A New and Noble School
In 1851 John Ruskin came to the defence of the young artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood by writing two letters to The Times, refuting widespread criticism of their paintings. Soon afterwards he published a pamphlet entitled Pre-Raphaelitism, beginning almost a decade of public support for the work of William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and their associates. Already established as one of the leading writers on art, he took a personal risk in defending the Pre- Raphaelite cause, but saw a parallel in the hostile reaction to the paintings of his artistic idol J. M. W. Turner. In Millais especially, Ruskin hoped to nurture a worthy successor in landscape painting, arguing that the Pre-Raphaelites' attention to truth and detail offered the opportunity to establish a "new and noble school" of British art. This is the first compilation of all of Ruskin's published writings relating to the Pre-Raphaelites, beginning with the celebrated passage in the first volume of Modern Painters (1843) exhorting young artists to "go to nature in all .... rejecting nothing, selecting nothing and scorning nothing," later claimed by Hunt to have been an inspiration. As well as Pre- Raphaelitism (1851), rarely reprinted since, and the fourth of the 1853 Edinburgh lectures, it includes all the comments on paintings in the annual Academy Notes (1855-9) which pertain to Pre-Raphaelitism, underlining Ruskin's significant contribution to the movement's popular success and the widespread acceptance of its principles. From the period after 1860, when Ruskin was concentrating more on social issues, come the the little-known articles published in the Nineteenth Century magazine under the title The Three Colours of Pre-Raphaelitism (1878), and a number of lectures, including the last of his Slade Lectures, The Art of England (1883), delivered just a few years before his mental faculties failed. Edited with a commentary and preface by Stephen Wildman, Director of the Ruskin Library and Research Centre, University of Lancaster, and with an introduction by Robert Hewison, one of Ruskin's successors as Slade Professor of Art at the University of Oxford.
Richard Pousette-Dart Beginnings
Richard Pousette-Dart (1916-92), working in New York in the 1940s, created beautiful, layered paintings as well as experimenting with drawing, photography and sculpture. This publication, produced to coincide with the 2018 exhibition Richard Pousette-Dart: Beginnings reflects new research into the life and work of Richard Pousette-Dart and his significant contribution to American art in the 20th Century. Playing a key role in the genesis of Abstract Expressionism and the New York School, which transformed American art in the post-war years, Pousette-Dart's contemporaries included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Willem de Kooning. Jim Ede, creator of Kettle's Yard, first met Pousette-Dart in New York in 1940. Research exploring their transatlantic correspondence over subsequent decades was a catalyst for the first solo exhibition of the work of Pousette-Dart in the UK, held at Kettle's Yard in 2018. The majority of works on display were borrowed from US museums and collections, and had not previously been seen in this country.
Agnes Martin
The work of Agnes Martin has frequently been associated with East Asian philosophies. Particularly highlighting the oeuvre of this US artist, Mona Schieren presents comprehensive research on the influence of Asianist aesthetics in post-1945 American art. More than just historical analysis, her study opens an entirely new perspective on Martin's appropriation of Asianisms by focusing on transcultural translation and redefining Martin's work beyond Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. This offers new viewpoints on the aesthetic, philosophical, and visual relationships in American postwar art and takes a nuanced approach that moves beyond generalized notions of "Zen" in the US art world. Schieren's exploration of the intentional and specific uses of Asianist aesthetics profoundly contributes to insights in international art histories and cultural translations.
Early Gothic Manuscripts (2)
In England the art of illumination flourished widely in the second half of the 13th century - a time in which the connections with the continent, particularly France, where strong. Artists moved away from the monastic scriptorium to professional workshops in urban centres, and the rise of the Universities resulted in the production of new types of illustrated text. As with cross-fertilization of ideas from Paris to London, Oxford, and Cambridge, so with the styles and techniques of illumination. The magnificent examples catalogued here include the Lambeth, Metz, Douce and Trinity Apocalypses; their relationships are examined and detailed iconography is described. Many of the Bibles and - notably - the Amesbury, Oscott and Rutland Psalters are some of the greatest works of the period, and among surviving religious manuscripts the earliest examples of Books of Hours reveal the increasing range of devotional interests of lay people. Astrological, legal, medical, topographical and historical works are also included, and the volume ends with the remarkable Hereford Mad which summarizes many of the ideas of Earth and Heaven prevailing at the time. The Introduction sets the manuscripts in a historical framework, describes the influences at work, defines the types of books and their decoration, and discusses evidence for dating and localization. This is a survey of early Gothic manuscripts illuminated in the British Isles, setting them in a historical framework, describing the influences at work, defining the types of books and their decoration, and discussing evidence for dating and localization.
Hunting Scenes
Rubens may be said to have revived the genre of hunting scenes, a theme whose popularity had declined since the Middle Ages. Moreover, he enriched the courtly allusions and contemporary preoccupations. Dr. Balis explores this updating of the genre by examining in the greatest detail Ruben's paintings and drawings of hunting scenes and thereby throws a fascinating light on the society in which the artist lived. This volume brings the hunting scenes together for the first time in a definitve catalogue raisonne that documents both the precedents for and the originality of Rubens's development of hunting iconography, and argues that the prolific production of Flemish animal painters in the 17th century owes its very existence to Rubens's example and his creation of a sympathetic audience. Both text and catalogue discuss the ever-important questions of what part Rubens himself played in the execution of these sometimes huge canvases, since he seems to have relied in some degree on the assistance of his studio or of specialized animal painters.
Toshimasa Kikuchi
The work of the Japanese sculptor Toshimasa Kikuchi (born in 1979) is somehow bewilderingly obvious. Trained in the restoration of Buddhist statues, mastering to perfection the techniques of classical Japanese statuary, he carves pure forms in wood - geometric, hydrodynamic or figurative. His scientific repertory is timeless (mathematics, engineering, natural history), but his preferred materials and techniques are firmly grounded in tradition (Japanese hinoki cypress, urushi lacquer, kinpaku gold leaf). The installation he presents for his Carte Blanche at the Guimet Museum, Paris, brings together a series of slender sculptures in lacquered wood of mathematical objects, in the tradition of the celebrated photographs that Man Ray took of them. These abstract forms, hanging from the ceiling like mobiles or laid on the floor like devotional objects, take shape through a virtuosity and craftsmanship seldom found in contemporary art. The book is lavishly illustrated by the Japanese photographer Tadayuki Minamoto, who has been able to capture the magnificence of the mathematical abstraction of the works of Kikuchi; by photographs and paintings by Man Ray; and with fascinating mathematical objects from the Institut Henri Poincar矇, Paris, photographed by the French photographer Bertrand Michau. It is essential reading for lovers of surrealism and of the early years of 20th-century abstraction as well as for all who are intrigued by the close relationship between art and mathematics. Text in English and French.
Women in the Fine Arts, From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.
Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art
Meaning Matter Memory
Selections from the extraordinary Studio Museum in Harlem Collection, accompanying the highly anticipated opening of the institution's first-ever purpose-built museum Meaning Matter Memory is a keepsake extension of the Studio Museum's collection of artwork by artists of African descent. Beautiful illustrations of significant works by more than 250 artists are accompanied by original texts from more than 100 voices in the art world, including writers, scholars, artists, and critics.Celebrating myriad voices and artistic media, styles, and eras, this handbook glimpses into the profound and manifold artistic achievements made by Black artists for over 200 years. The book exhibits and carries forward a principal tenet of the Studio Museum's mission: to serve as the stewards of the work - old, new, and still to be created - by artists of African descent.Featuring work by: Derrick Adams, Emma Amos, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Jordan Casteel, Elizabeth Catlett, Nick Cave, Samuel Fosso, Theaster Gates, Cy Gavin, Barkley L. Hendricks, Arthur Jafa, Rashid Johnson, Simone Leigh, Glenn Ligon, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Gordon Parks, Martin Puryear, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Augusta Savage, Tschabalala Self, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kara Walker, and Carrie Mae Weems, among many more.
Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art
Scene
The 1960s transformed art in Canada. The Scene traces the remarkable reshaping of the Canadian art landscape during that era. Written by renowned art critic Harry Malcolmson, the book offers a captivating insider's perspective on how a surge of artists, galleries, collectors, and critics propelled Canadian art into the global spotlight.Malcolmson identifies the catalysts that ignited this artistic renaissance, including an outpouring of pride in the country linked to Canada's Centennial, Expos '67, and the Toronto City Hall. With rich anecdotes and insights, the book paints a comprehensive portrait of the era, while showcasing over twenty portraits of influential Canadian artists. Richly illustrated, the book illuminates the totality of the Scene's evolution, and delves into the impact of Canadian nationalism and economic prosperity on the Scene. It examines the rise of contemporary institutions, such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada, capturing the emergence of a modern Canadian identity. Ultimately, The Scene stands as a unique testament to a pivotal moment in cultural history, capturing the essence of the most impactful decade in the history of art in Canada.
Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art
Forever for the Culture
THE CURATORS OF CULTURE: Celebrate Black digital art in this essay collection revealing how Black artists have shaped everything from TikTok dances to viral memes Steven Underwood digs into the current Black digital arts movement that has shaped popular culture for the last decade. He connects this current space to historical influences, speaking to a "legacy of audacity and daring that presented us with the opportunity to redirect the conversations on Blackness back on its center. Back to Black people." Written as a collection of thought-provoking essays pulling in social commentary, interviews, popular culture, and deep research, Underwood taps into a topic that is incredibly relevant but often unknown. The nature of the internet is so ephemeral that sometimes we forget when we do something worth celebrating. For Black people particularly, that's unforgiveable. Digital Black art has become increasingly more outspoken, introspective, and genre-defining. But it's also vulnerable. Original phrases, tweets, dances, songs, and other content are often taken from a Black artist and attributed to a white influencer. And Black creators are paid less for their work, though their engagement is often higher than that of their white peers. There is also the added risk of backlash and hate that comes with publicly existing online. As an award-winning writer with a popular online presence, Underwood is no stranger to the experiences of Black digital artists. Using his own personal stories, he highlights the beauty, vulnerability, and innovation of the Black digital arts movement. Shining a light on the curators of our culture, Forever for the Culture narratively follows the construction of a new Black art movement and how creators have defined a community when that community does not have a physical space.
Sussex Modernism
A look at how artists and writers harnessed the landscapes, cultures, and histories of their locations to reimagine how art should be made and life lived Hope Wolf explores a breadth of work by over 70 artists associated with different modernist movements who either visited or resided in Sussex. Well-known figures, including Virginia Woolf, Jacob Epstein, David Jones, Gluck, Edward Burra, and Lee Miller, are joined by countercultural artists of the 1960s-1980s, women artists whose power was regional rather than national, as well as the voices of modernism's opponents. Offering a new history of modernism, this book intertwines literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, film, photography, textiles, music, and domestic decoration across a period of over 100 years. Revealing how artists drew on their environments to promote psychic and social change, Sussex Modernism is a book of jostling perspectives on art, place and politics.
Capitals Of Bengal Before Calcutta, Some Famous, Some Lost, Some Not Found
