Books

The story of art is not always the story of art-historical 'isms' and complex academic debate. The real history is often the story of some very simple firsts - the first time an artist painted themselves, the first time someone painted a smile, the first...

This indispensable introductory guide explores the art of the African continent from its early origins over 75,000 years ago to the contemporary, set in the context of postcolonial debates, the restitution of cultural objects and artifacts, and the...

Discover the latest and the greatest of Japan’s manga scene. This  revised and updated edition features classic maestros like Osamu Tezuka  (creator of Astro Boy) and Katsuhiro Otomo (creator of Akira) as well as  the most exciting...

The Lenape tribe, also known as the Delaware Nation, lived for centuries on the land that English colonists later called New Jersey. But once America gained its independence, they were forced to move further west: to Indiana, then Missouri, and finally...

Meet Buzz the dog. He's such a good boy. Buzz seems to have a perfect life .. . and a lot of very well-behaved friends. Buzz would never dream of being anything other than good. Right, Buzz? Buzz . . . ? For anyone who has ever felt pressure to be...

Meet Lee, a little boy who won't give up until he learns how to sew, and Zora, the sister who watches him try--and ultimately succeed! "I know big sisters. Zora, the boss, she's mine," explains Lee as he and Zora head to the library, where Mrs. C is...

The Art of Tapestry tells the history of tapestry in Britain and Europe from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries through the National Trust’s outstanding tapestry collection, which comprises nearly 650 tapestries in 60 properties. The book includes...

While anchoring his practice in the traditions of antiquity and the Renaissance, Auguste Rodin paved the way for modern sculpture. From a very early stage, he was interested in movement, the expression of the body, chance effects, and the incomplete...

With essays by Roberta Bernstein, Yve-Alain Bois, Jean-François Chevrier, John Elderfield, John Golding, Christopher Green, Jennie Hirsh, Joop M. Joosten, Anabelle Kienle, Albert Kostenevich, Carolyn Lanchner, Mark D. Mitchell, Joseph J. Rishel,...

Trace the history of rock and roll with this playful journey through the decades, artists and styles that make this such a diverse and beloved art form. For children and parents alike, this colorful and lovingly illustrated book travels from the 1950s...

In an increasingly digital world, the art of printing has become more precious than ever. Although screens continue to take over society and sustainable practices have improved the preservation of natural resources, many designers still thrive on...

Featuring over five hundred masterpieces from around the world, this revised and expanded guide is a beautifully illustrated introduction to the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This updated version of the museum's handbook presents more...

Best-selling illustrator Britta Teckentrup explores the world of birds in a sumptuously illustrated nonfiction book. There are birds everywhere! Some of them live along the coast, some of them in the savannah, and some may be in your backyard. Young...

 'Race Is Everything’ explores the spurious but influential ideas of so-called racial science in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries, and how art was affected by it. David Bindman looks at race in general, but with...

Cabinets of curiosities fascinated people of the 16th and 17th  centuries. They offered a glimpse into a world full of natural wonders and treasures that aimed to reflect the order of the universe. This volume takes us through the world’s most...

Once upon a time in Persia, there was a woman who had never seen her reflection. On her wedding day, she sees herself in a mirror for the first time and does not recognize herself. Heartbroken, she runs away, mistakenly believing another bride has taken...

Celebrating over a century of fashion’s greatest talents, from Azzedine Alaïa and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent. From Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Coco Chanel to  Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and...

A guide to going on dates with people to visit trees in Philadelphia, PA.  There are 25 more tree-dates out there! What is our social relationship to plants? Can we create a feeling of belonging within a landscape? Tree Dates provide an opportunity...

Since the 1960s, contemporary art has overturned the accepted historical categorizations of what constitutes art, who creates it, and how it is represented and validated. This guide brings the subject up to date, exploring the notion of “contemporary”...

Acknowledging how architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts reflect the culture and society of their time, this latest addition to the Art Essentials series invites the reader to experience and appreciate the entirety of Western art from...

An absorbing group biography revealing how exiles from war-torn France brought surrealism to America, sparking the movement that became abstract expressionism. In 1957 the American artist Robert Motherwell made an unexpected claim: "I have only known...

By Felice Fischer and Kyoko Kinoshita Art of Japan presents one hundred highlights of Japanese art from the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, dating from the Neolithic period to today. Among them are a temple and a teahouse, acquired in 1928,...

In The Critic as Artist, arguably the most complete exploration of his aesthetic thinking, and certainly the most entertaining, Oscar Wilde harnesses his famous wit to demolish the supposed boundary between art and criticism...

Despite wide interest in Woolf’s writings, and in the artists and art critics in her Bloomsbury circle, there is no accessible edition or selection of essays dedicated to her writings on art. This volume collects her longest essay on painting, “Walter...

There are many myths about the artist Edgar Degas—from Degas the misanthrope to Degas the deviant, to Degas the obsessive. But there is no single text that better stokes the fire than Degas and His Model, a short memoir published by Alice Michel,...

Photography is now more popular than ever thanks to the rapid development of digital cameras. Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs is ideal for this new wave of snap shooters using DSLR, compact system and bridge cameras. It contains no...

Best known for his iconic print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known as the Great Wave, Katsushika Hokusai was a revolutionary printmaker. His mastery of ukiyo-e in the nineteenth century has inspired generations of artists since, and his works helped...

‘Big Type’ explores graphic design and identity work where the emphasis is on typography. The visual landscape in which today’s designers are contributing to is very cluttered and the digital world alone is so vast, that sometimes it...

A compilation of esoteric musings, Kandinsky: Incarnating Beauty explores Alexandre Kojève’s philosophical approach to the relationship between art and beauty. A teacher to Jacques Lacan, André Breton, and Albert Camus, Kojève defined art as the act of...

Bright and carefree, Zitkála-Šá grows up on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota with her mother until Quaker missionaries arrive, offering the reservation’s children a free education. The catch: They must leave their parents behind and travel...

Working across photography, film, video, painting, and installation, his work references and re-imagines African American and African visual culture, from hip hop vernacular to Nefertiti, while nodding to traditions of spirituality and Surrealism. This...

In this volume, the writer and Rodin scholar Rachel Corbett selects excerpts from the famous sculptor’s book Cathedrals of France,  first published in 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I.  Cathedrals were central to the way Rodin...

A meditation on suffering, resilience, creativity, and grace. In 1942 Missouri Pettway, newly suffering the loss of her husband, pieced together a quilt out of his old, worn work clothes. Nearly six decades later her daughter Arlonzia Pettway,...

A critical look at the renegade spirit that permeates Japanese prints and the posters of fin-de-siècle Paris. Both the Edo period (1603–1868) in Japan and the late nineteenth century in France witnessed a multitude of challenges to the status quo from...

A modern classic that invites readers to discover a unique ritual that has come to symbolize wisdom, beauty, and the elegant simplicity of Asian culture. Kakuzo Okakura celebrates the Way of Tea from its ancient origins in Chinese Taoism to its...

From Gandhi to Rosa Parks, the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter, this introduction to the power of protests covers nearly every continent to show young readers that they can be effective on their own or as part of a movement. Filled with...

An essential guide for emerging artists learning how to take pictures of places. From the author of the bestselling Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs series, this jargon–free introduction covers all aspects of photographing places,...

The story of art as it’s never been told before, from the Renaissance to the present day, with more than 300 works of art. How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? Did women even work as artists before the twentieth century? And what...

African American history has produced countless exceptional heroes, leaders, and role models. The graphic novel, BLAM! Black Lives Always Mattered!, tells  the inspiring stories of 14 important Black Philadelphians, such as opera singer Marian...

In an ever-evolving world, the only thing to count on is change. A path is never the same path twice. Everything we experience, be it real or imagined, influences what is around us—even if the changes are sometimes too small to recognize! For three...

The essential exploration of the design, history, and culture of the motorcycle – an icon of the machine age. Motorcycles are ubiquitous in the world’s streets and cities, evolving over decades in engineering and design to meet individual transportation...

Elegant. Refined. Exclusionary. Interrupted. The foundations of the fine art world are shaking. Beyoncé and Jay-Z break the internet by blending modern Black culture with fine art in their iconic music video filmed in the Louvre. Kehinde Wiley powerfully...

It is human nature to look to the past when seeking inspiration, particularly in art and related creative fields. Unlike other genres that can be attributed to a specific era or style, folk art is harder to define or categorize due to its special...

In this wordless picture book, the Western world’s greatest art is closer than you expect. A boy’s daily routines bring him face-to-face with Escher’s winding stairs, Banksy’s balloon girl, Picasso’s dancing  fauns, and many more familiar sights...

Take a guided tour through the art museum featuring modern art movements from Impressionism to Pop Art! Join a dad and his child for an interactive visit through the art museum. The guided tour turns into an incredible maze adventure as you go through...

Grandpa told Mom, and Mom told me: The secret of a plant lives in every little seed. Seeds are truly amazing! Did you know that every seed, no matter how small (microscopic) or large (weighing up to 14 pounds),  contains everything it needs to one...

Reading a board book together is a fun way to introduce young children to fine art. The sleepy trees, golden haystacks, and juicy fruits of In the Garden with Van Gogh will delight little ones. Playful rhyming texts accompany the artist's timeless...

For generations, Black artists from the American South have forged a unique art tradition. Working in near isolation from established practices, they have created masterpieces in clay, driftwood, roots, soil, and recycled and cast-off objects that...

Walks to the Paradise Garden is the last unpublished manuscript of the late American poet, photographer, publisher, Black Mountain alumnus and bon viveur Jonathan Williams (1929–2008). This 352-page book chronicles Williams' road trips across the...

Bill Traylor (ca. 1853–1949) came to art-making on his own and found his creative voice without guidance; today he is remembered as a renowned American artist. Traylor was born into slavery on an Alabama plantation, and his experiences spanned multiple...

Teach children their first colors with Mudpuppy’s Andy Warhol Colors board book featuring the artist’s bright and colorful artwork. A beautiful, artful board book for children and parents alike.    Author/illustrator: Andy Warhol Board...

 By Rachel Arauz, Ann Temkin, Anne D'Hamoncourt, et al.Featuring pivotal works of twentieth-century painting and sculpture, this book handsomely illustrates a selection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s outstanding modern art collection,...

First words are everywhere you look, especially in a house! This visually striking picture book catalogs an impressive array of household items, naming the delightful miscellany that comprises a life. The charming collections are creative and unexpected,...

Photography has a complex relationship to art. This volume uses an innovative framework to help readers appreciate photography as its own modern art form. In his unique and insightful approach, professor of photography David Bate presents iconic...

Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs of People is one of the best photography books to read if you want to learn how to take good pictures of people. This straight–talking guide will give you top portrait photography tips and is ideal for...

Designer, artist, and educator Mitch Goldstein's experience as student and teacher gives guidance and inspiration to help students get the most out of design school. Life  as a design student is filled with questions. Rochester Institute of...

Barbara Chase-Riboud has led a remarkable life. After graduating from Yale’s School of Design and Architecture, she moved to Europe and spent decades traveling the world and living at the center of artistic, literary, and political circles. She became a...

How do you find time in your busy day to get creative? Why, with 15-Minute Art Drawing, of course! Explore the pure joy of coloring pencils and markers with fifty 15-minute projects that encourage you to explore drawing in a relaxing, free and fun...

Discover 300 pages of color inspiration with 450 as rich as they are surprising, combinations inspired by 150 destinations. Reflecting the diversity and beauty of our animal world. This book is a great combination to the volume 1, still with CMYK and...

This 340-page book offers 450 colour combinations inspired by 150 destinations. The talents of the Papier Tigre studio have selected one happy colour combination per destination to inspire you. In this beautiful book, you will find: -450 colour harmonies...

Learn to identify birds in Pennsylvania and make birdwatching even more enjoyable. With Stan Tekiela’s famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. There’s no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don’t live in your...

"Creeeeak!" goes the screen door to self-taught artist Elijah Pierce's barbershop art studio. A young boy walks in for an ordinary haircut and walks out having discovered a lifetime of art. Mr. Pierce's wood carvings are in every corner of the small...

Celebrating the magick of the natural realm, Volume IV of The Library of Esoterica, delves into the symbolism, ceremony, and our ritual relationships with the botanical world. A visual journey through our interdependent evolution with nature, Plant...

One of the most renowned landscape architects in practice today, Laurie Olin has created designs for the grounds of the Washington Monument, the  National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, and Bryant Park in New York  City. His recent projects...

The first and only monograph on the extraordinary work of multidisciplinary and experiential Dutch artist duo DRIFT DRIFT was established in Amsterdam in 2007 by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph  Nauta. In their installations and interactive sculptures,...

Exploring the art and life of this important American artist whose work bridged the gaps between abstraction, feminism, and Blackness Howardena Pindell: Reclaiming Abstraction is a fascinating examination of the multifaceted career of artist, activist,...

'Sometimes I long so much to do landscape, just as one would for a long walk to refresh oneself, and in all of nature, in trees for instance, I see expression and a soul.' Vincent van Gogh saw nature and art as inseparably linked. In The Healing Power...

American Surrealist artist Dorothea Tanning (1910–2012) worked across painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation and writing over the course of seven decades, producing one of the 20th century’s most enigmatic oeuvres. Tanning’s work conjures...

Claude Monet’s Vétheuil in Winter (1878-79), painted during the artist’s first winter in the village, depicts his new home on the Seine, seen from the opposite bank of the river. Monet’s two and a half years in Vétheuil, a small farming community...

Mirrors have it tough: They feel like they are not doing a good job. because whenever people stare at them they (almost) always say bad things. Who would have thought, that the mirrors out there, well, they take it personally. One plucky little mirror...

A deeply moving and brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book of days by the National Book Award–winning author of Just Kids and M Train. More than 365 images chart Smith’s singular aesthetic -- inspired by her wildly popular Instagram. In 2018, without any...

The Hidden Language of Symbols covers a wide-ranging selection of visual culture and art under one unified theme: symbols. Often not immediately apparent, our day-to-day lives abound with symbols of various kinds, from national emblems to emojis,...

Explore Hieronymus Bosch's fantastic illustrations of the afterlife and other religious concepts and narratives. Although Bosch's known works amount to no more than two dozen paintings and a handful of drawings, the artist had an enormous impact on...

An elegant introduction to Egon Schiele’s career, this book untangles the mysteries and misunderstandings behind his genius. Egon Schiele left an enormous artistic legacy that is all the more powerful for the brevity of his career. Isabel Kuhl’s lively...

Discover the motifs, masterpieces, and driving forces behind the artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso was arguably the most influential artist of the 20th century. Over the course of a career that spanned seven decades--and included thousands of paintings,...

Discover the life and work of Frida Kahlo in this introduction to the iconic Mexican artist. Although her body of work is relatively small, Frida Kahlo has inspired adoration and admiration that few other artists have attained. This accessible and...

This introduction to the work of the 16th-century master portraitist Hans Holbein reveals the impressive and surprising scope of his career. 16th-century Europe was a time of unprecedented economic expansion, cross-cultural trade, religious upheaval,...

Get a glimpse into the life and work of painter, sculptor, and printmaker Edgar Degas, who is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism. Best known for his depictions of young dancers on the stage and in the studio, Degas was an accomplished...

Explore the vibrant work of artist Marc Chagall in this lively introduction and discover how his unique narrative style embraced Jewish culture and folklore. Marc Chagall's remarkable oeuvre spans a variety of media, from painting, ceramics, and stained...

This revelatory examination of the Surrealist master updates prevailing theories about Magritte’s life and beliefs, and offers a surprising new assessment of an artist who strived for anonymity rather than fame. Throughout his career, Magritte subverted...

The story of Klimt’s astonishing artistic career is told in this beautifully produced collection of reproductions, photographs and drawings with an accompanying text that places the artist in a unique historical moment and reflects his fierce appetite...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Monet makes the world’s greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. Monet’s dazzling depictions of flowers, sunsets, fields, and oceans, in which line and shape are suggested...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Botticelli makes the world’s greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. The Florentine painter Botticelli personifies the Golden Age of the early Renaissance. Best known for The...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Vincent van Gogh makes the world's greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. Tracing the arc of van Gogh's career, this volume presents his portraits and self-portraits,...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Dürer makes the world's greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. This monograph explores Dürer's entire life and oeuvre by focusing on the most important of his works. It follows...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Caravaggio makes the world's greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. This monograph explores Caravaggio's entire life and career by focusing on the most important of his works...

This generously illustrated volume on the work of Pieter Bruegel makes the world’s greatest art accessible to readers of every level of appreciation. A Renaissance painter and printmaker best known for his landscapes and peasant scenes; Bruegel’s...

A Japanese designer offers a compelling alternative way to engage with our possessions, our history, our environment, and each other. The Japanese phrase "hodo-hodo" originates in ancient times. When contemporary designer Taku Satoh applies it to his...

Featuring a new package and an additional 60 pages of material, this revised edition of The Art of Feminism covers an even more impressive range of artworks, artists, movements, and perspectives. Since the debut of the original volume in 2018, The Art...

Sonia Delaunay was a true pioneer of modernist abstraction; breaking with the figurative vocabulary that subordinated color to subject matter, she placed dynamic color interaction at the core of her vision, whether expressed through painting, book...

From his earliest pointillist-influenced paintings to this mature and playful paper cut-outs; from enormous, ebullient murals to reverent stained glass--Henri Matisse was renowned for his dramatic use of color and fluid draftsmanship. Thirty of Matisse's...

Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods and Fairmount is among its most famous.  But you know it for the Parkway and the museums.  Did you know it is also home to a ghostly history?  Eastern State Penitentiary has had countless reports of...

Here, from China, is a gorgeous story about generosity and gratitude, adapted from a traditional Buddhist tale by Kailin Duan. Her illustration style evokes artwork contemporary to the story's origins more than a thousand years ago, found in the famous...

A guide to going on dates with people to trees in Philadelphia, PA. What is our social relationship to plants? Can we create a feeling of belonging within a landscape? Tree Dates provide an opportunity to learn about and explore a connection to the land...

When watching a masterful sketcher, it seems that they create elaborate sketches with ease, tracing their pencils on the page and bringing to life rich and detailed drawings. After sweating away hours trying to create a simple sketch, you may find that...

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), was always a name to be reckoned with. Notorious bad boy of Italian painting, the artist was at once celebrated and controversial: violent in temper, precise in technique, a creative master, and a man on the...

A practical guide to plant-based remedies but also an inspiring and joyful ode to the world of plants. The Garden Apothecary shows us how to harvest and use commonly found plants, weeds and herbs to create our own healing home apothecaries. With...

This exhibition publication is available with 3 different covers. 2 of the 3 are exclusive to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Only the covers vary; the interior content for all 3 covers is the same.  A groundbreaking look at the drawings of Giuseppe...

The first in-depth examination of Matisse’s work in the 1930s, a key decade of creative innovation and renewal for this celebrated artist.In 1930, as Henri Matisse (1869–1954) embarked on The Dance, a monumental mural commissioned by the...

A compelling examination of French sculptor Auguste Rodin from the perspective of his enthusiastic American audience. This exhibition catalogue explores the American reception of French artist Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), from 1893, when his first work...