An unprecedented and eye-opening examination of the early career of one of America's most celebrated photographers One of the most influential photographers of his generation, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) is famous for his dramatic photographs of the American West. Although many of Adams's images are now iconic, his early work has remained largely unknown. In this first monograph dedicated to the beginnings of Adams's career, Rebecca A. Senf argues that these early photographs are crucial to understanding Adams's artistic development and offer new insights into many aspects of the artist's mature oeuvre. Drawing on copious archival research, Senf traces the first three decades of Adams's photographic practice-beginning with an amateur album made during his childhood and culminating with his Guggenheim-supported National Parks photography of the 1940s. Highlighting the artist's persistence in forging a career path and his remarkable ability to learn from experience as he sharpened his image-making skills, this beautifully illustrated volume also looks at the significance of the artist's environmentalism, including his involvement with the Sierra Club. Published in association with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona

A magnificent pictorial document of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, the Hortus Eystettensis is in a class of its own when it comes to the range of flowers engraved. First published in 1613, the 367 copperplate engravings by Basilius Besler (1561-1629) capture the spectacular diversity of the palatial gardens of Prince-Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen (1593/95-1612) in Eichstatt, Bavaria, Germany. The meticulous illustrations are organized according to the four seasons, and, following the classification system used today, show plants belonging to a total of 90 families and covering 340 genera. The whole collection is regarded as one of the finest treasures of botanical literature; it was described by Carl Linnaeus, the legendary 18th-century botanist and zoologist, as an "incomparable work." Besler's pictorial catalog long outlived the gardens, which were destroyed in 1634 by invading Swedish troops. In auction, the asking price for a first-edition copy of Hortus Eystettensis is now more than half a million dollars. With this edition, TASCHEN opens up the garden to a much wider audience: a rich and beautiful record, destined to keep the garden's beauty in bloom. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis - Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

Works by Prosek and others are juxtaposed with natural objects in an illuminating interrogation of the artificial boundaries we create between art and nature Award-winning artist, writer, and naturalist James Prosek (b. 1975) has gained a worldwide following for his deep connection with the natural world, which serves as the basis for his art and numerous popular books. In this cross-disciplinary catalogue, Prosek poses the question, What is art and what is artifact-and to what extent do these distinctions matter? Drawing on the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Prosek places man- and nature-made objects on equal footing aesthetically, suggesting that the distinction between them is not as vast as we may believe. In more than 150 full-color plates, objects such as a bird's nest, dinosaur head, and cuneiform tablet are juxtaposed with Asian handscrolls, an African headdress, modern masterpieces, and more. Artists featured include Albrecht Durer, Helen Frankenthaler, Vincent van Gogh, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso, and Jackson Pollack, as well as Prosek himself, whose works depict fish, birds, and endangered wildlife. Also included are an incisive essay by Edith Devaney and texts by Prosek that explore the magnificent productions of our wondrous interconnected world.

Counting from one to ten has never been so fun with this hide-and-seek, animal-packed picture book, written by the sisterly duo, Leanne and Sara Miller. Come with us on an enchanting journey, counting all the way to ten and spotting animals along the way! From dazzling deep blue waters to tropical jungles and snowy mountain peaks, count the exotic creatures and spot who else is hiding in their magical world. Join the fun - it's a PARTY PARADE! Written by Leanne Miller and illustrated by her sister, Sara Miller, founder of award-winning luxury lifestyle brand Sara Miller London. Every spread in this beautiful book showcases a new animal habitat, from oceans and treetops to snowy mountains and tropical jungles. Bright and bold colours throughout -- a staple in all Sara Miller's luxury brand products. Sara's the founder of Sara Miller London, where she designs products from duvets and mugs to pencil cases and birthday cards. These have won many awards and are sold all over the world. Two very creative sisters have joined together to create a beautiful book offering for children (and adults!) Lots of animals to spot on each page, plus an extra page at the end prompting little readers to find even more animals!

In 1805, Jean Jacques Audubon was a twenty-year-old itinerant Frenchman of ignoble birth and indifferent education who had fled revolutionary violence in Haiti and then France to take refuge in frontier America. Ten years later, John James Audubon was an American citizen, entrepreneur, and family man whose fervent desire to "become acquainted with nature" had led him to reinvent himself as a naturalist and artist whose study of birds would soon earn him international acclaim. The drawings he made during this crucial decade--sold to Audubon's friend and patron Edward Harris to help fund his masterwork "The Birds of America," and now held by the Houghton Library and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University--are published together here for the first time in large format and full color. In these 116 portraits of species collected in America and in Europe we see Audubon inventing his ingenious methods of posing and depicting his subjects, and we trace his development into a scientist and an artist who could proudly sign his artworks "drawn from Nature." The drawings also serve as a record of the birds found in Europe and the Eastern United States in the early nineteenth century, some now rare or extinct.

The drawings are enhanced by an essay on the sources of Audubon's art by his biographer, Richard Rhodes; transcription of Audubon's own annotations to the drawings, including information on when and where the specimens were collected; ornithological commentary by Scott V. Edwards, along with reflections on Audubon as scientist; and an account of the history of the Harris collection by Leslie A. Morris.

Splendid in their own right, these drawings also illuminate theself-invention of one of the most important figures in American natural history. They will delight all those interested in American art, nature, birds, and the life and times of John James Audubon.

The "Art of Drawing Animals" focuses on how to draw domesticated animals - the tamed creatures that share our lives. Written by bestselling author J.C. Amberlyn, the book features everyone's favourite animals, ranging from the most popular breeds of dogs and cats to horses and other hoofed mammals, rodents, birds and reptiles. The focus is on realistic appraoch to drawing with an emphasis on anatomy/structure; the physical details of each species; and the action, facial and body expressions that give life to drawing. The book shows each type of animal in general and then goes into the various traits that make each breed distinctive.

Thomas Bewick wrote A History of British Birds at the end of the eighteenth century, just as Britain fell in love with nature. This was one of the wildlife books that marked the moment, the first 'field-guide' for ordinary people, illustrated by woodcuts of astonishing accuracy and beauty. But it was far more than that, for in the vivid vignettes scattered through the book Bewick drew the life of the country people of the North East - a world already vanishing under the threat of enclosures. In Nature's Engraver: The life of Thomas Bewick, Jenny Uglow tells the story of the farmer's son from Tyneside who revolutionised wood-engraving and influenced book illustration for a century to come. It is a story of violent change, radical politics, lost ways of life and the beauty of the wild - a journey to the beginning of our lasting obsession with the natural world. Nature's Engraver won the National Arts Writers Award in 2007. Jenny Uglow is the author of, among others, A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration, which was shortlisted for the 2010 Samuel Johnson Prize, Lunar Men and In These Times. 'The most perfect historian imaginable' Peter Ackroyd

This book of photographs by Swedish photographer Christer Loefgren explores the diverse and multifaceted world in which we live, from north to south. In comparing photographs of various cultures, diversity is more noticeable: the colours, clothes, and food point to the identity of each place. The further north or south of the equator you travel, colours are paler, and the food is milder and less spicy. The more extreme nature is, the more difficult the lifestyle. These vibrant photographs ask us to broaden our vision and grasp the complexity and beauty of the world as a global whole. This deluxe edition consists of three hardcover books in a slipcase.