper, and the enormous cast of characters who bring their formidable talents to the realization of every project. An Ideal Collaboration is an important addition to the literature of architecture and design.” – Ellie Cullman
“An Ideal Collaboration shares a place in my library next to volumes on great 20th century Classicists. It is essential as a visual reference to the continued evolution of timeless style.” Steven Gambrel
In the follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Art of Classical Details, Phillip James Dodd continues his look at some of the finest examples of contemporary classical architecture in Great Britain and the United States, while also examining how collaboration is the key to their successful design. In reality, collaborative relationships are rare, especially amongst designers, where each is often focused on their own individual objectives and unable to transcend their own egos. Often used as a catch phase, but not often realized, true collaboration requires an understanding and an appreciation – of the role that all parties play in the design and construction of a home. An Ideal Collaboration includes the work of some of the most notable names in contemporary residential design. Architects, decorators, landscape designers, consultants, builders, craftsmen, artists and vendors, all address the design process and the pivotal role that collaboration plays in creating cohesive timeless designs.
“This is the travel photography book for our digital age. Tom’s incredible eye for capturing historical detail creates captivating imagery for the ultimate in escapist pleasure.” Kelly Wearstler, Interior Designer
“A true Renaissance man, Tom shares his vast architectural knowledge, artistic talent, and sense of humor in photographs and watercolors.” Amy Astley, editor-in-chief, Architectural Digest
This book is a celebration of the power of the smartphone camera combined with Tom Kligerman’s unique eye. Tom is a New York architect who adores travel and the different cultures of the world, recording vibrant details and evocative scenes on his iPhone as he journeys from India to New Mexico, from Beaux-Arts monuments to rustic barns, from ocean to mountaintop. The images have been curated into dynamic pairs that spark a conversation about the world and the different ways of seeing it. They are accompanied by Tom’s reflections, and those of his Instagram followers, in a series of captions, comments and mini essays. This book is a child of the pandemic, a time when people could only dream of traveling or relive past experiences, as Tom has done, from the image banks on their mobile devices. It rejoices in both the potential of new media and the physical pleasure given by a beautifully made and structured book. It allows readers a moment of pause and reflection, so necessary if we are not to be lost in the digital feed.
This elegant exhibition catalog is presented by The San Diego Museum of Art to accompany the 2023 major exhibition O’Keeffe and Moore, which explores the evolution of Modernism through the work of Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore. Featuring essays from prominent scholars, including representatives of both the Henry Moore Foundation and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the catalog’s richly illustrated text delves into each artist’s motivation and methodology, and the parallels between them, in particular, the inspiration both took from nature and organic forms, such as bones and seashells. The publication serves as an essential companion to the exhibition. In addition to explorations of the artists’ studios that provide further insight into their working methods, the catalog presents drawings, paintings, and sculpture that illustrate the organic roots of Modernism developed independently, yet concurrently, by O’Keeffe and Moore. Thematic sections of the catalogue include the Real and the Surreal; The Artists’ Studios; Bones; Stones; Seashells, Flowers, and Internal/External Forms; and Landscapes of Forms. Essay topics include Henry Moore: Modernism, Nature, and National Identity; “A Revelation of the Perfect Relation”: The Influence of D.H. Lawrence on the work of Henry Moore and Georgia O’Keeffe; and Finding the Form and the publication will also include a comparative chronology of the lives and careers of the two artists.
In this evocative new book, historian David Kynaston tells the fascinating story of Anthony de Rothschild (1887–1961). Through access to never previously consulted diaries and letters, a three-dimensional picture emerges of a complex and thoughtful man guiding the City’s most famous merchant bank through the turbulent years between the 1920s and 1950s.
In politics he was open-minded and constructive whilst in his philanthropy, not least through his leading role in helping Jewish refugees (especially children) to leave Nazi Germany for England, he was thoughtful and generous. Austere on the surface but warm beneath, impatient equally of fools and idealogues, always searching for how he could contribute to make a better world – Anthony de Rothschild deserves, arguably more than almost anyone else in the 20th-century City, to be known properly by later generations.
“Skins by Gavin Watson has been argued as being ‘the single most important record’ of 1970s skinhead culture in Britain, who have possibly been one of the most reviled yet misunderstood of the nation’s youth subcultures.” — Daily Mail
“Gavin Watson documented his friends as they came of age at the heart of a misunderstood community.” — i-D
“Gavin Watson’s cult documentary photo book Skins chronicles the radical and inclusive spirit which originally animated the emerging skinhead culture of 70s Britain.” — Dazed
Skins by Gavin Watson is arguably the single most important record of ’70s skinhead culture in Britain. Rightly celebrated as a true classic of photobook publishing, the book is now reissued in a high-quality new edition under close supervision from the photographer.
The scores of black and white shots offer a fascinating glimpse into a skinhead community that was multi-cultural, tightly knit and, above all else, fiercely proud of its look. These are classic photographs of historical value.
“What makes Gavin’s photos so special is that when you look at them, there’s clearly trust from the subject towards the photographer, so it feels like you’re in the photo rather than just observing.” – Shane Meadows (Director of award-winning film This Is England).
The book, described by The Times as “a modern classic”, forms an important visual record of its time and has attained cult status in the genre, alongside works by other eminent photographers such as Derek Ridgers and Nick Knight.
“Arguably one of the best and most important books about youth fashion and culture ever published.” – Vice Magazine
Skins by Gavin Watson is arguably the single most important record of ’70s skinhead culture in Britain. Rightly celebrated as a true classic of photobook publishing, the book is now reissued in a high-quality new edition under close supervision from the photographer.
The scores of black and white shots offer a fascinating glimpse into a skinhead community that was multi-cultural, tightly knit and, above all else, fiercely proud of its look. These are classic photographs of historical value.
“What makes Gavin’s photos so special is that when you look at them, there’s clearly trust from the subject towards the photographer, so it feels like you’re in the photo rather than just observing.” – Shane Meadows (Director of award-winning film This Is England).
The book, described by The Times as “a modern classic”, forms an important visual record of its time and has attained cult status in the genre, alongside works by other eminent photographers such as Derek Ridgers and Nick Knight.
“Arguably one of the best and most important books about youth fashion and culture ever published.” – Vice Magazine
A decade-old obsession for Dutchman Pieter Boogaart resulted in a guidebook that looks like no other, to a subject never before fully explored: the A272. Three continuous texts wind their way through the book, simultaneously exploring the A272 itself and the countryside it passes through; extra commentary is provided in yet another level of text. Hundreds of color photographs complete this homage to the ‘epitome of England’. After eight reprintings, now in a fully revised, updated, improved FOURTH edition and – naturally – 272 pages long!
We the Forest aims to ‘rewild the imagination’ by opening children’s eyes afresh to the wonder of forests through a meld of science and contemporary artwork. New scientific discoveries show that the interconnectedness of the forest runs deeper than we ever imagined. This title explores how all life in the forest is linked and our own human connection to and dependence on the forest.
Engaging text evokes the magic of forests – from how trees communicate to their superpowers of regeneration and protection of the planet – accompanied by commissioned illustrations. Interspersed throughout are arresting artworks inspired by forests from a wide variety of contemporary artists: learn to speak in ‘tree’ with Katie Holten’s tree alphabet, peer through Levon Biss’s lens to see what a giant beetle would look like, or witness the terrible beauty of forest fires in Jeff Frost’s photos. Interactive elements encourage the reader in their own creative projects.
“Capturing the spirit of every Glastonbury since 1992, this coffee table book from award-winning photographer Liam Bailey brings together three decades of revelry and wonder among festivalgoers on Somerset’s most famous dairy farm.” — Redonline.co.uk
“…Iconic Photos That Capture the Messy Essence of Glastonbury.” — VICE
“The book’s images capture the rugged anarchy that spreads through Somerset each year around the solstice.” — MSN
“There are many books about the music scene but few that show punters in all their beautiful variety. Liam Bailey’s long-term documentation has really paid off – this book about the craziness of Glastonbury Festival is terrific.” – Martin Parr
Glastonbury is the striking distillation of over 30 years’ unprecedented photographic access to the world’s largest green-field music and performing arts festival. In over 120 memorable images, Liam Bailey invites us to share his experiences of being among its diverse tribes.
Although Glastonbury has evolved into a sprawling fixture of the British summer calendar, this famously vibrant event is still powered by the belief in alternative communal culture. It is this special energy that has kept Bailey returning every year since 1992. Above all, this ‘access all areas’ visual diary makes a case for the positive human potential of over 200,000 people being able to get together in the open air – to enjoy music, performance and each other.
Bailey’s work has been exhibited in the UK and abroad, and appeared in magazines and newspapers including The Independent, The Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller.
Photographer Scott Mead (b.1954) revisits his formative years spent documenting New England, USA, in Rites of Passage for the first time. Shot over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, we follow Mead through early adulthood and explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.
At a junction between an American road trip and a personal visual diary, Mead’s images depict a world as it was then, shaped by political upheaval, profound civil changes and the Cold War. The cloth-bound hardback book features 100 large-format prints of Mead’s poignant photographs to be considered in a new context.
Rites of Passage shows Mead with a camera always at hand and presents his delicate, often amusing and sometimes uneasy portraits alongside cityscapes, landscapes and snapshots of the lives of friends and strangers. All of the artist’s proceeds from Rites of Passage benefit Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.
‘Not only is this a visually luscious book of Ptolemy Mann’s work, it makes a fascinating – and timely – contribution to the ongoing debate about the relationship of art and textiles.’ — Alice Rawsthorn, author of Design as an Attitude.
‘[Ptolemy Mann] has been creating textile works of extraordinary colour and vibrancy for nearly 30 years. In 2021, after a period of experimenting with painting on paper, she turned her brush to her painstakingly dyed and handwoven cloths – the striking results can be seen in Mann’s first monograph, Thread Painting.’ — Killian Fox, the Guardian
British artist Ptolemy Mann’s studio practice bridges weaving and painting, creating distinctive, refined and radiant wall-based work, often on a large scale. Her early work was focused on weaving, and she then turned to painting on paper, later combining the two to paint directly onto her hand-woven artworks.
Focusing on the past decade, Thread Painting features over 140 stunning full-color images of these three phases in Mann’s artistic career, and is her first published monograph. Thread Painting includes written contributions from Ann Coxon, curator of international art at Tate Modern, and Chloë Ashby, arts critic and author. A conversation between Mann and childhood friend, artist and stage designer Es Devlin sheds light on Mann’s early influences and her meticulous process.
Thread Painting is a celebration of Mann’s unique work during a fascinating decade of artistic output, exploring the relationships between dye, thread, paper, paint and time.
Put down your phone, open your eyes and immerse yourself in your surroundings. The way to discover Britain is not through packed schedules and perfect Instagram posts; this is a book about traveling for those of us who’d rather take our time, focusing on authentic approaches to popular British destinations. From swimming in Snowdonia (Eryri) to walking Hadrian’s Wall, eating Pembrokeshire’s wild food to soaking up the history of Skye, travel is so much more than ticking off landmarks or filling an Instagram grid. Don’t go far, go slow.
Between 1978 and 1987, renowned British photographer Derek Ridgers captured London youth culture in all its glory. With skinheads, punks and new romantics, in clubs and on the street, his images have come to define a seminal decade of British subculture.
This completely reimagined edition of 78/87 London Youth showcases a fresh selection of those images from the depths of Ridgers’ exceptional archive – including several previously unseen – beautifully printed and bound in an oversized volume.
Each picture is a tribute to the trials and triumphs of youth, and a precious document of style and culture in 1980s England, from the height of punk to the birth of acid house. Several have been exhibited internationally in cities as far-ranging as Moscow, Adelaide and Beverly Hills, in the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Somerset House. Ridgers has also collaborated with a number of major fashion houses, including Saint Laurent and Gucci, and his images continue to inspire photographers, artists and fashion designers around the world.
‘As time passes, this kind of observational photography attains a new importance’ – Sean O’Hagan, The Observer
‘Ridgers’ portraits of young boys and girls are weighted with a raw poetry and beauty’ – Cory Reynolds, artbook.com