The natural world as seen through the eyes of British artists including Eric Ravilious, Clare Leighton, and John Piper Since its publication in 1789, Gilbert White's Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne has inspired generations of artists, writers and naturalists. From Thomas Bewick to Eric Ravilious and Clare Leighton, many artists' depictions of animals, birds and wildlife have illustrated White's celebrated book, together providing a microcosm of natural history illustration from the eighteenth century until today. In Drawn to Nature, Simon Martin has gathered joyful and beautiful images of the extraordinary array of wildlife described by White, providing an insight into the continuing appeal and relevance of the Natural History. This fascinating account takes us from some of the earliest published depictions of birds and animals, to pioneering nature photography, the revival of wood-engraving in the 1920s and 30s, and responses to White's message about the natural world by contemporary illustrators such as Angie Lewin and Emily Sutton. The book also includes an introduction to the life of Gilbert White by Sir David Attenborough, an essay by Virginia Woolf, poems by modern and contemporary poets, and a jacket design by Mark Hearld. Distributed for Pallant House Gallery

The Cleveland Museum of Art's medieval table fountain, c. 1320-40, is the only version of its kind to have survived in its complete form from the Middle Ages. A superb example of French Gothic goldsmithing, it is an exquisite metalwork structure and a unique example of courtly taste and princely fashion, which was designed not for any religious purpose but purely as an indulgence. Its uncertain provenance has added to its charm. This focus volume reassesses this extraordinary piece in the context of other similar luxury objects, analysing specifically the fountain's history, functionality, materials, and style.

Nineteenth-century stoneware by enslaved and free potters living in Edgefield, South Carolina, highlights the central role of Black artists in the region's long-standing pottery traditions Recentering the development of industrially scaled Southern pottery traditions around enslaved and free Black potters working in the mid-nineteenth century, this catalogue presents groundbreaking scholarship and new perspectives on stoneware made in and around Edgefield, South Carolina. Among the remarkable works included are a selection of regional face vessels as well as masterpieces by enslaved potter and poet David Drake, who signed, dated, and incised verses on many of his jars, even though literacy among enslaved people was criminalized at the time. Essays on the production, collection, dispersal, and reception of stoneware from Edgefield offer a critical look at what it means to collect, exhibit, and interpret objects made by enslaved artisans. Several featured contemporary works inspired by or related to Edgefield stoneware attest to the cultural and historical significance of this body of work, and an interview with acclaimed contemporary artist Simone Leigh illuminates its continued relevance. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (September 9, 2022-February 5, 2023) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (March 6-July 9, 2023) University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor (August 26, 2023-January 7, 2024) High Museum of Art, Atlanta (February 16-May 12, 2024)

The Wilton House sculptures constituted one of the largest and most celebrated collections of ancient art in Europe. Originally comprising some 340 works, the collection was formed around the late 1710s and 1720s by Thomas Herbert, the eccentric 8th Earl of Pembroke, who stubbornly 're-baptized' his busts and statues with names of his own choosing. His sources included the famous collection of Cardinal Mazarin, assembled in Paris in the 1640s and 1650s, and recent discoveries on the Via Appia outside Rome. Earl Thomas regarded the sculptures as ancient - some of them among the oldest works of art in existence - but in fact much of the collection is modern and represents the neglected talents of sixteenth-and seventeenth-century artists, restorers and copyists who were inspired by Greek and Roman sculpture. About half of the original collection remains intact today, adorning the Gothic Cloisters that were built for it two centuries ago. After a long decline, accelerated by the impact of the Second World War, the sculptures have been rehabilitated in recent years. They include masterpieces of Roman and early modern art, which cast fresh light on Graeco-Roman antiquity, the classical tradition, and the history of collecting. Illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, this catalogue offers the first comprehensive publication of the 8th Earl's collection, including an inventory of works dispersed from Wilton. It re-presents his personal vision of the collection recorded in contemporary manuscripts. At the same time, it dismantles some of the myths about it which originated with the earl himself, and provides an authoritative archaeological and art-historical analysis of the artefacts.

The Akademie der Kunste (Academy of Arts) in Berlin has carried out its task of promoting the arts in Germany since the year it was founded in 1696. From the outset, master builders have been eligible to become members. The architect Hans Scharoun laid the groundwork for establishing the architectural archive. As the first post-war president of the academy in West Berlin, he was eager to document twentieth-century architecture in the Archive. Besides the story lying behind the assembly of a collection, this publication presents all seventy-one archives and eighty collections, including short biographies of the originators and the nature and scope of inventories. The Preussische Akademie (Prussian Academy) is represented among other things by drawings by Friedrich Gilly from the end of the eighteenth century. Expressionist designs by Bruno Taut, Alfons Anker, Paul Goesch and Adolf Behne in particular are to be found in rich abundance. In common with the archives of Richard Ermisch, Paul Baumgarten and Thilo Schoder, these offer a chronicle of the 1920s. One focus of the collection is devoted to the archives of Second World War emigre architects, among them Adolf Rading, Gabriel Epstein, Julius Posenerand Konrad Wachsmann. The post-war period and the booming 1960s are represented by the archives of Hermann Henselmann, Walter Rossow, Bernhard Hermkes, Werner Hebebrand, Werner Duttmann and Heinz Graffunder. Archives and collections which can be traced back beyond the turn of the twenty-first century emerged from Joerg Schlaich, Kurt Ackermann, Szyszkowitz + Kowalski and Valentien + Valentien. On offer for the first time is an overview in print form of these archives acquired by the Academy up to the present day - archives of architects, engineers, landscape architects and architectural photographers and critics alike. This publication presents an excerpt from around half a million documents.

Jewelry Stories highlights the Museum of Arts and Design's unique, world-class collection of studio and contemporary art jewellery from the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia, a medium that comprises one-third of its permanent collection. Artists working in this field create jewellery rooted in sculptural experimentation and the concept of art as a wearable medium. The pieces featured represent the history of art jewellery as told from a largely US perspective. Jewellery artists are inspired by such subjects as found objects and materials, as well as by politics and pressing social issues, allowing for the development of unique, personal narratives in each piece. Each of the jewellery stories is written by an expert on the artist or subject, thus the book also celebrates the contributions they have made to the field. Published to accompany an exhibition at Museum of Arts and Design, New York (US), on permanent display.

documenta fifteen is no ordinary art exhibition. Envisioned under the guiding concept of lumbung, the Indonesian collective ruangrupa is less concerned with individual works than with models of collaborative practice. The Handbook offers insights and orientation to the processes that evolved in the creation of the exhibition. A comprehensive resource both for visitors of documenta in Kassel as well as people interested in collective practices, this Handbook presents all documenta fifteen collectives and artists through profiles by international authors familiar with their different artistic practices and cultural contexts. Using the pivotal question of "what is lumbung?" as a vantage point, the book is an introduction to the mindset and cultural background of documenta fifteen, featuring numerous documents and photographs that trace the collectives' working process. A chapter gathering all of the show's locations and venues in Kassel as well as a large fold-out city map and an introduction to the exhibition's "Public Program" will prove to be especially useful for all visitors.

This seventh volume in the beautiful Strokes of Genius series celebrates creative drawing with more than 140 diverse pieces by today's best artists in charcoal, pencil, pastel, colored pencil, scratchboard, pen+ink and more. * Drawing is an essential skill that all artists use no matter what their primary medium * 100+ of the best artists showcased from 1000s of entrant * Oversized book has coffee-table appeal and is great for collectors * Inspiring captions let readers uncover the secret processes of contemporary masters.

This book documents a performance event in the Amphitheater in Arles, France, with artists Uri Aran, Daniel Buren, Fischli & Weiss, Jef Geys, Douglas Gordon, Oscar Murillo and Lawrence Weiner, among others. Using imported sand, the space was transformed into a beach and a moonscape.

Torn Modernism illuminates an important moment in the history of the Kunstmuseum Basel's collection. In 1937 the Nazi cultural policy denounced thousands of works as "degenerate" and forcibly removed from German museums. The Third Reich's Ministry of Propaganda correctly assumed that a portion of such works would find buyers abroad, in this way certain artworks deemed "internationally exploitable" reached the art market via various channels. Georg Schmidt (1896-1966), the museum's director at the time, managed in 1939 to acquire the Painting Animal Destinies by Franz Marc (1880-1916) and twenty avant-garde masterpieces all at once. In the catalogue, renowned experts trace the events based on the seizures in German museums and explain the historical contexts. The actors of the institutions and the art market are presented, and the Nazi regime's act of cultural violence is revealed, which resulted in an artificial fragmentation of Modernism into art that was "exploitable" on the one hand, and art that had been destroyed or forgotten on the other. Contributions on the auction of the Galerie Fischer in Lucerne, on Georg Schmidt's approach, and on the classification of the acquisitions in the context of Basel's collection history bring specific Swiss aspects into focus.

Rich silks embellished with needlwork were used to create expensive, high-quality garments, affordable only for the wealth. Their very exclusivity has meant that few items have lasted through the centuries. Several rare and beautiful pieces do however survive in Glasgow Muesuem's collections. This text reveals the intricate details of exquisite embroidery.

Here Now: Indigenous Arts of North America at the Denver Art Museum features 200 of the museum's most notable Indigenous artworks. It reinterprets the collection and reveals new insights into the historic and contemporary work of Indigenous artists. Contributions by Indigenous authors reflect on the collection and current issues. The expansive volume is for both new and established audiences. The artworks - from ancient Puebloan and Ississippian ceramics to nineteenth-century beaded garments and carved masks to cutting-edge contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography and variable media art - are organized geographically, inviting readers to make connections to the peoples who historically inhabited a place. The collection illustrates the multi-faceted nature of Native experiences and represents the Indigenous arts of North America as a vibrant continuum.

Works by nearly 100 of today's most prominent artists-including Willie Cole, Mark Dion, Mona Hatoum, Peter Saul, Yinka Shonibare, and Laurie Simmons-raise questions about the many issues that firearms trigger, leaving answers up to the reader. This invigorating survey of contemporary art and guns offers insight into the mixed associations of firearms in our culture. Situating these artworks within the contexts of fire domestication, weapon history, social movements, and art history, the book touches on subjects of power, equality, and access, and the current debates surrounding gun use. What emerges is the inherently dualistic nature of firearms, which are both protective and destructive, empowering and enfeebling, supporting peace and war, life and death. While this central ambivalence can't be captured in statistical data or media sound bites, it thrives within these complex visual works. This collection reveals a striking diversity of viewpoints on guns, highlighting their inescapable duplicity and the compelling role they have come to play within our lives and imaginations.

Within the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the world's leading museum of art and design, there lies an extraordinary wealth of material relating to a single individual: the playwright William Shakespeare. This book presents a fascinating selection of one hundred objects - often surprising, always delightful - chosen by the museum's curators for the insight each affords into the world of Shakespeare and his plays. The objects are drawn from across the V&A's rich and varied collections. There are paintings, sculptures, pieces of jewellery, engravings and figurines. There are posters and playbills, costume designs, photographs, illustrations and film stills. Also included are original costumes worn by Henry Irving, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Rudolf Nureyev and Ian McKellen. Amongst the more unexpected objects are a bed (the Great Bed of Ware, which Shakespeare mentions in Twelfth Night), a sword (presented to Edmund Kean after his performance as Macbeth) and a real human skull (Yorick to Jonathan Pryce's Hamlet). Some of the greatest Shakespearean performances and productions of all time are memorialised, including Sarah Bernhardt's Hamlet, Ellen Terry's Lady Macbeth, John Gielgud's Lear, Olivier's Richard III, Paul Robeson's Othello, many of Henry Irving's performances, David Garrick's celebratory Shakespeare Jubilee of 1769 and Peter Brook's iconic 1970 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Each object is illustrated in full colour and is accompanied by a compact essay on its history, its provenance, and what it has to tell us about Shakespeare and his plays, particularly in performance. The result is a book that not only underlines Shakespeare's infinite variety, but also reveals his astonishing legacy in material things, a substantial pageant that has not faded.

Though largely benign, volcanoes erupt continuously across the world. The eruption of Mount St Helens in 1980 and Eyjafjallajokull in 2010 exemplify the dramatic physical violence of volcanoes, and their potential for local destruction and global disruption. In Volcano James Hamilton explores the cultural history generated by the power, beauty and threat of the volcano. Hamilton describes the reverberations of early eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna in Greek and Roman myth, as well as depictions of volcanoes, from the earliest-known wall painting of an erupting volcano in 6200 BC, to the distinctive colours of Andy Warhol, to Michael Sandle's exploding mountains of the 1980s. He also discusses twenty-first century works that demonstrate the volcano's enduring influence on the artistic imagination today. Volcano is a richly illustrated account that combines established figures such as Joseph Wright and J.M.W. Turner with previously unseen perspectives. Making fresh links and discoveries, this book will appeal to the general reader, as having much to say to scholars and specialists in the field.

In a 1985 series of "Lectures on one's own country: Germany", given at the Munich Kammerspiele, Joseph Beuys said that he developed his work "from language." He regarded language as equal to visual art-a flexible material through which every individual could physically, intellectually, and communicatively participate in the process of re-ordering society. His exploration of language ranges from silence to hours of debate, from animal sounds to precise discussions of concepts and puzzling writings. Accordingly, the chapters are divided into the themes of "silence," "sounds," "concepts," "writing," "mystery," "legends," and "speech." Both exhibition and catalogue assemble sculptures, drawings, installations, films, posters, and documents from the Nationalgalerie, the Sammlung Marx, the Kupferstichkabinett, and the Art Library of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

The title seems to announce a comprehensive encyclopedia: from A to Z, each and every object or material has the potential to become an element in one of Alexandra Bircken's charged objects and installations. Whether it's packaging materials, machine parts, or bones, everything finds a use-the organic as well as the inorganic, raw materials and industrially produced goods. The constant reference point in her artistic explorations is the human body and its contradictory relationship to the environment, as defenselessly at its mercy as it is dependent on it. This catalogue is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of Bircken's sculptural practice from all creative periods, which here enter into a dialogue that explores the artist's multi-layered statements on surface, body, movement, shell, and skin.

As differentiated as art history is today, a major chapter has been largely neglected: the craft of the interior decorator. And this, even though the delicate aesthetic sensibilities, the sense of color, and the eye for composition required to decorate private rooms have more direct influence on our lives than any work of art in any museum could lay claim to. This richly illustrated volume is dedicated to one of the pioneering German masters of this craft: Peter Gustaf Doren. Here we encounter his work, with its surprising plasticity and liveliness. This is due not least to the versatility of Doren's works, whose aesthetics still set the (color)tone for the history of interior decoration today. Thanks to the fantastic photos and splendid color documentation Doren himself produced, this opulent book of photos makes it possible to take a trip to the world of interior decoration around 1900, while also allowing a look at the history of the reader's own four walls.

"Americana: 50 States, 50 Months, 50 Exhibitions" was a long-term presentation consisting of 50 displays, each approximately one month long, exhibited between January 2011-May 2012 and coorganized by Wattis Institute director Jens Hoffmann and CCA's Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice. The title is a reference to an exhibition of the same name that was curated by the artist collective Group Material at the 1985 Whitney Biennial. Each month's display examined an American state, in alphabetical order by state name. Through artworks, historical artifacts, curiosities and other elements, "Americana" focuses on overlooked and little-known aspects of each state. "Americana" examines the states as they are today, looking at how America's social and political imperatives condition the production, presentation and interpretation of art and exhibition making. The brisk pace of the 50 displays reflects the varied and constantly changing fabric of this relatively young country and its multilayered, shifting national identity.

As a painter, filmmaker, and photographer, Ulrike Ottinger has created an entire artistic universe, a Cosmos Ottinger. Her transdisciplinary approach is groundbreaking today but Ottinger is also a pioneer of queer art, post-colonial criticism, and the confrontation with fascism and persecution. These questions are all still urgent today: How can we locate contemporary feminist, queer, and aesthetic debates historically? And how does one situate these debates in a museum setting? The catalogue, edited by the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, documents this part of her work but also addresses these theoretical and art historical questions raised by Ottinger's searching and investigative approach.

This catalogue of the Wyvern sculpture collection, which is not open to the public, comprises outstanding European sculptures of the medieval period, as well as some Late Antique and Byzantine pieces and related works of the post-medieval era. Objects are made from wood, stone (including alabaster and marble) and terracotta. Also included are medieval works of art in metal, mostly consisting of crucifix figures (corpora), and other functional metalware such as aquamanilia (water vessels for the washing of hands) and candlesticks. This sumptuous publication will interest all those concerned with the material culture of the Middle Ages.