NEW from ACC Art Books – Limited Edition: Sukita: EternityClick here to order

Treasures of the Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur catalogues a selection of the marvelous artworks on display at Albert Hall, Jaipur. Envisioned by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II of Jaipur and executed by his successor Sawai Madhao Rao Singh II, to preserve the heritage of local arts and crafts, it was designed and built in 1897 by Thomas Holbein Hendley. The 19,000 artworks of the museum include pottery, stonework, woodwork, arms and armour, sculpture, jewelry, musical instruments, coins and seals, carpets and miniature paintings. Some of the best artworks and architectural features of the museum are produced in this book along with concise text.

Science and Art are both manifestations of beauty and creativity. As mankind has evolved and as science has progressed, artistic creations by humans have become more abstract-like mathematics, which is the abstraction of all sciences. The authors of this unusual work postulate some critical ideas on science, art and aesthetics, and establish that we need both, a scientific temper and the temper of art.

The eight theses that relate to science and art, and their rationale presented in this book are a culmination of observations, conversations, readings, ideas exchanged, and thoughts that span a journey of six decades. The accompanying DVD is a reproduction of two shows held in Hyderabad of MF Husain’s 25 paintings on some of the most important events of the last century with their description as written by Bhargava. The CD records the music Susumo Ohno, an American geneticist, created by converting the language of DNA into the language of music.

Rajshree Sarabhai sees things around us in a way that makes us look at the world through her eyes. For her, being in nature with her camera is a form of meditation and, in that, she can lose herself and all sense of time. She captures details in what are common plants, details that bring out the magical beauty of nature which many of us miss. She captures those moments and colours we overlook and through her photographs shares them with us. These unusual photographs are all taken in natural surroundings and in gardens, capturing plants as they are.

Benjamin West’s The Death of a Stag, a tour de force of pictorial theater and his own unique Scottish masterpiece, has been the focus of high drama for over two centuries. Painted for the Clan Mackenzie in 1786, the gigantic canvas, measuring twelve by seventeen feet, is still the largest in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. The painting almost moved to America, but after a successful campaign, it was purchased in 1987. In 2004, the work was conserved in situ in the National Gallery of Scotland and this book tells the story of the picture, both in terms of its history and the conservation process.

This book highlights 55 outstanding masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, which were founded in 1850. The works range in date from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and include many of the most famous names in the history of Western art. Artists represented include Botticelli, El Greco, Velàzquez, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Watteau, Monet, Degas, Sargent, Picasso and Braque. In addition, the major figures of the national school, Ramsay, Raeburn and Wilkie, lend a distinctly Scottish flavor to this exceptional selection. All of the paintings are fully illustrated and described in this catalogue authored by the curatorial staff of the Galleries. Michael Clarke, director of the Scottish National Gallery, gives a unique insight into the history of the National Galleries of Scotland as he discusses the development of the Scottish national collection over the last 150 years.

Since taking the helm of the National Galleries of Scotland in 1984, Sir Timothy Clifford has overseen the acquisition of some of the finest, and best-loved works in the national collection. This book chronicles the development of the collection under his directorship and casts light upon the wide range of acquisitions, including the fascinating stories behind their purchase. Lavishly illustrated, highlights of the book include The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child by Botticelli, The Three Graces by Canova (purchased jointly with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London), and the most recent major acquisition, Venus Anadyomene by Titian. Works from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s internationally renowned Surrealist collection are also featured, as well as paintings from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

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

The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) is one of the most celebrated paintings of the nineteenth century. It was acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland in 2017. In this new book, the first to focus in detail on this iconic picture, Christopher Baker explores its complex and fascinating history. He places Landseer’s work in the context of the artist’s meteoric career, considers the circumstances of its high-profile commission and its extraordinary subsequent reputation. When so much Victorian art fell out of fashion, Landseer’s Monarch took on a new role as marketing image, bringing it global recognition. It also inspired the work of many other artists, ranging from Sir Bernard Partridge and Ronald Searle to Sir Peter Blake and Peter Saville. Today the picture has an intriguing status, being seen by some as a splendid celebration of Scotland’s natural wonders and by others as an archaic trophy. This publication will make a significant contribution to the debates that it continues to stimulate.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, part of the National Galleries of Scotland, provides a unique visual history of Scotland, told through portraits of the figures who shaped it: royals and rebels, poets and philosophers, heroes and villains. The Gallery is home to Scotland’s collection of portrait miniatures which date from the mid-sixteenth century to the present day.
This book illustrates a selection of works by key miniaturists and features portraits of many important Scottish historical figures such as James Hepburn 4th Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, James VI and I and Robert Burns who was depicted in the last year of his life. A complete list of all the works in the collection is also included.

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

“The result of 11 years of hard work, this mammoth, well-researched book speaks to India’s rich history and its unique tapestry of myriad cultures. . .It is a trove for all interested in the rich, diverse Indian arts and crafts heritage. Summing up: Highly recommended.” CHOICE
India’s crafts journey resembles the progress of a river from the mountains to the ocean, picking up material, depositing some, changing course, disappearing underground to surface somewhere else. Yet the tradition continues forever. The Dastkari Haat Samiti, a national association of craftspeople, undertook the enormous task of documenting whatever skills and crafts it could find and created artistic crafts maps of each state of India. Three new states were born during the process. A traditional art form of each state provides the backdrop for information meticulously gathered from first- and second-hand sources. The maps provide resource material to people working in different disciplines and a source of aesthetic joy to anyone who uses them as wall posters. The vibrant illustrations and academically rich content are recreated as an atlas of India’s crafts, handmade textiles and traditional arts, covering India’s entire cultural history. Contents: Introduction North: Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh. Central: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand East: Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Northeast West: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa South: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala Glossary Acknowledgements Photo credits Index

As the first ever organized collection of Delhi’s maps, containing a chronology of magnificent ancient and modern hand-drawings as well as digital maps of the city, this book is as visually stunning as it is informative. Dr Guerrieri describes each map as an individual entity. She gives the maps unique and detailed focus, elaborating on their idiosyncrasies, aesthetic details, and rich historical relevance. The evolution of planning and architecture, which elegantly unfolds through the maps, mirrors the political, social, and historical progression of the capital. Maps of Delhi is both beautiful and stimulating, while also offering deeply insightful commentary that will be appreciated by the most discerning of scholars. It is an indisputable milestone for those wanting to research the capital. The book reveals, as A.G. Krishna Menon notes in the foreword, the charm of printed maps and the many pleasures and insights they offer when they are physically handled. It is a remarkable tribute to a remarkable city.

In 1913, photos of The Nataraja bronze from the Chennai Museum inspired Auguste Rodin’s text “The Dance of Shiva”. Written at the end of his life, this vision of Shiva, “Lord of actor-dancers”, revealed the underlying links between Rodin’s dance sculptures (1910), the Cambodian dancer drawings, and his private collection of antique Venus and Buddha sculptures and wood carvings from India.
Through his androgynous vision of Shiva the cosmic dancer, Rodin invites us not only to a new reading of his work but also opens the door to a new vision of Indian theatre and dance.The connections that he suggests between sculpture, poetry, dance, theatre, music, photography and architecture have a particular contemporary resonance.
Prodigies, revolutionaries, defiers of the patriarchy; drunks, rebels and impassioned immigrants; queer pioneers, paint-spattered punks and proto-feminists: there have always been artists in London. Some were celebrated in their lifetime, others were out-of-step with the spirit of their age: too radical, too subversive, too modest, too female, too foreign.

Art London is more than a guidebook. It will accompany you on a journey through this great city, telling stories, uncovering histories, sharing insights into those who have made, collected and influenced art past and present. Moving neighborhood by neighborhood, Art London travels the streets with you, revealing art in museums, galleries and beyond, from palace to pub to studio.
Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, Mona Hatoum, John Akomfra, Rasheed Araeen, Sunil Gupta, Tracey Emin and Yinka Shonibare were among the artists who agreed to have their portraits taken for this book, while at work in their studios. Alex Schneiderman’s exclusive photographs reveal the human element behind contemporary art, while pictures of streetside galleries place London’s art scene within an ever-expanding cosmopolitan world.
Fascinating, entertaining, full of anecdote and insights, Art London reflects the city itself: energetic, diverse, resilient, occasionally outrageous, and never short of fresh ideas.
Also in the series:
Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156
Rock ‘n’ Roll London ISBN 9781788840163
London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182

Kifwebe masks are ceremonial objects used by the Songye and Luba societies (Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are worn with costumes consisting of a long robe and a long beard made of plant fibres. As in other central African cultures, the same mask can be used in either magical and religious or festive ceremonies. In order to understand Kifwebe masks, it is essential to consider them within the cosmogony of the python rainbow, metalworking in the forge, and other plant and animal signs. Among the Songye, benevolent female masks reveal what is hidden and balance white and red energy associated with two subsequent initiations, the bukishi. Aggressive male masks were originally involved in social control and had a kind of policing role, carried out in accordance with the instructions of village elders. These two male and female forces acted in a balanced way to reinforce harmony within the village. Among the Luba, the masked figures are also benevolent and appear at the new moon, their role being to enhance fertility. Although the male and female masks fulfil functions that do not wholly overlap, they do have features in common: a frontal crest, round and excessively protruding eyes, flaring nostrils, a cube-shaped mouth and lips, stripes, and colours. Art historians and anthropologists have taken increasing interest in Kifwebe masks in recent years.

This volume collects the papers presented at the international study conference Sculpting in the Renaissance: an art to (com)move / Sculpter à la Renaissance. Un art pour (é)mouvoir organized by the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Castello Sforzesco in Milan to accompany the exhibition Le corps et l’âme. De Donatello à Michel-Ange. Scultures italiennes de la Renaissance (Officina Libraria, 2020), held between 2020 and 2021. With the involvement of some of the most important specialists in Renaissance sculpture, the aim was to investigate the interactions, influences and exchanges between the plastic arts and other Renaissance art forms capable of revealing feelings through expressions of the body, trough the works of Agostino di Duccio, Donatello, Michelangelo and other local sculptors. The aim is also to place within their social, devotional and intellectual context the different manifestations of feeling of which sculpture is one of the privileged media. Sacred art themes in particular were addressed, in an attempt to explain their formal evolution in relation to the socio-cultural transformations of the time, but also to local traditions and their dramatization.

Text in English, French and Italian.

The Swiss family-owned banking group CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique SA has been putting together its own art collection for over fifteen years. Modern and contemporary African art is one of its major themes.

The works in this catalogue (paintings, sculptures, photographs) span about a century (1929-2025). All were created by artists who were born, or spent part of their lives, in sub-Saharan Africa. The growing success of the African artists of today undoubtedly stems from the artistic legacy of their ancestors, whose dazzling colors reflect a profoundly original worldview that addresses social and environmental themes. Missionaries and a few colonial administrators with an eye for art identified a number of interesting artists in the 1920s.

Although African art – in the Congo, Kenya, and South Africa in particular – developed throughout the 20th century, recognition only came in the 1960s. The creation of art schools in the continent’s major cities promoted cultural re-appropriation through new types of expression based on an encounter between traditional African forms and modern aesthetic sensibilities emerging in the new conurbations. Artistic movements burgeoning at the turn of the millennium confirmed and reinforced the vitality of this art. It was a period that saw dynamic figures come to the fore on the global art scene. Contemporary artists turned their attention to the “Black Atlantic” and the African-American communities it explored. Africa is now able to send its own message to the world. As a result, nearly 80 artists are represented in the “Au-delà des Apparences” (More than Meets the Eye) exhibition at the Musée Rath.

The Art Travel Book takes you on a journey across the globe, past iconic outdoor art installations and sculptures. The book showcases both well-known landmarks and hidden treasures: all extraordinary works that harmonize with their natural surroundings. From the arid plains of Texas to the cliffs of the South of France, from the verdant forests of England to the rugged beauty of Cape Town: many of the locations featured are freely accessible, making The Art Travel Book as much an invitation to travel as a source of inspiration for art and nature enthusiasts. The book provides background information on the artists, the artworks and their settings, while also offering curated recommendations for nearby sites of interest. It’s the perfect travel guide for art enthusiasts with a craving for new discoveries.

This catalog accompanies the exhibition Art & Fashion in the Calouste Gulbenkian museum, and highlights the inseparable relationship between art and fashion: art finds a constant source of inspiration in fashion, while fashion finds permanence and memory in art. Both disciplines engage in a dialog around beauty, both ephemeral and eternal, as an invisible thread between past and present.

The extraordinary Gulbenkian Collection, with pieces from Ancient Egypt to the 20th century, allows for a unique encounter between masterpieces of painting and decorative arts and iconic haute couture creations. It is not a question of comparison, but of establishing visual and symbolic conversations: contemporary silhouettes alongside Renaissance folds, exquisite embroidery juxtaposed with modernist flashes, ancient iconography reinterpreted.

The book captures that moment when the museum is transformed into a living space where art and fashion face each other, reminding us that beauty knows no boundaries, only the passage of time.

This book offers a beautiful exploration of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s works in lithography. It explores the new artistic approach to the poster at the end of the 19th century, which bridged visual and popular culture and turned the relationship between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art on its head. Technical innovations in lithography pioneered by Lautrec and other artists produced larger sizes, more varied colors and new effects and launched the role of the poster as a powerful tool for communication and marketing in fin de siècle Paris. Lautrec’s embrace of celebrity helped to define the famous hotspots (theaters, cabarets and café-concerts) of fin de siècle Paris and made their stars recognizable figures across the whole city.

Works by contemporaries such as Pierre Bonnard, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen and Jules Chéret also feature, and Lautrec’s influence on British, and particularly Scottish, artists of the period will be explored. These include Walter Richard Sickert, Arthur Melville, John Duncan Fergusson and William Nicholson.

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 .

Relationships between architects and clients – built upon expressed values, as well as their import into the final work of architecture – are typically not discussed in architectural education, rarely considered in architectural criticism or theory, and usually missing in most writing about architecture. This monograph seeks to highlight and address this deficiency. The book focuses on the process that the firm uses to help their clients to define values, and to intone them through architectural design. Exquisitely presented throughout, this volume presents a range of built and in-process works at a variety of scales, complexity, and locations, with various clients. Most of these projects have not been previously published. The projects will be documented and discussed within the context of the value proposition and design process that distinguish Pickard Chilton’s approach to architecture.

A collaboration with the world’s most powerful NGOs, including UNESCO’s GEM Report, Mother Nature in the Bardo explores the impact between art, culture, and the environment. The book illuminates the innate connections between creativity and nature and inspires crucial conversations about humanity’s relationship with nature, sustainability and climate change. Bringing together historical and contemporary artworks from over 100 renowned international artists, galleries, institutions, estates and foundations, Mother Nature in the Bardo speaks to the most critical global dialogues of our time.