Founded in 1804, the New-York Historical Society is New York City's oldest museum, with a rich history of scholarship, research, and illuminating exhibitions. The museum collection of the New-York Historical Society comprises more than 1.6 million works of art, featuring an impressive collection of Tiffany lamps, paintings by celebrated American portraitists, all the known preparatory watercolours for John James Audubon's Birds of America, and exquisite works by artists of the Hudson River School - including Thomas Cole's monumental series The Course of Empire. The Library is internationally known as a major research venue for the study of American and New York history. Its rich collections include more than five million manuscript items, 350,000 books, and several million photographs, prints, architectural renderings, and related holdings. The Library's vast holdings of printed ephemera documenting daily life, culture, commerce, and politics from the 18th through the earlier 20th centuries are unrivaled. The collections provide a continuous record of New York and American history from the founding of New Amsterdam through the tragic events of 9/11. The Library's deepest areas of original source material include the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, the Early Republic, the Civil War, and the Gilded Age, with emphases on slavery and Abolition, temperance, social welfare, urban life, and architecture. Now celebrating a groundbreaking renovation and the dedication of its Center for the Study of Women's History, the Museum and Library present highlights from their remarkable holdings, from the folk art collection of sculptor Elie Nadelman to iconic ephemera from all eras of American history, for the first time as a Tiny Folio. An ideal souvenir for the New-York Historical Society's visitors, this charming volume also features a special section of works depicting the city itself, alongside full-colour photography and short introductory texts.

During the course of the 19th century, a relatively modern medium entered the private space of Iranian houses of the wealthy and became a popular feature of interior design in Persia. This was print media - lithographed images on paper and postcards - and their subject was European women. These idealised images adorned houses across the country throughout the Qajar period and this trend was particularly fashionable in Isfahan and mural decorations at the entrance gate of the Qaysarieh bazaar. The interest in images of Western women was an unusual bi-product of Iran's early political and cultural encounters with the West. In a world where women were rarely seen in public and, even then, were heavily veiled, the notion of European women dressed in - by Iranian standards - elegant and revealing clothing must have sparked much curiosity and some titillation among well-to-do merchants and aristocrats who felt the need to create some association, however remote, with these alien creatures. The introduction of such images began during the Safavid era in the 17th century with frescoes in royal palaces. This spread to other manifestations in the form of tile work and porcelain in the Qajar era, which became a testament to the popularity of this visual phenomenon among Iran's urban elite in the 19th and early 20th century. Parviz Tanavoli, the prominent Iranian artist and sculptor, here brings together the definitive collection of these unique images. European Women in Persian Houses will be essential for collectors and enthusiasts interested in Iranian art, culture and social history.

An authoritative assessment of the changing relationship between the Bible and the arts In this unique Companion, 35 scholars, from world-famous to just beginning, explore the role of the Bible in art and of artistic motifs in the Bible. The specially commissioned chapters demonstrate that just as the arts have portrayed biblical stories in a variety of ways and media over the centuries, so what we call 'the' Bible is not actually a single entity but has been composed of fiercely contested translations of texts in many languages, whose selection has depended historically on a variety of cultural pressures, theological, social, and, not least, aesthetic. Key Features: * Divided into 3 sections, Inspiration and Theory, Art and Architecture, and Literature * Generously illustrated * Covers aesthetic interpretations of specific biblical books; of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles as a whole; the transmission of biblical texts; various bindings and illustrations of Bibles - in response to pressures as diverse as Islamic craftsmanship and the English Reformation * Includes pieces on biblical influences on poetry, painting, church architecture, decoration, and stained glass; on poetry, hymns, novels, plays, and fantasy literature * Spans the earliest days of the Christian era to the present

Collecting Mexico centers on the ways in which aesthetics and commercialism intersected in officially sanctioned public collections and displays in late nineteenth-century Mexico. Shelley E. Garrigan approaches questions of origin, citizenry, membership, and difference by reconstructing the lineage of institutionally collected objects around which a modern Mexican identity was negotiated. In doing so, she arrives at a deeper understanding of the ways in which displayed objects become linked with nationalistic meaning and why they exert such persuasive force. Spanning the Porfiriato period from 1867 to 1910, Collecting Mexico illuminates the creation and institutionalization of a Mexican cultural inheritance. Employing a wide range of examples-including the erection of public monuments, the culture of fine arts, and the representation of Mexico at the Paris World's Fair of 1889-Garrigan pursues two strands of thought that weave together in surprising ways: national heritage as a transcendental value and patrimony as potential commercial interest. Collecting Mexico shows that the patterns of institutional collecting reveal how Mexican public collections engendered social meaning. Using extensive archival materials, Garrigan's close readings of the processes of collection building offer a new vantage point for viewing larger issues of identity, social position, and cultural/capital exchange.

Going beyond the 'blackness' of black art to examine the integrative and interdisciplinary practices of Kara Walker, Fred Wilson, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon, and William Pope.L-five contemporary black artists in whose work race plays anything but a defining role. Work by black artists today is almost uniformly understood in terms of its "blackness," with audiences often expecting or requiring it to "represent" the race. In How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness, Darby English shows how severely such expectations limit the scope of our knowledge about this work and how different it looks when approached on its own terms. Refusing to grant racial blackness-his metaphorical "total darkness"-primacy over his subjects' other concerns and contexts, he brings to light problems and possibilities that arise when questions of artistic priority and freedom come into contact, or even conflict, with those of cultural obligation. English examines the integrative and interdisciplinary strategies of five contemporary artists-Kara Walker, Fred Wilson, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon, and William Pope.L-stressing the ways in which this work at once reflects and alters our view of its informing context: the advent of postmodernity in late twentieth-century American art and culture. The necessity for "black art" comes both from antiblack racism and resistances to it, from both segregation and efforts to imagine an autonomous domain of black culture. Yet to judge by the work of many contemporary practitioners, English writes, black art is increasingly less able-and black artists less willing-to maintain its standing as a realm apart. Through close examinations of Walker's controversial silhouettes' insubordinate reply to pictorial tradition, Wilson's and Julien's distinct approaches to institutional critique, Ligon's text paintings' struggle with modernisms, and Pope.L's vexing performance interventions, English grounds his contention that to understand this work is to displace race from its central location in our interpretation and to grant right of way to the work's historical, cultural, and aesthetic specificity.

Der Mond ist ein zentrales Thema in der chinesischen Malerei, wurde aber bisher noch nicht umfassend erforscht. Im ersten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Bildthemen mit Mond-Landschaften der Song- bis Qing-Zeit interpretiert. Dabei wird besonders die Beziehung der chinesischen Gelehrten zum Mond, wie sie sich in der reichhaltigen chinesischen Poesie und Prosa bis zur Song-Zeit ausdruckt, berucksichtigt. Der Mond als kompositorisches Element in der chinesischen Landschaftsmalerel wird im zweiten Teil der Arbeit thematisiert. Dabei gilt den nicht dargestellten, aber vom Betrachter nachvollziehbaren Beziehungslinie zwischen dem Gelehrten und dem Mond besondere Aufmerksamkeit. Der dritte Teil behandelt den Mond als Lichtquelle und greift damit einen zentralen Problemkomplex ostasiatischer Malerei auf: die Wiedergabe des mondbeschienenen Luftraumes, die Schattierung von Gegenstanden im Mondlicht, Schlagschatten und Beleuchtung sowie verschiedene Darstellungen des reflektierten Lichtes. Den Abschluss der Arbeit bildet eine Zusammenfassung der Charakteristika chinesischer Mond-Landschaften. 90 Abbildungen illustrieren die Ausfuhrungen der Verfasserin.

Evaporating Suns explores myths from the Arabian Gulf through contemporary art. Based on the concept that the mythical and the factual are like two sides of the same coin, the catalogue accompanying the exhibition shows that myths do not simply convey fictions, but that they are instead capable of presenting truth much more vividly than statistics and facts ever could. The publication showcases the work of 13 contemporary artists from the Arabian peninsula, who explore the folklore and popular myths of their homelands, and use cynicism, satire and fiction to build their universes and rewrite the parallel history of their contemporary societies. Completed by essays by authors from the region, myths are being seen as an opportunity to offer a new approach to negotiate current issues such as the environment, gender, and social structures of power.

Art is continuously subjected to insidious forms of censorship. This may be by the Church to guard against moral degeneration, by the State to promote a specific political agenda or by the art market, to elevate one artist above another. Now, and in the last century, artwork that touches on ethnic, religious, sexual, national or institutional sensitivities is liable to be destroyed or hidden away, ignored or side-lined. Drawing from new research into historical and contemporary case-studies, Censoring Art: Silencing the Artwork provides diverse ways of understanding the purpose and mechanisms of art censorship across distinct geopolitical and cultural contexts from Iran, Japan, and Uzbekistan to Britain, Ireland, Canada, Macedonia, Soviet Russia, and Cyprus. Its contributions uncover the impact of this silent control of the production and exhibition of art and consider how censorship has affected art practice and public perceptions of artworks.

After the death of Joseph Stalin, Soviet-era Russia experienced a flourishing artistic movement due to relaxed censorship and new economic growth. In this new atmosphere of freedom, Russia's satirical magazine Krokodil (The Crocodile) became rejuvenated. John Etty explores Soviet graphic satire through Krokodil and its political cartoons. He investigates the forms, production, consumption, and functions of Krokodil, focusing on the period from 1954 to 1964. Krokodil remained the longest-serving and most important satirical journal in the Soviet Union, unique in producing state-sanctioned graphic satirical comment on Soviet and international affairs for over seventy years. Etty's analysis of Krokodil extends and enhances our understanding of Soviet graphic satire beyond state-sponsored propaganda. For most of its life, Krokodil consisted of a sixteen-page satirical magazine comprising a range of cartoons, photographs, and verbal texts. Authored by professional and nonprofessional contributors and published by Pravda in Moscow, it produced state-sanctioned satirical comment on Soviet and international affairs from 1922 onward. Soviet citizens and scholars of the USSR recognized Krokodil as the most significant, influential source of Soviet graphic satire. Indeed, the magazine enjoyed an international reputation, and many Americans and Western Europeans, regardless of political affiliation, found the images pointed and witty. Astoundingly, the magazine outlived the USSR but until now has received little scholarly attention.

Art and Public History: Approaches, Opportunities, and Challenges examines the relationship between art and public history, outlining opportunities, challenges, and insights drawn from recent initiatives. With a special eye towards audience engagement and challenging historical narratives, all of the case studies and projects combine historical interpretation with contemporary and historical forms of visual art in unique and insightful ways. In addition to emphasizing the kind of practical advice found in the best case studies, this volume also offers a critical discussion of the concepts, tools, skills and technologies that contribute to fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration. These issues are addressed through sections on projects related to historical artworks; contemporary art and artists; and public art and the built environment. It addresses how public historians can incorporate art into their practice by outlining opportunities, challenges, and insights drawn from recent projects in the United States and Britain. These projects have taken place across a variety of platforms, including local and national history museums; art galleries; digital archives; classrooms; historical markers; and public art projects. The case studies incorporate the perspectives of different stakeholders, including public historians, artists, and audiences. The book will provide both public history practitioners and academics with useful guidance on how art can be integrated into public history initiatives, through critical discussion of tools, strategies, and technologies that contribute to fruitful collaboration and audience engagement across a variety of platforms. Readers will walk away with new ideas, strategies, and practical considerations for interdisciplinary projects to attract audiences in new ways.

What did it mean to be Russian as the imperial era gave way to Soviet rule? Andrew Jenks turns to a unique art form produced in the village of Palekh to investigate how artists and craftsmen helped to reshape Russian national identity. Russia in a Box follows the development of Palekh art over two centuries as it adapted to dramatic changes in the Russian nation. As early as the sixteenth century, the peasant "masters" of Palekh painted religious icons. It was not until Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1814, however, that the village gained widespread recognition for its artistic contributions. That same year, the poet Goethe's discovery of the works of Palekh artists and craftsmen spurred interest in preserving the sacred art. The religious icons produced by Palekh masters in the nineteenth century became a source of Russian national pride. By the 1880s, some artists began to foresee their future as secular artists-a trend that was ensured by the Bolshevik Revolution. Tolerated and sometimes even encouraged by the new regime, the Palekh artists began to create finely decorated lacquered boxes that portray themes from fairy tales and idealized Russian history in exquisite miniatures. A new medium with new subject matter, these lacquered boxes became a new symbol of Russian identity during the 1920s. Palekh art endured varying levels of acceptance, denial, state control, and reliance on market-driven forces. What began as the art form of religious iconic painting, enduring for more than two centuries, was abruptly changed by the revolutionaries. Throughout the twentieth century the fate of Palekh art remained in question as Russia's political and cultural entities struggled for dominance. Ultimately capitalism and the Palekhian masters were victorious, and the famed lacquer boxes continue to be a source of Russian identity and pride.

Situated at the interface of philosophy, aesthetics and art history, this collection brings together a series of creative responses to the recent speculative turn in Continental philosophy. It gives you both a genealogy of speculative art history and a provocatively experimental counter-discourse of new speculative art histories. The contributors include philosophers, art historians, architects and art practitioners who go beyond the mere complementarity of philosophy and art history. They are generous with the types of art they examine, including architecture, cinema, dance and new media, and the philosophical trajectories they engage with. Speculative Art Histories is published in association with Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam.

John Mawurndjul is one of Australia's leading Aboriginal artists, if not the greatest of the living. This is a comprehensive look at the many facets and avenues of Mawurndjul's works, but following up on daily, practical, and theoretical issues influencing Australian indigenous art. Mawurndjul is an innovator who has developed Kuwinjku bark painting from an iconic art form into a nonfigurative style with compelling geometry, building on the work of older leading Kuwinjku artists. He has, over the years, forged a new way of painting out of the old, transforming the dot infill X-ray method derived from figurative rock art and body painting into one employing masses of rarrk (cross hatching), unrelieved by figurative motifs. His complex and understated geometry, which is made up of infinitesimal, moire-like cross-hatched variations--occasioning multiple shifts and optical gyrations within the paint layer--is no longer contained within the figurative envelope. Mawurndjul invented a geometry that takes up the entire surface of the painting and today must be seen as the central focus of his work. As Judith Ryan, curator for indigenous art at the National Gallery of Victoria explains, the rarrk itself is indicative of ancestral potency and points to hidden internalized layers of past and present ceremonial practice.

When Catholics in the Southwest ask God or a saint for help, many of them do not merely pray. They also promise or present a gift - a tiny metal object known as a milagro. A milagro, which means "miracle" in Spanish, depicts the object for which a miracle is sought, such as a crippled leg or a new house. Milagros are offered for everything people pray for, and so they can represent almost anything imaginable - arms, lungs, hearts, and eyes; men, women, and children; animals, cars, boats - even lost handbags and imprisoned men. In Answered Prayers, the Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Tohono O'odham, and Yaquis who practice this tradition share their stories of unwavering faith and divine intervention. Anthropologist and photographer Eileen Oktavec has spent more than two decades documenting this fascinating tradition in the Arizona-Mexico borderlands. Quoting extensive interviews, she explains the beliefs of the people who perform this ancient folk ritual and the many rules guiding this practice. She also describes the many places where milagros are offered - from the elaborate Mexican baroque Mission San Xavier near Tucson, Arizona, to tiny household shrines and hospitals on both sides of the border. Oktavec also explains how milagros are made, where they are bought, and how they are used in jewelry, sculpture, and art.