Books

Tracing the surge in creativity and transformations in culture and the arts during one of history’s most tumultuous decades Boom: Art and Design in the 1940s looks at the complex shifts in technology and the arts, including music, film, and fashion,...

Michael R. Taylor (Author) with essays by Andrew Lins, Melissa S. Meighan, and Beth A. Price, Ken Sutherland, Scott Homolka, and Elena Torok In his early thirties, Marcel Duchamp convinced everyone that he had abandoned making art in favor of playing...

Few artists tried as hard as Claude Monet (1840–1926) to capture light itself on canvas. The painter of whom Cézanne said “only  an eye, but my God what an eye!” he stayed true to the principle of absolute fidelity to the visual sensation, painting...

Matthew Affron (Author) With contributions by Cécile Debray, Alexander Kauffman, Michael R. Taylor, and John Vick This book offers an engaging and accessible introduction to one of the twentieth century’s greatest and most enigmatic artists, Marcel...

From Game Boy to Gucci American advertising in the naughty 1990s From the Los Angeles riots to the Columbine High School massacre, Americans witnessed events and purchased items that reflected the best and worst of the decade. Bill Clinton’s presidency...

A Legacy in Stone Castles and fortresses of medieval Europe Follow photographer Frédéric Chaubin as he embarks on a unique, century-spanning journey through Europe. Featuring images of more than 200 buildings in 21 countries, Stone Age. Ancient Castles...

The little house first stood in the country, but gradually the city moved closer and closer. This picture book about the changes that come to a little house is beautiful and timeless.  In 1942, Virginia Lee Burton created the Little House, and since...

 A vibrant exploration of the world's newest language—where it came from, how it works and where it's going. We are surrounded by emoji. They appear in politics, movies, drug deals, our sex lives and more. But emoji’s impact has never been explored...

Despite what society says, human beings were born to create and have been doing so since ancient times. Beginning with cave paintings, people have documented their culture and heritage regardless of geography, as seen in intricate Indian miniature...

As Claude Monet once said, “I would like to paint the way a bird sings”. From the sacred falcons and ibises of ancient Egyptian glyphs to the elegant cranes and swallows in East Asian ink paintings, birds have been revered for their beauty...

The first comprehensive monograph on Mickalene Thomas, a key figure in 21st-century contemporary art Over the past two decades, Mickalene Thomas's critically acclaimed and extensive body of work has spanned painting, collage, photography, video, and the...

Art museums have played a vital role in our culture, drawing on Enlightenment ideals in shaping ideas, advancing learning, fostering community, and providing spaces of beauty and permanence. In this thoughtful and often personal volume, Daniel H. Weiss...

The catalogue of the Swiss Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. At the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, artist duo Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz will transform the Swiss Pavilion into a...

Ten years of multimedia installations and performances from a Berlin-based duo. Berlin-based artist duo Pauline Boudry (born 1972) and Renate Lorenz (born 1963) work across film, installation, sculpture and dance to create their politically charged...

A celebration of the joyful power of African American quilts, featuring images of over 100 quilts, new research and essays The first publication dedicated to historical African American quilts in California, Routed West traces the flow and flourishing of...

The creative and collaborative history of vanguard printmaking studio and publisher Brand X. Brand X, founded in 1979 as a screenprinting laboratory in New York City, fosters creative collaborations in which paper, ink, and a seemingly endless variety...

A collection of quotes from Vincent van Gogh on art, love, nature, color, ambition, friendship, future, sorrow, and consolation. "I believe that at present we must paint nature's rich and magnificent aspects; we need good cheer and happiness, hope and...

The evolution of Alex Katz: nearly 80 years of restless innovation in portraiture and landscape across painting, works on paper and sculpture Across decades of intense creative production, Alex Katz has sought to capture a state of “absolute awareness”...

From his early self-portraits to his site-specific installations, this volume underscores Rashid Johnson's fearless engagement with the central themes, questions and aesthetics of the contemporary era Co-organized by the Guggenheim New York and the...

A stylish three-volume boxed set of Katsushika Hokusai’s renowned manga drawings considered a precursor of contemporary manga. In 1814, the great Japanese artist and printmaker Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) published the first volume of his sketches:...

A celebration of the rich twentieth and twenty-first-century tradition of screen-printing as a means of artistic expression, from its commercial origins in 1920s America to the limited-edition screenprints of the postwar period and today. Screenprints: A...

A vibrant contemporary art anthology that explores the complex ties between race, climate crisis, and colonialism by over 150 leading artists of African diasporic, Latin American, and Native American identity. Black Earth Rising presents works by artists...

 A nonfiction graphic novel that tells the story of a century of revolutionary contemporary art. How did a urinal become art? And a can of tomato soup, a tent, a pickled shark. . . . How did what seemed like a prank at the New York Armory Show of...

A new comprehensive overview of expressionism, tracing its evolution from the nineteenth century to the present day. Expressionist artists believed in art's ability to communicate emotion, irrespective of any representational or narrative content. In...

A thrilling journey through 100,000 years of art, from the first artworks ever made to art’s central role in culture today. Art can help us see the world differently or understand our place in it a little more clearly. It can move us emotionally,...

An original and revealing portrait of the misunderstood French Post-Impressionist artist. Paul Gauguin’s legend as a transgressive genius arises as much from his biography as his aesthetically daring Polynesian paintings. Gauguin is chiefly known...

 The riveting hidden history of Claire McCardell, the most influential fashion designer you’ve never heard of. Claire McCardell forever changed fashion—and most importantly, the lives of women. She shattered cultural norms around women’s clothes,...

Leading specialist on Van Gogh Martin Bailey explains how and why Van Gogh created the iconic Sunflowers paintings. This is the story of one of the world’ s most iconic images. Martin Bailey explains why Van Gogh painted a series of sunflower still lifes...

Contemporary African-American artist Mickalene Thomas has created a dramatic body of work that ranges from painting, collage and print to photography, video and immersive installations. The book -- and the exhibition at the Broad Museum on which it is...

Add Papier's Pause PU leather bookmark to your product assortment - the perfect blend of style and function for book lovers and note-takes alike. This elevated bookmark keeps your place while offering a calming break during reading or writing. Ideal for...

A captivating journey of the expansive world of medieval travel, from London to Constantinople to the court of China and beyond. Europeans of the Middle Ages were the first to use travel guides to orient their wanderings, as they moved through a world...

Philadelphia, the Revolutionary City explores the lived experiences of Philadelphians leading up to, during, and after the fight for independence, showcasing written documents as well as material culture, from diaries and journals to political cartoons,...

Both personal and universal, Harris’ oeuvre weaves together legacies of family dynamics, queer histories and Afro-cosmopolitanism Gathering photographs, assemblages, video installations and archival selections from his celebrated and lesser-known series,...

The definitive study of the work of KAWS, one of the most influential and much-loved forces in contemporary art and culture KAWS is one of the most popular and recognizable contemporary artists, whose reach extends far beyond the art world into the...

 From New York street artist to pop culture sensation: the essential, accessible guide to KAWS The multidisciplinary artist KAWS is regarded as an emblem of postmodern art. Many consider him as the Andy Warhol of the 21st century. Throughout his...

Stitches and sutures: tracing the body and landscape in Troy Montes-Michie's collages To tailor a garment by “rock of eye” is to rely on the drape—on experience over mathematical measurement—in the fitting process. It is a kind of drawing in space—a...

 A colossal survey of Pendleton’s classic works, together with newly created color silkscreens New York-based artist Adam Pendleton (born 1984) uses letters, words, drips, splashes, sprays and collected images as primary materials in his...

Massaging the Consumer The digital future of ads in the extravagant 1980s With the cold war ebbing, crime and inflation at record levels, and movie star-turned-President Ronald Reagan launching a Star Wars of his own, the 1980s did not seem likely to...

Disco and Discovery Ads of the 1970s get funky and socially conscious Both eclipsed and influenced by television, American print ads of the 1970s departed from the bold, graphic forms and subtle messages that were typical of their sixties counterparts...

Americana in Full Bloom To the moon and back with advertising in the 1960s With the consumerist euphoria of the fifties still going strong and the race to the moon at its height, the mood of advertising in the sixties was cheerful, optimistic, and at...

Advertising in the Atomic Age From “The World’s Finest Automatic Washer” to the Cadillac which “Gives a Man a New Outlook” As McCarthyism swept across the United States and capitalism was king, white America enjoyed a feeling of pride and security that...

Dress Codes The ultimate compendium of clothing from the 18th to the 20th century Clothes define people. A person’s attire, whether it be a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential code to his or her culture, class, personality, even faith...

Explore endless inspiration with this dynamic card deck! Set aside your quilt patterns and find freedom in the creative process with the Quilter’s Inspiration Deck. 100 cards, divided into ten categories, allow you to explore your creativity by...

A selection from the memoir of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, the renowned eighteenth-century French portraitist and one of the most important women painters in art history In her memoir, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun offers a candid and thoroughly...

This seminal 1929 surrealist novel by the painter Giorgio de Chirico merges the realms of dream and reality. In the artist’s only novel, de Chirico invites the reader into a world where language, time, space, and meaning are fluid, highlighting...

Alex Pilcher’s A Queer Little History of Art is a beautiful book that illustrates the wide variety of queer art from around the world exploring bodies and identity, love and desire, and prejudice and protest through drawing, painting, photography,...

An expansive account of the ever-popular mid-century movement, from the place where it all began Embark on a surprising and joyful visual tour of American mid-century modernism through hundreds of photographs, drawings, and pieces of ephemera organized...

Mood Marks The painterly gestures of personal feelings Hailed as the first American-born art movement to have a worldwide influence, Abstract Expressionism denotes the non-representational use of paint as a means of personal expression. It emerged in...

Between Heaven and Hell Hieronymus Bosch’s meticulous visions of the grotesque, debauched, and divine As cryptic as they are compelling, the masterpieces of Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516) remain some of the most enduring enigmas of the art world. Their...

The need-to-know names of Japanese graphic design from the late 19th century to the pre-digital decade, presented alongside more than 500 color images of vintage ephemera With Fracture, author Ian Lynam presents a survey of Japanese design across a...

Whether you look at them in awe or in fear, the world of the small but mighty insect is an irreplaceable part of Earth and its ecosystems and is equally strange and wonderful in its own way. Following the incredible success of Botanical Inspiration and...

A world without plants is a world without life, both literally and figuratively. Besides forming the very basis of human survival on Earth, they are also an important source of creative inspiration, ingenuity, and expression. From scientific explorers...

This is the story of the African-American Montier family, which traces its roots to Philadelphia’s first mayor, a white Quaker named Humphrey Morrey, and includes generations of Black activists, artists and scholars. The important story of an...

Featuring nearly forty full-color reproductions of Thomas Sully’s portraits, and drawing upon previously unpublished archival material, Thomas Sully’s Philadelphians brings to life the people who participated in the history of early-nineteenth-century...

As the companion to the exhibition, Fighting for Freedom places Black craftspeople at the forefront of American history, from before the Revolutionary War through the Civil War and beyond Reconstruction. Delving into diverse narratives of creativity,...

Diego Rivera’s America revisits a historical moment when the famed muralist and painter, more than any other artist of his time, helped forge Mexican national identity in visual terms and imagined a shared American future in which unity, rather than...

The authoritative and wide-ranging visual essay on the aesthetics of Japan, a classic volume now back in print with a stunning new cover design ‘Japan style’ is an aesthetic recognizable to everyone: a beautifully displayed flower, an elegant...

No longer a catalog, but an intimate window into how and why Nakashima Woodworkers do what Nakashima Woodworkers do. THe Process Book acts a first step in understanding our foundations and identifying what you hope to achieve in working with us. Defined...

Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks during times of plenty, reminding them that providing sustenance requires more than putting food on the table. M. F. K. Fisher knew that the...

The main character of this extraordinary graphic novel is not a person but an idea—the school of Bauhaus, which arose in the wake of World War I, and emerged as the fundamental reference point for virtually every avant-garde artistic movement that...

 This definitive book explores the multidisciplinary career of one of the most experimental and pioneering artists of the 20th century. Encompassing the entirety of Isamu Noguchi’s work in sculpture, ceramics, photography, architecture,...

Widely celebrated as the father of the Studio Furniture Movement, Wharton Esherick is one of the most important furniture designers of the twentieth century. Presenting his preserved hillside house and studio, this book showcases seven decades of...

A richly illustrated monograph on the life and work of Lee Krasner, one of the twentieth century’s most inspiring women artists and a pioneer of abstract expressionism, now available in paperback. In 1984, Lee Krasner (1908–1984) became one of the few...

The first monograph on the overlooked American modernist whose delicate geometric abstractions made brilliant and innovative use of string Balance, motion, suspension and tension form the guiding principles of the work of Sue Fuller (1914–2006), one of...

A scholarly meditation on Reinhardt’s work, bringing together his abstract painting, comics and slide lecture series The second volume of Focal Points takes as its subject the work of American artist Ad Reinhardt (1913–67). An American abstract painter,...

First published in 1956, What Shall I Wear? is revolutionary, award-winning designer Claire McCardell’s collection of fashion wisdom and philosophy, and a vivacious guide to looking effortlessly stylish. This new edition of the sought-after classic...

A pocket-sized history of the great fashion house, Dior, covering over 70 years of excellence. Little Book of Dior is the pocket-sized and beautifully illustrated story of 70 years of opulent fashion. Christian Dior's spectacular rise to the upper...

Renowned designers Charles and Ray Eames are amongst the greatest designers of the 20th century. They are, of course, most well known for their groundbreaking and iconic furniture designs, but they also created important, creative, experimental, and...

More than four decades after the passing of Monuments Woman Captain Rose Valland (1898–1980), one of the great heroines of World War II, the Monuments Men and Women Foundation released the first-ever English translation of her 1961 memoir, The Art Front:...

The story of modernist designers Russel and Mary Wright and their collaboration to transform their Hudson Valley estate, Dragon Rock at Manitoga, into an artistic haven. In the mid-century era of TV dinners and suburban conformity, Russel and Mary...

A celebration of the rich and varied work of Italian-born American artist, designer, and master of metal, Harry Bertoia From chapel altarpieces and bronze fountains, to wire chairs and silver brooches, Harry Bertoia's creative output was varied in the...

An homage to the design pioneers who defined the Mid-Century aesthetic through their work in furniture, glassware, ceramics and textiles More than 50 years later, the fascination with mid-century design is stronger than ever before. Explore the popular...

In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived...

Midcentury masterpieces from the inventors of the Eames chair Best known for their contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design, film and photography, Charles and Ray Eames remain among the most renowned American designers of the...

Portraits of 50 pioneering figures of the Harlem Renaissance This elegantly designed and beautifully produced volume presents portraits of 50 extraordinary individuals who contributed to making the Harlem Renaissance one of the great cultural movements...

Lincoln Kirstein was a polymathic writer, critic, curator and impresario: a key connector and an indefatigable catalyst whose sweeping contributions to American cultural life in the 1930s and ‘40s shaped artists and institutions. Best known for...

Exquisitely illustrated and expertly written, Little Book of Schiaparelli follows a biographical chronology detailing the eccentric and influential designer's life, career, and primary creative themes of her work. .Little Book of Schiaparelli chronicles...

'Haute couture is like an orchestra, whose conductor is Balenciaga. We other couturiers are the musicians and we follow the direction he gives' - Christian Dior The godfather of conceptual design, a master of shape, a true fashion game changer – all are...

From Darkness into Light Wartime action and postwar triumph in the advertising of the 1940s At the beginning of the decade, America was at war. Patriotism was an integral part of everyday life, with the sentiment mirrored in advertising. As America...

Forms on the front line Architecture and design in the context of WWII Founded in 1928 as a “living diary” by the great Milanese architect and designer Gio Ponti, domus has been hailed as the world’s most influential architecture and design journal. With...

The Modern Home A complete retrospective of the Case Study Houses program The Case Study House program (1945–1966) was an exceptional, innovative event in the history of American architecture and remains to this day unique. The program, which...

A fabulous tribute to the artist whose stylized poster designs defined Art Nouveau's visual language, and whose influence can be seen everywhere from manga to the Grateful Dead This volume reappraises the graphic work of Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) and...

Jackson Pollock, the towering American artist who was to revolutionize twentieth-century art with his “dripping” painting technique, grew up between the late 1920s and the late 1940s, the youngest of five boys born in the American West. Though often...

This striking exhibition catalog celebrates the late artist whose deeply emotional works intermingled realism with abstraction to address complex themes of identity, race, and community. American artist Noah Davis (1983–2015) believed...

Luminous and tranquil, Saar’s newest installation uses natural objects and materials to take the viewer on a spiritual journey. This volume features the Huntington Library and Museum’s commissioned site-specific installation Drifting toward...

From Longhouse Reserver: Jack, Larger Than Life is an homage to the internationally acclaimed textile designer, author, and collector Jack Lenor Larsen (1927–2020) and a record of a public exhibition held at LongHouse Reserve—Larsen’s...

Josef - painter, designer, and teacher - and Anni Albers - textile artist and printmaker - are among the twentieth century's most important abstract artists, and this is the first monograph to celebrate the rich creative output and beguiling relationship...

An unprecedented, substantial, and extraordinary celebration of more than a century of fascinating product and industrial design, as shown through their detailed original patent documents - the ultimate 'flick book' of modern design with hundreds of...

Sculptural Structures Eero Saarinen’s new dimensions The creator of the ubiquitous Knoll “Tulip” chairs and tables, Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) was one of the 20th century’s most prominent space shapers, merging dynamic forms with a modernist sensibility...

The Way We Wore The story of modern fashion from couture to mass market The 20th century saw fashion evolve from an exclusive Parisian salon business catering for the wealthy elite into a global industry employing millions, with new trends whisked into...

The creative duo Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser Eames transformed the visual character of America. Though best known for their furniture, the husband and wife team were also forerunners in architecture, textile design, photography, and film.   The...

Explore the modern age of design in this Bibliotheca Universalis edition  of the 20th century’s key movements and trends. Featuring countless  works from around the world, this is an essential compendium for design  aficionados everywhere,...

Curator and critic David Anfam’s crucial exploration of the Abstract Expressionist movement, updated to include scholarship of the past decade and a half Abstract Expressionism is arguably the most important art movement since the Second World War...

No German painter evokes such strong emotions as Caspar David Friedrich: his evening skies remain icons of longing, his mountain vistas testaments to the grandeur of nature.  He inspired Samuel Beckett to write Waiting for Godot and Walt...

In early modern Japan, cultural salons were creative spaces for people of all ages and social levels to pursue painting, poetry, and other artistic endeavors as serious but amateur practitioners. All using a pen- or art-name, individuals were able to...

Trace the genesis of Jackson Pollock’s work in this intimate portrait of the radical twentieth-century artist through the diverse cultural influences that charted his artistic evolution. Jackson Pollock’s “drip technique” paintings are among the most...

A hilarious celebration of cats in artwork from medieval times. Look what the cat dragged in from the Middle Ages—a curious compendium of cats unlike any you’ve ever lapped up before. Here’s the purrfect bedside companion for cat...

Brimming with stunning reproductions and illuminating texts, this handy and accessible book is the perfect introduction to the famous Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. Albrecht Dürer (1471–1521) is considered the most important German painter and...

Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, Dream Big, Little One; Think Big, Little One; and Follow Your Dreams, Little One are board book adaptations of the bestselling Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends books. These inspiring...

An omnibus edition collecting fifteen volumes of Hokusai's dedicated drawing manuals, also known as e-tehon. Best known for woodblock prints such as The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the ninteenth-century artist Hokusai was prolific in other media. Of...