Moving from meetings with artists to the creation of the first public museums in the 18th century, recounting the practice of inspirational figures such as Diaghilev, skipping between exhibitions, continents and centuries, the author argues that curation is far from a static practice.

A concise account of the history of fashion and costume from prehistoric times through to today.

The Greek myths are so much part of our culture that we tend to forget how they entered it in the first place. Visual sources – vase paintings, engraved gems and sculpture in bronze and stone – often pre-date references to the myths in literature, or offer alternative, unfamiliar tellings. In some cases visual art provides our only evidence, as there is no surviving account in ancient Greek literature of such important stories as the Fall of Troy, or Theseus and the Minotaur.

T. H. Carpen...

The Books That Shaped Art History provides an invaluable roadmap of the field by reassessing the impact of the most important texts of art history published during the 20th century. Each of the sixteen incisive chapters, focusing on a single book, is written by a leading art historian, curator or one of the promising scholars of today. In bringing these cross-generational contributions together, the book presents a varied and invaluable overview of the history of art, told through its most en...

The Book of the Bird celebrates the bird in art with an elegant, international collection of paintings, illustrations and photographs, featuring all kinds of birds from the smallest tits and wrens to colourful exotics.

Interspersed though the illustrations are short texts giving background to the pictures and information on bird species. This is the perfect gift for all bird lovers.

‘Art is the flower, life is the green leaf’ – Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Haphazard bunches, formal bouquets, chance arrangements, quiet and thoughtful rural encounters – The Book of the Flower is a sylvan collection of beautiful depictions of flowers by artists, photographers and illustrators.

Interspersed through the illustrations are short texts about the artists and their interest in particular flowers, from Georgia O’Keeffe’s sumptuous close-ups of Jimson Weed and cactus flower...

100 Years of Fashion documents in pictures the most exciting and diverse period in fashion: from 1900 to today, covering high society, uniforms, sportswear, streetwear and couture. It will appeal to everyone with an interest in fashion as well as students.

The last hundred or so years bore witness to the transformation of women's fashion. The restrictive corsetry of the early twentieth century gave way to looser styles such as those made fashionable by French fashion designer Paul Poiret. As ...