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The See-Through House: My Father in Full Colour
By Shelley Klein. 2020
'A charming account of a daughter, a house and a fastidious dad' Sunday TimesShelley Klein grew up in the Scottish…
Borders, in a house designed on a modernist open-plan grid. With colourful glass panels set against a forest of trees, it was like living in a work of art. Her father, Bernat Klein, was a textile designer whose pioneering colours and textures were a major contribution to 1960s and 70s style.Thirty years on, Shelley moves back home to care for her father, now in his eighties: the house has not changed and neither has his uncompromising vision - or his distinctive way of looking at the world. Told with great tenderness and humour, this is Shelley's account of looking after an adored yet maddening parent and a piercing portrait of the grief that followed his death. 'A sad, funny, utterly fascinating book about families, home and how to say goodbye' Mark Haddon'Original, moving and bracingly honest... often hilarious' Blake Morrison, Guardian'It is strange that grief should produce such a life-affirming book, but it has. Read it for the solace it contains, or for its captivating descriptions. Either way, it's a delight' TelegraphRoy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art Was Saved by Donald Duck (Penguin Specials)
By Alastair Sooke. 2013
A Penguin Special on Roy Lichtenstein by Alastair Sooke - read in 2 hours or less'Why, Brad darling, this painting…
is a masterpiece! My, soon you'll have all of New York clamoring for your work!' Roy Lichtenstein - architect of Pop art, connoisseur of the comic strip, master of irony and prophet of popular culture. From exhilarating images of ice-cool jet pilots in dog fights, to blue-haired Barbie dolls drowning in scenes of domestic heartache, Lichtenstein's instantly recognisable paintings, with their Ben-Day dots and witty one-liners, defined the art of a generation. But how did a jobbing, unassuming painter of the Fifties become a world-famous Pop artist whose work today sells for millions? What do his paintings really tell us? And what is his legacy?This book, by art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke, is a perfect introduction to the artist and his work. Spanning Lichtenstein's career, and explaining his unique style, it is a journey through the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest artists.Published in time for a major new retrospective of the work of Roy Lichtenstein.'Sooke is an immensely engaging character. He has none of the weighty self-regard that often afflicts art experts and critics; rather he approaches his subjects with a questioning, open, exploratory attitude' Sarah Vine, The Times'His shows are excellent - clever, lively, scholarly, but not too lecturey; he's very good at linking his painters with the world outside the studio, and at how these artists have affected the world today' Sam Wollaston reviewing 'Modern Masters', GuardianAlastair Sooke is deputy art critic of the Daily Telegraph. He has written and presented documentaries on television and radio for the BBC, including Modern Masters, an acclaimed BBC One series that chronicled modern art in the twentieth century. Since 2009 he has reported regularly for The Culture Show on BBC Two. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.The Promise: The Moving Story of a Family in the Holocaust
By Barbara Powers. 2006
A Holocaust survivor's own story, told specially for young readers.This is the remarkable true story of a young Jewish girl…
and her brother caught in a world turned upside down by the Nazis during the Second World War. Eva Schloss describes her happy early childhood in Vienna with her kind and loving parents and her older brother Heinz, whom she adored. But when the Nazis marched into Austria everything changed.Eva's family fled to Belgium, then to Amsterdam where, with the help of the Dutch Resistance, they spent the next two years in hiding - Eva and her mother in one house, and her father and brother in another. But in the end they were all betrayed and deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Despite the horrors of the camp, Eva's positive attitude and stubborn personality (which had often got her into trouble) saw her through one of the most tragic events in history but sadly her father and brother perished just weeks before the liberation. Eva and her mother travelled back to the house in Amsterdam where Heinz and his father had hidden and discovered over thirty beautiful paintings by her brother. Heinz hadn't wasted any of his talents during his captivity. For Eva, here was a tangible, everlasting memory of her beloved older brother, and a reminder of her father's promise that all the good things you accomplish will make a difference.Heinz's paintings have been on display in exhibitions in the USA and are now a part of a permanent exhibition in Amsterdam's war museum.Eva Schloss is the posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank, after mother, Fritzi, was remarried to Otto Frank, the only surviving member of his immediate family.Michelangelo: His Epic Life
By Martin Gayford. 2013
At thirty one, Michelangelo was considered the finest artist in Italy, perhaps the world; long before he died at almost…
90 he was widely believed to be the greatest sculptor or painter who had ever lived (and, by his enemies, to be an arrogant, uncouth, swindling miser).For decade after decade, he worked near the dynamic centre of events: the vortex at which European history was changing from Renaissance to Counter Reformation. Few of his works - including the huge frescoes of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, the marble giant David and the Last Judgment - were small or easy to accomplish. Like a hero of classical mythology - such as Hercules, whose statue he carved in his youth - he was subject to constant trials and labours.In Michelangelo Martin Gayford describes what it felt like to be Michelangelo Buonarroti, and how he transformed forever our notion of what an artist could be.Leonardo Da Vinci
By Kenneth Clark, Martin Kemp. 1939
The things i came here with: A memoir
By Chris MacDonald. 2022
"Does it hurt?" When you're a tattoo artist, that's the most universal question. For Chris MacDonald, the answer is simple:…
hurts less than a broken heart . Those words are painted above the entrance to his shop, Under My Thumb Tattoos, as a reminder. Chris and his brothers were as wild as the wind, in their house among the fields of Alliston, Ontario, when their parents divorced. Shell-shocked, they were uprooted and brought to Toronto by their dad. Their mother's mental illness worsened in the aftermath, and she disappeared. As a teenager, Chris left home and found himself immersed in the city's underbelly, a world where drugs, skateboarding, and punk rock reigned. Between the youth shelters, suicidal thoughts, and haunted apartments, a light shined: and it was art. He eventually found himself following the path of his brother, Rob, and pursuing life as a tattooist. Then, at the height of a destructive summer, everything changed: he met Megan, the girl who would become his rock of ages. This remarkable memoir examines what tattooing means to MacDonald and traces the connection his artistic motives have to both his family and childhood. The Things I Came Here With is about how crucial our past is to understanding our future, but it's also a love letter to his daughter about the importance of expression, life's uncertainty, and beautyGet your paints and canvases ready for a fun-filled journey through art! Explore how artists get ideas and bring them…
to life, how art can affect the way we think and feel, and why people throughout history loved it so much.Why is art important? What's so great about it? In this illustrated book, you'll see the world through famous artists' eyes, and what inspired them to make art. And you'll use their techniques to produce your own masterpieces. Did you know that early humans spent a great deal of time on their cave paintings? Before cameras and smartphones were invented, people had paintings and drawings made of them to keep a record of what they looked like. Many artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, used art as a language to express their feelings, thoughts, and emotions in ways that words couldn't. Explore techniques you can use to create art, and you don't have to be good at drawing and painting to do it. If you want to learn why art has the power to be beautiful, shocking, entertaining, and even political, What's the Point of Art? is the place to start. This book is about how art has changed the world, one artistic movement at a time, and it is guaranteed to inspire, surprise, and entertain everyone who picks it up.Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry, and Revolution in the Life of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
By Bridget Quinn. 2024
Discover the story of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard—a long-ignored artist and feminist of eighteenth-century France—in this imaginative and illuminating biography from an…
award-winning writer.Born in Paris in 1749, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard rose from shopkeeper’s daughter to an official portraitist of the royal court—only to have her achievements reduced to ash by the French Revolution. While she defied societal barriers to become a member of the exclusive Académie Royale and a mentor for other ambitious women painters, she left behind few writings, and her legacy was long overshadowed by celebrated portraitist and memoirist Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.But Adélaïde Labille-Guiard’s story lives on. In this engaging biography, Bridget Quinn applies her insightful interpretation of art history to Labille-Guiard’s life. She offers a fascinating new perspective on the artist’s feminism, her sexuality, and her vision of the world. Quinn expertly blends close analyses of paintings with broader context about the era and inserts delicately fictionalized interpersonal scenes that fill the gaps in the historical record. This is a compelling and inspiring look at an artist too long overlooked.INSPIRING HISTORICAL NONFICTION: Despite numerous setbacks, Labille-Guiard built a legacy as an accomplished royal portraitist and a mentor to other young women artists of her era. This tale of solidarity, self-belief, and true passion for painting is sure to inspire contemporary creatives and women today. CREATIVE AND COMPELLING ART HISTORY BOOK: Bridget Quinn is an award-winning author and art historian who has spent years researching Adélaïde Labille-Guiard’s work and life. She vividly evokes both and weaves a compelling narrative at the intersection of art, gender, and politics. GORGEOUS ART REPRODUCTIONS THROUGHOUT: This biography features full-color images of artwork by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, her rumored rival Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, and other artists of the era, including portraits of key players in the narrative. These images, interspersed throughout the book, offer valuable visual references to illuminate the engaging text even further.AN ARTFUL GIFT BOOK: Uniquely crafted and thoroughly researched, this volume makes an outstanding gift for art history enthusiasts and readers who love exploring untold stories in women's history.Perfect for:Readers of memoirs and biographiesHistory buffs and fans of historical fiction and nonfictionArtists, art lovers, museumgoers, and art history studentsFeminists and readers seeking feminist booksFrancophiles and those interested in the French RevolutionFans of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and other historical dramasA Life of Picasso Volume II: 1907 1917: The Painter of Modern Life (Life of Picasso #2)
By John Richardson. 1988
John Richardson draws on the same combination of lively writing, critical astuteness, exhaustive research, and personal experience which made a…
bestseller out of the first volume and vividly recreates the artist's life and work during the crucial decade of 1907-17 - a period during which Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque invented Cubism and to that extent engendered modernism. Richardson has had unique access to untapped sources and unpublished material. By harnessing biography to art history, he has managed to crack the code of cubism more successfully than any of his predecessors. And by bringing a fresh light to bear on the artist's often too sensationalised private life, he has succeeded in coming up with a totally new view of this paradoxical man of his paradoxical work. Never before has Picasso's prodigious technique, his incisive vision and not least his sardonic humour been analysed with such clarity.Henri Matisse: A Second Life
By Alastair Sooke. 2014
Henri Matisse by Alastair Sooke - an essential guide to one of the 20th century's greatest artists'One January morning in…
1941, only a fortnight or so after his seventy-first birthday, the bearded and bespectacled French artist Henri Matisse was lying in a hospital bed preparing to die.'Diagnosed with cancer, the acclaimed painter, and rival of Picasso, seemed to be facing his demise. Then something unexpected happened. After a life-saving operation that left him too weak to paint, and often too frail to even get out of bed, Matisse invented a ground-breaking and effortless new way of making art. The results rank among his greatest work.In an astonishing blaze of creativity, he began conjuring mesmerising designs of dazzling dancers and thrilling tightrope walkers, sensuous swimmers and mythical figures falling from the heavens. His joyful and unprecedented new works were as spontaneous as jazz music and as wondrous as crystal-clear lagoons. Their medium? Coloured paper and scissors.This book, by art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke, focuses on Matisse's extraordinary final decade, which he called 'a second life', after he had returned from the grave. Both a biography and a guide to Matisse's 'cut-outs', it tells the story of the valedictory flourish of one of the most important and beloved artists of the twentieth century.Published in time for a major Tate Modern retrospective.'Sooke is an immensely engaging character. He has none of the weighty self-regard that often afflicts art experts and critics; rather he approaches his subjects with a questioning, open, exploratory attitude' Sarah Vine, The Times 'His shows are excellent - clever, lively, scholarly, but not too lecturey; he's very good at linking his painters with the world outside the studio, and at how these artists have affected the world today' Sam Wollaston reviewing 'Modern Masters', GuardianAlastair Sooke is art critic of the Daily Telegraph. He has written and presented documentaries on television and radio for the BBC, including Modern Masters, The World's Most ExpensivePaintings, Treasures of Ancient Rome and, most recently, Treasures of Ancient Egypt. He is a regular reporter for The Culture Show on BBC Two. He is the author of Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art was Saved by Donald Duck.Christy Brown: The Life That Inspired My Left Foot
By Georgina Louise Hambleton. 2007
Christy Brown was severely disabled with cerebral palsy, unable to use any part of his body other than his left…
foot. Doctors said he was a 'mental defective' and that he would never be able to lead any kind of normal life; Christy proved them wrong.His mother taught him to write using chalk on the worn floor of their small home, and Christy grew into a talented artist and writer. His 1954 memoir My Left Foot was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, while his bestselling novel Down All the Days was described by the Irish Times as 'the most important novel since Ulysses'.Using previously unpublished letters and poems, this first authorised biography marks Christy Brown's importance as a writer and celebrates his indomitable spirit. His story proves that, with hope and determination, almost impossible odds can be overcome.Bernini
By Howard Hibbard. 1965
Sculptor and architect Bernini was the virtual creator and greatest exponent of Baroque in 17th century Italy. He has left…
his greatest mark on Rome where Papal patronage provided him with enormous architectural commissions.Bernard Buffet: The Invention of the Modern Mega-artist
By Nicholas Foulkes. 2015
It is said that asphyxiation brings on a state of hallucinatory intoxication...in which case the 71 year old artist who…
lay in his sprawling Provencal villa died happy. In the early afternoon of Monday 4 October 1999, wracked with Parkinson's, and unable to paint because of a fall in which he had broken his wrist, Bernard Buffet calmly placed a plastic bag over his head, taped it tight around his neck and patiently waited the few minutes it took for death to arrive. Bernard Buffet:The Invention of the Modern Mega-artist tells the remarkable story of a French figurative painter who tasted unprecedented critical and commercial success at an age when his contemporaries were still at art school. Then, with almost equal suddenness the fruits of fame turned sour and he found himself an outcast. Scarred with the contagion of immense commercial success no leper was more untouchable. He was the first artist of the television age and the jet age and his role in creating the idea of a post-war France is not to be underestimated. As the first of the so-called Fabulous Five (Francoise Sagan, Roger Vadim, Brigitte Bardot and Yves Saint Laurent) he was a leader of the cultural revolution that seemed to forge a new France from the shattered remains of a discredited and demoralized country. Rich in incident Buffet’s remarkable story of bisexual love affairs, betrayal, vendettas lasting half a century, shattered reputations, alcoholism, and drug abuse, is played out against the backdrop of the beau monde of the 1950s and 1960s in locations as diverse as St Tropez, Japan, Paris, Dallas, St Petersburg and New York, before coming to its miserable conclusion alone in his studio.The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
By Benvenuto Cellini. 1998
Benvenuto Cellini was a celebrated Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith - a passionate craftsman who was admired and resented by the…
most powerful political and artistic personalities in sixteenth-century Florence, Rome and Paris. He was also a murderer and a braggart, a shameless adventurer who at different times experienced both papal persecution and imprisonment, and the adulation of the royal court. Inn-keepers and prostitutes, kings and cardinals, artists and soldiers rub shoulders in the pages of his notorious autobiography: a vivid portrait of the manners and morals of both the rulers of the day and of their subjects. Written with supreme powers of invective and an irrepressible sense of humour, this is an unrivalled glimpse into the palaces and prisons of the Italy of Michelangelo and the Medici.Among You: The Extraordinary True Story of a Soldier Broken by War
By Jake Wood. 2013
Among You is the gripping real-life story of a soldier serving on the front line in Iraq and Afghanistan, and…
an unforgettable, unflinching account of the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.Jake Wood lives parallel lives: encased in the glass tower of an international investment bank by day, he is also a dedicated TA soldier who serves on the front line during the invasion of Iraq, later returning to the war zone to conduct surveillance on insurgents. Disillusioned with the dullness and amorality of the banking world, he escapes back to the army for a third tour of duty. But in Afghanistan he discovers the savage, dehumanising effects that war has on both the body and the mind. Diagnosed with chronic PTSD on his return, he must now fight the last enemy – himself – in order to exorcise the ghosts of his past.Brutally honest and beautifully written, Among You brings home the harsh reality of front-line combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the courage of the troops who risk their lives for their country, as well as revealing the devastating after-effects of service.Ai Weiwei Speaks: with Hans Ulrich Obrist
By Hans Ulrich Obrist. 2016
'If artists betray the social conscience and the basic principles of being human, where does art stand then?' Ai Weiwei…
- artist, architect, curator, publisher, poet and urbanist - extended the notion of art and is one of the world's most significant creative and cultural figures. In this series of interviews, conducted over several years with the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, he discusses the many dimensions of his artistic life, ranging over subjects including ceramics, blogging, nature, philosophy and the myriad influences that have fed into his work. He also talks candidly about his father, his childhood spent in exile and his criticism of the Chinese state. Together, these extraordinary discussions give a unique insight into the outstanding complexity of Ai Weiwei's thought and work, and are an essential reminder of the need for personal, political and artistic freedom.Wisdom of Wildly Creative Women: Real Stories from Inspirational, Artistic, and Empowered Women
By Angela Lomenzo, James Lomenzo. 2023
Real Stories from Wildly Creative Women“If you need an extra boost of bravery, read this book! If you want to…
simply feel more positive about the world, read this book!” —Sherry Richert Belul, founder of Simply Celebrate and author of Say It Now#1 New Release in Interviews, Photography Criticism & Essays, and PhotojournalismAngela LoMenzo combines stunning photography and powerful real stories documented from interviews with a diverse group of accomplished women that encourages us to dig deep into our own creative lives!Women from all walks of life. Artists, musicians, authors, fashion designers, entrepreneurs, and others from a multitude of creative careers share their experiences with depression, bullying, infertility, cancer, assault, loss of loved ones, drug addiction, and many other issues women often do not have a safe space to talk about. These stories show you just how real life is.Powerful affirmations and true-life stories to empower you. This book is packed with words of wisdom from women who have both overcome adversity and achieved an authentic life honoring their individuality and freedom of personal expression. Their real stories illustrate that it is possible to live the life you have always desired now.Inside, you’ll find:Words of wisdom and beautiful photography of wildly creative womenRaw and authentic interviews featuring stories by women redefining the role of a womanAnd much more!If you're looking for unique gifts for women who have everything or if you like books such as Women, In the Company of Women, Collective Wisdom, or A Room of Her Own, you need to read Wisdom of Wildly Creative Women!The Astors
By Harvey O'Connor. 2024
The Astors is a comprehensive biography of one of the most prominent and influential families in American history. The Astors…
were a wealthy and powerful family who made their fortune in the fur trade and real estate, and went on to become one of the most influential families in New York City and beyond. This book traces the history of the Astor family from its humble beginnings in Germany to its rise to prominence in America and explores the lives of some of its most famous members, including John Jacob Astor, William Waldorf Astor, and Brooke Astor. It delves into their personal lives, business ventures, and philanthropic endeavors, and sheds light on the family's role in shaping the cultural and economic landscape of America. Harvey O’Connor’s meticulously researched and engagingly written book, which includes numerous family photos and a thorough genealogy, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of one of America's most iconic families. It is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, business, and culture.Also available in audiobook format.Listening to Stone: The Art and Life of Isamu Noguchi
By Hayden Herrera. 2015
Throughout the twentieth century, Isamu Noguchi was a vital figure in modern art. From interlocking wooden sculptures to massive steel…
monuments to the elegant Akari lamps, Noguchi became a master of what he called the "sculpturing of space." But his constant struggle—as both an artist and a man—was to embrace his conflicted identity as the son of a single American woman and a famous yet reclusive Japanese father. "It's only in art," he insisted, "that it was ever possible for me to find any identity at all." In this remarkable biography of the elusive artist, Hayden Herrera observes this driving force of Noguchi's creativity as intimately tied to his deep appreciation of nature. As a boy in Japan, Noguchi would collect wild azaleas and blue mountain flowers for a little garden in front of his home. As Herrera writes, he also included a rock, "to give a feeling of weight and permanence." It was a sensual appreciation he never abandoned. When looking for stones in remote Japanese quarries for his zen-like Paris garden forty years later, he would spend hours actually listening to the stones, scrambling from one to another until he found one that "spoke to him." Constantly striving to "take the essence of nature and distill it," Noguchi moved from sculpture to furniture, and from playgrounds to sets for his friend the choreographer Martha Graham, and back again working in wood, iron, clay, steel, aluminum, and, of course, stone. Throughout his career, Noguchi traveled constantly, from New York to Paris to India to Japan, forever uprooting himself to reinvigorate what he called the "keen edge of originality." Wherever he went, his needy disposition and boyish charm drew women to him, yet he tended to push them away when things began to feel too settled. Only through his art—now seen as a powerful aesthetic link between the East and the West—did Noguchi ever seem to feel that he belonged.Combining the personal correspondence of and interviews with Noguchi and those closest to him—from artists, patrons, assistants, and lovers—Herrera has created an authoritative biography of one of the twentieth century's most important sculptors. She locates Noguchi in his friendships with such artists as Buckminster Fuller and Arshile Gorky, and in his affairs with women including Frida Kahlo and Anna Matta Clark. With the attention to detail and scholarship that made her biography of Gorky a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Herrera has written a rich meditation on art in a globalized milieu. Listening to Stone is a moving portrait of an artist compulsively driven to reinvent himself as he searched for his own "essence of sculpture."Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin
By Alice Echols. 1999
Janis Joplin was the skyrocket chick of the sixties, the woman who broke into the boys' club of rock and…
out of the stifling good-girl femininity of postwar America. With her incredible wall-of-sound vocals, Joplin was the voice of a generation, and when she OD'd on heroin in October 1970, a generation's dreams crashed and burned with her. Alice Echols pushes past the legary Joplin-the red-hot mama of her own invention-as well as the familiar portrait of the screwed-up star victimized by the era she symbolized, to examine the roots of Joplin's muscianship and explore a generation's experiment with high-risk living and the terrible price it exacted.A deeply affecting biography of one of America's most brilliant and tormented stars, Scars of Sweet Paradise is also a vivid and incisive cultural history of an era that changed the world for us all.