Teary, big-eyed orphans and a multitude of trashy knockoffs epitomized American kitsch art as they clogged thrift stores for decades.

When Adam Parfrey tracked down Walter Keane--the credited artist of the weepy waifs, for a "San Diego Reader" cover story in 1992--he discovered some shocking facts. Decades of lawsuits and countersuits revealed the reality that Keane was more of a con man than an artist, and that he forced his wife Margaret to sign his name to her own paintings. As a result, those weepy waifs may not have been as capricious an invention as they seemed.

Parfrey's story was reprinted in "Juxtapoz" magazine and inspired a Margaret Keane exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum. And now director Tim Burton is filming a movie about the Keanes called "Big Eyes," and it's scheduled for release in 2014. Burton's "Ed Wood," starring Johnny Depp, was based upon the Feral House book edited and published by Parfrey about the angora sweater-wearing B-film director.

"Citizen Keane" is a book-length expansion of Parfrey's original article, providing fascinating biographical and sociological details, photographs, color reproductions, and appendices with legal documents and pseudonymous essays by Tom Wolfe inflating big eye art to those painted by the great masters.

The original 1993 edition of "The Painter's Handbook" was not just another guide to artist's materials; it established itself as an amazingly thorough professional resource, with complete details on the vast array of materials available to the artist, including canvases and papers, sizes and grounds, pigments and binders, solvents and thinners, varnishes and preservatives. The book also contains dozens of step-by-step recipes for making art materials, including made at home or the studio paints, pastels, varnishes, gessoes, sizes, supports, and equipment. "The Painter's Handbook", revised and expanded, is a thoroughly revised edition of the original publication. It has been updated to accommodate the enormous changes in the art materials world during the past decade: in which many new kinds of revolutionary paints and pigments have entered the market; new health issues are addressed concerning outmoded and even harmful materials and practices; and new ASTM standards - of which the author Mark Gottsegen is the chairman of this government committee to set standards for the performance, quality, and health labelling of artist's paints and related materials - on light fastness and the general longevity of art materials are provided.

'Like Salvador Dali's confessions, only far funnier and more self-deprecating, Dandy in the Underworld entertains as much as it revolts, is as tender as it is shocking, and as genuine as it is false.' Independent Sure to shock and surprise, Sebastian Horsley recounts his life story with excruciating self-knowledge and a savage wit. 'One of the funniest, strangest and most revolting memoirs ever written.' Sunday Times Growing up at High Hall, in Hull, with his alcoholic mother, who regularly attempted suicide, his stepfather, a cult member dressed in orange, and his father, a crippled millionaire, Sebastian Horsley couldn't wait to leave home. Searching for happiness, meaning and a good outfit he embarked on a doomed career as a punk guitarist, had a stormy relationship with a notorious Scottish gangster, enjoyed a wildly successful period as a stock-market entrepeneur and experienced a near fatal stint as a shark-hunter. Sebastian charts his years as a dandy, an artist, a male escort and a brothel connoisseur. There are the love affairs, with Rachel 1 and Rachel 2, and a harrowing descent into heroin and crack addiction. Dandy in the Underworld evokes his desperate attempts to get clean, culminating in his crucifixion in the Philippines.

A gorgeous new edition with the cover printed on silver. Vincent van Gogh is considered one of the world's greatest painters, his work having had a huge and far-reaching influence on 20th-century art as well as remaining visually and emotionally powerful to this day. We all know of Van Gogh's troubled genius, but now through his letters to his brother Theo, as discussed in this beautifully illustrated and fascinating giftbook, you will discover the true depth of the artist's thoughts, beliefs, ambitions and his struggle with his mental illness. Containing translations of some of the most revealing letters and insightful commentary, alongside photographs of the letters themselves and his best-loved artworks, this is a real treat.

Franz Kline spent years struggling to find a style for himself and then achieved "overnight success" with his dramatic black and white abstractions. They were, in fact, so successful that they overwhelmed every other aspect of Kline's art, and as a result he has been oversimplified and underestimated. Now, after nearly twenty years of research, Harry F. Gaugh has written the definitive volume on Kline, which provides the first comprehensive view of his life and work, and reveals how unexpectedly complex they both were.

Using interviews and correspondence with dozens of Kline's friends and critics, and quoting from the artist's own letters, the author has created an evocative portrait of Kline's evolution from an ambitious art student in Boston and London to a penniless Greenwich Village artist painting murals in bars just to pay the rent, and finally to a mature artist in command of his own unique and hard-won style. Kline made his initial, admittedly modest, reputation as a figurative artist, and rare photographs of that early work--sketches from life-drawing class, portraits of Nijinsky, scenes of the Pennsylvania countryside--offer an intriguing background for his later paintings. Not until his late thirties did Kline begin to develop an abstract mode, working his way through a series of strikingly dissimilar styles. Dr. Gaugh illuminates how talent, training, experimentation, the influence of fellow artists, and pure chance interacted to yield the famous black and white abstractions. When he died in 1962, Kline had begun exploring the potential of vibrant color, and the vivid full-color reproductions of his late paintings make poignantly clear how much the art world lost with hisdeath at the relatively young age of fifty-one.

With its detailed yet thoroughly readable text and 170 illustrations (many never before published) this comprehensive volume brings to light much new information about Kline and enriches the reader's appreciation and understanding of his art.

Other Details:
170 illustrations, 70 in full color. 9 x 11" trim size. First published 1985.

WINNER OF THE JAMES TAIT BLACK BIOGRAPHY PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION Selected as a Book of the Year in the Herald In 1845, a Reading bookseller named John Snare came across the dirt-blackened portrait of a prince at a country house auction. Suspecting that it might be a long-lost Velazquez, he bought the picture and set out to discover its strange history - a quest that led from fame to ruin and exile. Fusing detection and biography, this book shows how and why great works of art can affect us, even to the point of mania. And on the trail of John Snare, Cumming makes a surprising discovery of her own. But most movingly, The Vanishing Man is an eloquent and passionate homage to the Spanish master Velazquez, bringing us closer to the creation and appreciation of his works than ever before.

Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan delivers a concise and approachable guide to portrait painting, with simple exercises and step-by-step demonstrations.Whether you are using watercolour, oils or acrylic, Learn to Paint Portraits Quickly explains the key elements of catching a likeness in portrait painting in a mixture of mediums. The book is filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step exercises that can be digested in a short period of time, and written in an accessible way for all artists to learn about portraiture.The key elements of portraiture covered in this concise book include: *Finding the likeness *Creating form - the light and shade *The facial features *Painting the hair *Skin tone and colouring *The body, clothing and backgroundIllustrated with Hazel's magnificent, colourful paintings, and with practical advice and demonstrations throughout, this book is the perfect tool to help beginners master portrait painting - quickly.

While earlier studies have focused predominantly on artist Francois Boucher's artistic style and identity, this book presents the first full-length interdisciplinary study of Boucher's prolific collection of around 13,500 objects including paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, porcelain, shells, minerals, and other imported curios. It discusses the types of objects he collected, the networks through which he acquired them, and their spectacular display in his custom-designed studio at the Louvre, where he lived and worked for nearly two decades. This book explores the role his collection played in the development of his art, his studio, his friendships, and the burgeoning market for luxury goods in mid-eighteenth-century France. In doing so, it sheds new light on the relationship between Boucher's artistic and collecting practices, which attracted both praise and criticism from period observers. The book will appeal to scholars working in art history, museum studies, and French history.

Sold in packs of 6. Gorgeous, foiled, handmade greeting cards, blank inside and shrink-wrapped with a gold envelope. Themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Our greeting cards are printed on FSC paper and wrapped in biodegradable cellobag, and are themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Born in Kent, Annie Soudain spent her early childhood years in Truro, Cornwall, where her interest in plants and nature began. Now settled by the sea in Sussex, much of her work continues to be inspired by the beautiful landscapes surrounding her. This colourful linoprint was created using the reduction method, which involves progressively cutting, inking up, and printing from the same block.

This artist s book presents 84 reproductions of sketches taken from a notebook made by Gerhard Richter between 2004 and 2009. Some sketches feature figurative motifs, human forms and faces, while others appear as purely abstract shapes, configurations and patterns.

Giovanni Segantini's (1858-99) three paintings La Vita-La Natura-La Morte (Becoming-Being-Passing) of 1898/99 do not reveal at first glance anything about their equally complex and interesting background. Originally planned for the 1900 Paris Exposition of 1900 as a gigantic, multimedia "Alpine symphony" panorama 722 ft long and 66 ft high, Segantini was forced to reduce his work to three purely pictorial main paintings, owing to a lack of financial means. When he died in 1899, whilst still working on it, he left behind an incomplete triptych that was intended to embody "the spirit of nature, of life, and of death." In this book, Swiss art historian and Segantini-expert Juerg Albrecht traces this monumental landmark piece in the artist's oeuvre as one of the last programmatic works of fin de siecle art. Apart from its genesis, the book explains, as well the cycle of life and death that the three paintings visualise, whose origins Segantini sought both privately and creatively in the mountains of the upper Engadine valley during his lifetime. Text in English and German.

Come enjoy the art of pastel painting with beloved workshop instructor Maggie Price. In this step-by-step guide, she teaches you everything you need to know to make the most of this accessible art form. From selecting the right materials to learning the fundamentals of composition, Maggie starts with the basics and progresses to 21 complete pastel demonstrations that detail specific painting techniques and effects. You'll learn how to: Create depth and movement with color Paint using a range of strokes Blend colors to create luminous skies, reflections and more Underpaint to achieve brilliant light and deep shadows Mix pastels with watercolor and gouache to create fluid effects Create new compositions from photographs In addition to step-by-step guidance, you'll be inspired by the work of ten nationally renowned pastel artists. Their contributions to this book illustrate the limitless possibilities of pastel painting and offer additional insight for working with this versatile medium. Maggie also includes dozens of helpful sidebars to help you save time, avoid mistakes and work more efficiently. With its blend of visual instruction, thorough guidance and breathtaking artwork, this is the only guide you need to experience the joy and satisfaction of painting with pastels.

The first half of this stunning new book explores Michelangelo's fascinating life through his family, friends, patrons and commissions. Born near Florence in 1475 Michelangelo grew up surrounded by new forms of architecture, painting and sculpture. His influences and achievements are explained clearly and comprehensively with informative and attractive illustrations throughout. The second half of the book contains a comprehensive gallery of over 300 of his major works of sculpture, painting and architecture. These superb reproductions are accompanied by thorough analysis of each artwork and its significance with the context of Michelangelo's life, his technique and his body of work as a whole.

The Lindley Library of the RHS has a collection of some 18,000 drawings and paintings by eminent botanical artists of all periods up to the present day. This book contains a selection of the rarest and most beautiful: flowers, fruit, fungi and other plants from all over the world, by artists such as G.D. Ehret, John and William Curtis, Ferdinand Bauer, William Hooker, W.H. Fitch, Augusta Withers, Margaret Stones and Mary Grierson. All the illustrations are reproduced from the artists' originals.;The book includes a history of the collection and each plate is accompanied by a description of its origin and artistic accomplishment, and a botanical and horticultural account of the plant itself.

“The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled” — so opens John Berger’s revolutionary million-copy bestseller on how to look at art.

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language. First published in 1972, it was based on the BBC television series about which the Sunday Times critic commented: “This is an eye-opener in more ways than one: by concentrating on how we look at paintings . . . he will almost certainly change the way you look at pictures.” By now he has.

'A masterpiece' - Vanity Fair (Italy) After the best-seller The End is My Beginning, co-authored with his father Tixiano Terzani, the long-awaited Folco Terzani's comeback with an extraordinary harmony of words and images, a simple and profound story about nature, friendship and the sense of the divine. The Dog, was always used to the comforts and safety of domestic life, suddenly finds himself abandoned on the street, convinced that without his beloved master he will not be able to survive. Then a mysterious Wolf appears that will lead him to the discovery of the wild nature that the city hides and forbids. Thus, begins a long pilgrimage, a journey of initiation to the north, in the company of a pack of wolves, through caves, waterfalls, forests, mountains and lightning storms. In order to survive, the Dog will learn to hunt and will be forced to face many dangers, until he arrives at Moon Mountain where, immersed in the blinding glacier light, he will finally have to face the biggest question of all.

The 1876 events known as Custer's Last Stand, Battle of Little Big Horn, or Battle of Greasy Grass have been represented over 1000 times in various artistic media, from paintings to sculpture to fast food giveaways. Norman Denzin shows how these representations demonstrate the changing perceptions--often racist--of Native America by the majority culture, juxtaposed against very different readings shown in works composed by Native American artists. Consisting of autobiographical reminiscences, historical description, artistic representations, staged readings, and snippets of documents, this multilayered performance ethnography examines questions of memory, race, and violence against Native America, as symbolized by the changing interpretations of General Custer and his final battle.

Eine Minute und dreissig Sekunden ist die durchschnittliche Lange, die fur einen Beitrag in einem Nachrichtenblock vorgesehen ist. Die Kunstlerin Monika Huber fotografiert seit uber zehn Jahren taglich Bilder aus Nachrichtenbeitragen, die von Protest, Aufruhr, Krieg, Gewalt und deren Folgen zeugen. Sie speichert die Bilder digital, druckt sie aus und uberarbeitet sie mit den Mitteln der Malerei und Zeichnung. UEber die Jahre ist so ein Archiv entstanden, das eine "Grammatik" der Nachrichtenbilder offenlegt und uns zu einer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit der Krisenberichterstattung in Fernsehnachrichten einladt. Die Auswahl von uber 100 Bildern aus dem Archiv wird begleitet von Beitragen, die das Archiv Einsdreissig aus kunsthistorischer, philosophischer, politikwissenschaftlicher und journalistischer Perspektive verorten. Kunstlerische Entlarvung der Rhetorik der Medienbilder Mit Beitragen von Ernst van Alphen, Mieke Bal, James W. Davis, Antje Kapust, Ute Schaeffer, Ulrich Wilmes und einer Einfuhrung von Bernhart Schwenk

Johnny Carroll-Pell is a young artist from Brighton who is diagnosed as severely autistic. Though he finds verbal communication challenging, he finds expression through painting. To coincide with the first major exhibition of his paintings at the Phoenix Art Gallery in Brighton, this book contains 100 full-colour pictures celebrating his art. The title replicates his popular Facebook page 'Art By Johnny' and several further exhibitions planned around the country. The paintings and photos here are selected by his parents, Henry Normal and Angela Pell, who have written a book about bringing Johnny up called A Normal Family. Johnny is also the subject of several BBC Radio 4 shows, a couple of poetry books written by his dad, and the inspiration for the film Snow Cake, written by his mum. Edited by Henry Normal. "Many artists would envy the spontaneity and freedom of expression that Johnny shows as he paints - and the joyous and arresting results speak for themselves. Years ago, we used to say that people with autism showed no emotion and had no imagination: looking at these beautiful paintings makes me ashamed that we could ever have been so blind." Jane Asher - President, National Autistic Society

Many of Cy Twombly's paintings and drawings include handwritten words and phrases--naming or quoting poets ranging from Sappho, Homer, and Virgil to Mallarme, Rilke, and Cavafy. Enigmatic and sometimes hard to decipher, these inscriptions are a distinctive feature of his work. Reading Cy Twombly poses both literary and art historical questions. How does poetic reference in largely abstract works affect their interpretation? Reading Cy Twombly is the first book to focus specifically on the artist's use of poetry. Twombly's library formed an extension of his studio and he sometimes painted with a book open in front of him. Drawing on original research in an archive that includes his paint-stained and annotated books, Mary Jacobus's account--richly illustrated with more than 125 color and black-and-white images--unlocks an important aspect of Twombly's practice. Jacobus shows that poetry was an indispensable source of reference throughout Twombly's career; as he said, he "never really separated painting and literature." Among much else, she explores the influence of Ezra Pound and Charles Olson; Twombly's fondness for Greek pastoral poetry and Virgil's Eclogues; the inspiration of the Iliad and Ovid's Metamorphoses; and Twombly's love of Keats and his collaboration with Octavio Paz. Twombly's art reveals both his distinctive relationship to poetry and his use of quotation to solve formal problems. A modern painter, he belongs in a critical tradition that goes back, by way of Roland Barthes, to Baudelaire. Reading Cy Twombly opens up fascinating new readings of some of the most important paintings and drawings of the twentieth century.