A Sino-Chinese family find their destiny is inseparably entangled with that of the country they have adopted as a home. Not long before the Communist revolution, Tong, sent by his peasant-parents in impoverished rural China to work with a relative in Siam, has risen to become a rice-trading tycoon in Bangkok’s Chinatown, married a former palace cook and built a large family in the town of Pad Riew. Haunted by the dream of returning to his true home in China, Tong, along with his wife and their five children, are swept along by the torrents of history as World War II breakout and China turns red, while the military strongman in Thailand act out the interminable cycle of power struggle, rebellion and coup d’état.
Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat, the award-winning second novel by Veerapon Nitiprapha, is a generations-spanning family saga that explores the roots of the Chinese diaspora in Siam and how the tragedy of ruined love, maternal betrayal and futile ambition shape the lives of Tong’s clan members, each of them hounded by their own ghosts and burdened by their own sins. All of this is played out against the backdrop of Siam’s mid-century social and political history, the most chaotic period the formation of the nation.
Muzharul Islam (1923–2012) has left behind an outstanding architectural legacy in Bangladesh, with a significance reaching far beyond the temporal and geographical horizons of its creation. Yet until now, his work has remained relatively unknown despite its relevance and singularity. This monograph presents numerous photographs and reproductions of detailed original drawings to introduce a series of unique buildings to an international audience, highlighting the Bengali architect’s way of thinking and actions, as well as his engagement in cross-cultural dialogue.
Contributions by practising architects from different continents present multifaceted perspectives on Islam’s work, placing him within a historical context and global interconnections. Muzharul Islam’s pioneering and timeless works address burning issues that are currently shaping the global architectural debate: climate-sensitive and self-sufficient construction, social engagement and overcoming colonial mindsets are all fields that the architect pursued relentlessly since the beginning of his career in the 1950s.
What was the meaning of the extraordinary collection of texts, sketches and graphic prints that Edvard Munch called The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Get a glimpse into the artist’s world of ideas through one of the greatest mysteries he left behind. In this book you can experience The Tree of Knowledge as it was found in Munch’s home, with both loose, bound and blank pages. An essay by art historian Nora Ceciliedatter Nerdrum provides new perspectives on Munch’s most enigmatic project. No one knows why he created this album. Was it a book proposal? Or was it an attempt to organise his ideas?
What we do know is that he worked on the album for several decades, and that it was probably never completed. The most astonishing part of its content is perhaps Munch’s own texts about love, jealousy, life and death, composed in large, colorful lettering.
Books of Hours were the bestsellers of the late Middle Ages. Books of Hours, Books of Hope provides unambiguous and accessible answers to the most intriguing questions about the use and significance of these devotional books: what were they about, who were the makers and readers, where did people learn to read, did they use reading glasses or lamps, what do the humorous figures in the margins symbolize, and why do Books of Hours feature so frequently in portraits by, for example, the Flemish Primitives?
From sumptuous masterpieces embellished with gold leaf to modest, well-thumbed copies dotted with candle-wax stains or personal notes – each one has a story to tell. Books of Hours were popular among all levels of society, from dukes and countesses to bricklayers and maids. Not only as showpieces, but above all as their owners’ faithful companions, cherished and used intensively.
Lavishly illustrated with masterpieces from the collections of the Bruges Public Library and Musea Brugge, this publication is a must-have for those who wish to immerse themselves in the fascinating book culture of the medieval era.
Publication accompanying the exhibition Pride and Solace: medieval Books of Hours and their readers at the Groeningemuseum in Bruges from 4 April until 7 October 2025.
The catalog brings all the paintings in the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze together for the first time. It is a straightforward, convenient tool, aimed at all types of users, particularly suitable for educational use, for a first approach to the museum’s paintings or for quick searches by experts or those who would like to become one.
Arranging the paintings in alphabetical order by the names of the artists seemed to us to be the simplest and most natural criterion for anyone who was not already an expert. The catalog includes the various names of the painters, and a brief biography introduces each artist. This is followed by the entry or, if there is more than one, the entries on the works by this artist in the museum collections, in alphabetical order by title. Each work is reproduced with a recent photograph.
This volume constitutes an invaluable collection of data, essential for future studies and discussions regarding the paintings. The book is introduced by an exhaustive essay by Cecilie Hollberg, the Director of the Galleria.
William Blake’s engraved illustrations of the Book of Job are masterpieces of intaglio art. Dated 1825 in the plate and published the following year, they were based on his watercolors of the same subject from 1806 (Morgan Library, New York) and 1821 (Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard). Unlike the watercolors, the prints have complex marginal decorations that comment upon the biblical text. They are among the most inspired and sublime artistic achievements of this visionary artist and poet of the British Romantic period.
This handsome volume reproduces the Royal Academy’s copy of John Linnell’s 1874 printing, which comprised 100 copies on India paper laid on unmarked heavy paper. Katharine Dell, Professor of Old Testament Literature and Theology at the University of Cambridge, introduces the biblical text, and Joseph Viscomi, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-editor of the Blake Archive, gives an account of the creation of Blake’s engravings. The 22 illustrations are reproduced at actual size from new photographs especially taken for this publication and are accompanied by a series of magnificent details of the prints.
This theoretical work on architecture examines the meaning and relevance of a neutral stance in the face of contemporary urban chaos. It stems from a desire to move beyond a paradigmatic reading of urbanization and to establish a calmer relationship to this condition. The neutral stance in question is not one of passivity, but of heightened receptivity. It articulates a desire for a just relationship with the present that is attentive and unassuming, and that readily accepts the polyphonic character of the contemporary city. Its central argument concerns the creative and productive potential of neutrality and the way it engages with chaos as an inexhaustible source. This research draws on a broad body of multidisciplinary work (art, literature, photography, psychoanalysis etc.) to define a position within the architectural discipline.
The publication emerges from Ido Avissar’s in-depth research at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Versailles. It is closely connected to a monograph on the work of LIST, the architecture and urban planning office founded by Avissar in 2012, and complements it with a more in-depth theoretical perspective.
5000 Years of Indian Art demystifies the story of Indian art spread over the millennia. This visually stunning book offers a panoramic view of Indian art from pre-historic times to the contemporary period. The absorbing narrative links different predominant artistic genres (like prehistoric art, ancient Indian art of Vedic and Buddhist traditions, temple art, Mughal miniature painting, colonial art, modern Indian art, and contemporary art) that were prevalent in different eras, instead of following formally demarcated historical periods.
The illustrated tale encompasses the entire gamut from the earliest primitive markings on stones, caves, and frescoes to exquisite paintings, sculptures, modern photography, finely crafted artefacts, media-inspired work, popular installations, and other forms of contemporary art. The book displays around 200 select masterpieces of art from museums, galleries, and private collections around India and the world. The history of Indian art is as old as the civilization itself and every major period of history has given it newer modes of expression. This book successfully captures all the myriad influences that have enriched Indian art over the years.
Features works from the following museums: American Museum of Natural History, New York, Archaeological Museum, Sarnath, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford British Museum, London, Brooklyn Museum, New York, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Gujral Art Museum, New Delhi, Harvard Art Museum/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, Kabul Museum, Kabul, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, Indian Museum, Kolkata, Islamabad Museum, Islamabad, Lahore Museum, Lahore, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Mathura Museum, Mathura, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Musée Guimet, Paris, Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin, Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi, National Museum, New Delhi, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, Patna Museum, Bihar, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Sarnath Site Museum, Uttar Pradesh, Seattle Art Museum, Washington, Staaliche Museum of Berlin: 91, V & A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London Trustees of the British Museum, London .
With vivid memories of his first visit to the Scottish National Gallery in the 1970s and his initial encounter with Hugo van der Goes’ The Trinity Altarpiece, Rembrandt’s A Woman in Bed, Velázquez’s An Old Woman Cooking Eggs and Degas’ Diego Martelli, Robert Storr discusses the shifting balance of museum collections from historically ‘certified’ classics to art whose status and significance remains in active contention and from singular ‘treasures’ to ensembles that speak to the larger scope of an artist’s endeavor.
Also available: Unfinished Paintings: Narratives of the Non-Finito Watson Gordon Lecture 2014 ISBN 9781906270919 ‘The Hardest Kind of Archetype’: Reflections on Roy Lichtenstein The Watson Gordon Lecture 2010 ISBN 9781906270384 Picasso’s ‘Toys for Adults’ Cubism as Surrealism: The Watson Gordon Lecture 2008 ISBN 9781906270261 Sound, Silence, and Modernity in Dutch Pictures of Manners The Watson Gordon Lecture 2007 ISBN 9781906270254 Roger Fry’s Journey From the Primitives to the Post-Impressionists: Watson Gordon Lecture 2006 ISBN 9781906270117
“I recommend to every Architect, designer and those who have a passion for New York to own this magnificent book…there is no better on the extraordinary Beaux Arts of New York.” —Lemeau, Decorator’s Insider
“This great, beautiful, glossy, polychromatic slab of a book more than does justice to an epic period in architecture when some of the world’s most luscious buildings were designed for some of the most unpleasant people in American history.” — Timothy Brittain-Catlin, World of Interiors
“New York would be little more than another faceless glass-and-steel city were it not for its Gilded Age buildings and institutions… An American Renaissance: Beaux-Arts Architecture in New York City, written by Phillip James Dodd with photography by Jonathan Wallen, is a gilded embrace of this legacy.” — The Critic
The Gilded Age, also referred to as the American Renaissance, is an era associated with unparalleled growth, technological advancement, prosperity, and cultural change. Spanning from the 1870s to the 1930s, it marks the first time that the titans of American finance and industry had more wealth than their European counterparts. As the center of this dynamic economy, New York City attracted immigrant workers and millionaires alike. It was not enough for the self-appointed elite to just build their own grand châteaux and palazzos along Fifth Avenue—collectively they dreamed of creating a new metropolis to rival the great cultural capitals of London, Paris, and Rome. To flaunt their newly acquired wealth they needed an architecture dripping in embellishment and historical reference. Enter the Beaux-Arts.
This book, which has been painstakingly researched and beautifully photographed over many years, takes a close look at 20 of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City. While showing public exteriors, its focus is on the lavish interiors that are associated with the opulence of the Gilded Age—often providing a glimpse inside buildings not otherwise viewable to the public. While some of the buildings and monuments featured are world-renowned landmarks recognizable and accessible to all, others are obscure buildings that history has forgotten.
Set amid the magnificent achievements of an American Renaissance, this book recounts not only the fascinating stories of some of New York’s most famous and significant Beaux-Arts landmarks, it also recalls the lives of those who commissioned, designed, and built them. These are some of the most acclaimed architects, artists, and artisans of the day—Daniel Chester French, Cass Gilbert, Charles McKim, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Stanford White—and some of the most prominent millionaires in American history—Henry Clay Frick, Jay Gould, Otto Kahn, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and the ubiquitous Astor and Vanderbilt families. Names that—as Julian Fellowes (the acclaimed director of Downton Abbey) notes in the Foreword—“still reek of money.” Excerpt from the Introduction
The National Galleries Barberini and Corsini contain paintings and sculptures of exceptional historical and artistic value. Page after page, through the masterpieces of many of the greatest Italian artists from the Middle Ages to the 18th century (Angelico, Raphael, Piero di Cosimo, Bronzino, Lotto, Tintoretto, Cortona, Caravaggio, Bernini, Reni, Guercino, Batoni, Canaletto) the reader can follow the development of art history. The collections also include artwork by Holbein, Murille and Van Dyck, besides a few antique pieces. In addition to the 100 entries, there are descriptions of particularly important elements that are part of the palaces’ architecture, such as Borromini’s spiral staircase, Bernini’s main staircase and the huge ceiling frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.
Gertrude Vernon, or Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, was an English woman who married a Scot. The American artist John Singer Sargent excelled as a painter in Europe. His portrait of Lady Agnew was painted in London but has found its definitive home in Edinburgh. All these contexts converge in a supremely beautiful painting which is one the icons of the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.
Created in the 1890s, it proved to be a seminal work in the lives of the artist and his subject and has enjoyed a rich afterlife, inspiring artistic and written responses. This book offers a fascinating biography of this most accomplished, evocative and admired of portraits, placing it in the context of Sargent’s career and how he worked, discussing the life of the sitter and unveiling the picture’s rich critical history.
Portrait Miniatures from the Merchistion Collection is the fifth in a series of titles which examines the portrait miniature. This collection, which has never been on public display, was assembled on the London art market during the 1970s and 1980s. Scottish miniaturists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are particularly well represented with fine works by Scouler, Bogle, and Skirving and Sir William Charles Ross. Of outstanding interest is Nicholas Hilliard’s matching pair of tiny lockets of Queen Elizabeth and her admirer Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Stephen Lloyd’s essay discusses the formation of the collection and the impact of the invention of photography on the art of miniature painting. It also explores the social history of the miniature. Twenty of the key works are illustrated in color, with extended captions, and a complete list of the collection is also included.
Established following the 125th anniversary of the Chair of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh and named after the painter Sir John Watson Gordon, the Watson Gordon Lectures typify the long-standing positive collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and the National Galleries of Scotland: two partners in the Visual Arts Research Institute in Edinburgh. The fifth lecture was given by Hal Foster of Princeton University. Professor Foster is an acknowledged expert on modernist art and architecture, and has a particular fascination with Pop art. His wide-ranging lecture on Roy Lichtenstein is a gripping engagement with the multiple aspects of the artist’s work: the conjunctions of art and technology, the satirical playing with previous modernist styles, and the sinister background of the military-industrial complex. Also available in the series:
Roger Fry’s Journal: From the Primitives to the Post-Impressionists: Watson Gordon Lecture 2006 9781906270117 Sound, Silence, and Modernity in Dutch Pictures of Manners: Watson Gordon Lecture 2007 9781906270254 Picasso’s ‘Toys for Adults’: Cubism as Surrealism: Watson Gordon Lecture 2008 9781906270261
A Shepherd’s Life centres on Jenny Armstrong, born in 1903 at the farm of Fairliehope, who spent her life working as a shepherdess in the Pentland Hills. In a series of remarkable paintings made over twenty years and based on close observation, Victoria Crowe, one of Scotland’s foremost painters, pays tribute to the life and work of this exceptional woman. In spite of their different ages and backgrounds, the two women came to value each other’s company and it was through the shepherdess that the artist learned how to interpret the surrounding landscape. At the same time the paintings depict an ancient way of living that has been long in the decline and which, at the start of a new millennium, may be finally disappearing.
Unfinished paintings can be seen in many of the world’s great collections, including that of the National Gallery of Scotland: they fascinate the viewer and raise intriguing questions. What circumstances left them incomplete? What do they tell us about the ways that painters worked? How do we define ‘finish’, and when did an artist consider a work to be finished? These and other questions will be considered by David Bomford, in an exploration of the non-finito from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The Watson Gordon Lecture Series: The Watson Gordon Lectures, established in 2006, typify the long-standing collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and the National Galleries of Scotland. Each lecture is by a leading scholar and reveals new research on a focused topic. The lectures are delivered and published annually, and now number eight titles in the series. Also available: ‘The Hardest Kind of Archetype’: Reflections on Roy Lichtenstein ISBN 9781906270384 Picasso’s ‘Toys for Adults’, Cubism as Surrealism ISBN 9781906270261 Roger Fry’s Journey: From Primitives to the Post-Impressionists ISBN 9781906270117 Sound, Silence, and Modernity in Dutch Pictures of Manners ISBN 9781906270254
“…sumptuous large illustrations of the selected Works, with a beautifully printed tonality”
“lt is exciting to think about how this important collection can continue to grow while this publication is already a beautiful tribute to Scottish art.” — Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, Volume 29, 2024-2025, p.128
The National Galleries of Scotland is home to the most important collection of Scottish art in the world. This beautifully illustrated book introduces the collection through 100 works, specially chosen by the curatorial team who care for them.
The selection ranges chronologically from a 16th-century portrait of a Scottish king to 21st-century instalations and prints. Some of the most famous painters in Scotland’s history feature alongside some of the finest artists working in Scotland today. Many of the most distinctive movements in Scotland’s artistic heritage are represented, including the Celtic Revival, Arts and Crafts, the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists.
Each of the 100 works is reproduced alongside a text by one of 23 three expert contributors. The introduction gives an overview of the collection and Scottish art history more broadly. It is perfect for those who already love Scottish art, and those who are yet to discover its riches.
A sumptuous celebration of one of the world’s most striking photograph collections from 1967 to 2017. This publication celebrates fifty years of collecting photographs at the National Gallery of Canada. In 1967, when the collection was established, the photography market was in its infancy and the collection reflects the availability of in-depth collections of work by some of the forefathers of the medium such as Charles Nègre, William Henry Fox Talbot, Gustave Le Gray and Roger Fenton, among others. Within a few short years of starting to build the collection the science of photographic preservation and conservation was making remarkable strides and influencing the acquisition and exhibition of photographs in museums. This publication celebrates the collecting of photographs, the historical and art historical context of their making and the deepening of our understanding of their physical nature. The work of 164 artists, such as: Benoit Aquin; Diane Arbus; Eugène Atget; Nicolas Baier; Edouard Baldus; Brassaï; Julia Margaret Cameron; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Lynne Cohen; Benjamin John Dancer; Walker Evans; Robert Frank; Lee Friedlander; Isabelle Hayeur; Arnaud Maggs; Robert Mapplethorpe; John Max; Lisette Model; Eadweard Muybridge; Charles Nègre; William McFarlane Notman; Marc Ruwedel; Jospeph Sudek; William Henry Fox Talbot and vernacular and news photographs by unknown photographers will also be included.
J.M.W. Turner 1775-1851 was perhaps the most prolific and innovative of all British artists. His outstanding watercolors in the Scottish National Gallery are one of the most popular features of its collection. Bequeathed to the Gallery in 1899 by the distinguished collector Henry Vaughan, they have been exhibited, as he requested, every January for over 100 years. Renowned for their excellent state of preservation, they provide a remarkable overview of many of the most important aspects of Turner’s career.
This richly illustrated book provides a commentary on the watercolors, addressing questions of technique and function, as well as considering some of the numerous contacts Turner had with other artists, collectors and dealers. The introduction concentrates on Henry Vaughan, one of the greatest enthusiasts for British art in the late nineteenth century, whose diverse collections have not previously been fully appreciated.
The Selous was my very first Africa experience, and it remains my favorite. Robert J. Ross’s extraordinary photographs take us into a natural world unlike any other on earth. A world of elephants. Of wild dogs. Of nature as it should be, can be, might be – if we keep these breathtaking images firmly in mind. A triumph! Bryan Christy, Director, Special Investigations Unit, National Geographic
The Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania is Africa’s oldest and largest protected area. Proclaimed in 1896, and bigger than Switzerland, the Selous is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Selous remains one of Africa’s largest and greatest undisturbed ecosystems, teeming with life including one of the two largest elephant populations remaining on the African continent, probably half of all of the wild dogs in Africa, vast herds of buffalo as well as more lions than any other protected area on the continent as reported by National Geographic in August 2013. The game reserve is becoming more important by the day as the pressure on elephants and other species grows – problems that are addressed here in this book. New-York born photographer Rob Ross has spent much of the past four years photographing in this vast and difficult to access reserve. He has compiled more than 100,000 images showing all aspects of the reserves varied landscapes, seasons, flora and large and small fauna. The spectacular large-format photography book features a selection of the very best images including landscapes, wildlife portraits and behavior, night photography, impressionist style work and breath-taking aerials.
Health Service has held a place at the heart of the nation. Promising to care for the citizens of Britain ‘from the cradle to the grave’, it offers universal health care for all, regardless of wealth or status. This book celebrates the triumphs and trials of the NHS through the years, highlighting key events and medical milestones, and providing a timely reminder of the importance of maintaining this vital institution that has long been the envy of all nations. Publishing to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the NHS.
Andy Goldsworthy tells the story of his career in his own words – from school art classrooms to the ambitious retrospective exhibition this book accompanies. In a wide-ranging and personal conversation, Goldsworthy recalls the triumphs and tribulations that have shaped his journey to become an artist of global renown. Illustrated by many of his iconic installations and ephemeral works, this book also includes previously unseen drawings for new creations. This is an unmissable account of the life and work of an artist pushing the boundaries of the art world.
This book pays tribute to nine decades of iconic advertising items from the Ricard brand retracing their history and their impact on our collective memory since the invention of pastis.
From the first bottles to the emblematic carafes and ashtrays, each item tells a part of the Ricard’s history, shaped by the creative vision of Paul Ricard and his successors. The book delves into major advertising campaigns from the first poster with Darcelis “Garçon ! A Ricard” to the commercial jingles on the radio, painted walls, artistic collaborations and collections designed by renowned creators (Garouste and Bonetti, Yves Oppenheim, Olivier Gagnère, Marc Newson, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, studio 5.5, Yorgo Tloupas etc.)… Not to mention bucket hats, parasols, Citroën 2CV and other advertising caravans!
After revisiting the history of Ricard “the real pastis from Marseille” and its iconic bottle, the book showcases numerous Ricard items and comes back to its greatest advertising campaigns.
Text in English and French.
In the 1960s, Joan Kron and her friend and business partner, Audrey Sabol, made history, collaborating with an emerging group of artists—Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Niki de Saint Phalle, George Segal, Jean Tinguely, and Andy Warhol, to name a few. In 1962, Kron and Sabol presented the first group show of Pop Art on the East Coast at the YM/YWHA in Philadelphia, beating museums and New York galleries. They also went into business, producing multiples with Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, and Marisol Escobar. Sabol and Kron’s swan song was the Museum of Merchandise; it had a storefront by an unknown named Christo and a trouble-making product for sale by rising star Andy Warhol. All of this took place before the pair pioneered art on billboards with Roy Lichtenstein.
An extraordinarily written visual history, The Renegade Housewives of Pop Art™: A Memoir of the 1960s, is an inspiring tale of invention and reinvention, relatable to many women. Through never-before-seen documents, Joan Kron’s memoir recounts how she and Sabol became two of the most daring and revolutionary “housewives” of the 1960s. This is a new eyewitness account of the 1960s art scene by one of its last living participants. With wit and verve, Kron shares a collection of personal stories and an extensive private photographic archive, from her early years in costume design to her mid- and late-career adventures as a local arts revolutionary and a reporter and editor at prominent New York publications.