In a world where products are out as soon as they're in, where communicating without wires doesn't come without strings, and even our accessories need accessories, we need simple tools. A book that helps us look inside because we are overloaded outside.
Keel's Simple Diary(TM) offers structure for those who don't have time to wonder, making it easy to record life's moments. It gives the pleasure of a quick response and the sense that no matter what's wrong, more is right.
Why Simple Diary(TM)?
There are three reasons why most people, although they have tried, won't keep a diary:
1. Not every day is very eventful.
2. It actually takes a lot of discipline to write.
3. In retrospect, many find what they have written embarrassing.
What is Simple Diary(TM)?
It is an assistant for life, a book for any occasion, for any person at any age. On every page you will discover a taste of philosophy, a pinch of psychology and a twist of insight.
And here are three things Simple Diary(TM) can do for you:
1. Entertain the mind.
2. Help you focus.
3. Keep you company.
Simple Diary(TM) is Keel's response to having too much information and not enough meaning, and needing to remember what made him smile. Three volumes and many pastrami sandwiches later, Keel finally had the answers to his own questions. Simple Diary(TM) is the culmination of his quest to gain insight into who we are, and why we do what we do.
Simple Diary(TM)
Let it happen.
Visit: SimpleDiary.com

In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame. Appropriately known as "the painter of light," Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature. This book covers Turner's illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism.

""It was during dinner one evening just before the first publication of my photographs that Helmut asked me what name I intended to use. Jean Seberg and her Spanish boyfriend, Ricardo, were among the guests and Ricardo...asked for an atlas which I produced. He opened it to the map of Australia, asked for a pin, told me to shut my eyes and aim. The pin landed at the center of The Continent--Alice Springs. 'There's your name, ' he said."" The photographs by and of Springs featured throughout the book--a wonderful contemporary mix of personal snapshots and professional portraits of creative figures including Yves Saint Laurent, Gore Vidal, Balthus, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brassai, Nicole Kidman, and Angelica Houston--illustrate the story of her life, in which the houses and apartments where she has lived stand as milestones. Her previously unpublished diary extracts and her new writing are lit up by gentle irony, disarming honesty, and a photographer's eye for telling detail. Intensely personal and engaging, this book charts a remarkable 20th century woman's journey through life.

From birth, Katharine Hepburn seemed destined to become a symbol of the modern woman on stage, on screen, and in the world. Fiercely competitive, private, and independent, Hepburn was one part Olympic athlete Babe Didrikson, one part Amelia Earhart, and two parts Greta Garbo. Although often paired with the greatest actors in Hollywood - Humphrey Bogart ("The African Queen"); Cary Grant ("Bringing Up Baby"), James Stewart ("The Philadelphia Story"), and Spencer Tracy ("Adam's Rib", "Woman of the Year") - Hepburn was able to carry her own films like "Summertime", "Little Women", and "Sylvia Scarlett" over a stage and screen career that spanned eight decades. Her home was never in Hollywood (where she won four Oscars) or New York but in Connecticut, where she died lamenting "I could have accomplished three times as much. I haven't realized my full potential." "The Movie Icon" series: People talk about Hollywood glamour, about studios that had more stars than there are in heaven, about actors who weren't actors but were icons. Other people talk about these things, TASCHEN shows you. "Movie Icons" is a series of photo books that feature the most famous personalities in the history of cinema. These 192-page books are visual biographies of the stars. For each title, series editor Paul Duncan has painstaking selected approximately 150 high quality enigmatic and sumptuous portraits, colorful posters and lobby cards, rare film stills, and previously unpublished candid photos showing the stars as they really are. These images are accompanied by concise introductory essays by leading film writers; each book also includes a chronology, a filmography, and a bibliography, and is peppered with apposite quotes from the movies and from life.

As a boy, Tom's first crush was a strapping young farmhand who worked the fields around his family home. Finland is a land of tough physical men, catching fish in the icy sea; cutting logs in the endless forests; threshing oats, rye, and barley on the farms. Tom, a more sensitive boy, admired these rough men and their distinctive clothing, designed for protection and utility. He later said, "When I was young, leather was worn by people who worked outside because it was warm. All the men who wore leather, they were the type of men which I adored." When he began to draw he celebrated these early idols, improving their wardrobes with tight jeans, faded T-shirts, and thigh-high beak-toed Lappish boots. It was a young logger in this gear who appeared on the spring 1957 cover of Physique Pictorial, introducing Tom to the world. In the decades to follow Tom added truckers, repairmen, construction workers, circus roustabouts, and the American cowboy to his roster of working-class heroes. Though just sexual fantasies for him, his portrayal of blue-collar lovers helped working class gays accept their true selves.The Little Book of Tom: Blue Collar traces Tom's fascination with working men in one compact and affordable package. A brawny lineup of multi-panel comics and single-panel drawings and paintings is set alongside archival and contextual material, including historic film stills and posters, personal photos of Tom, sketches, and Tom's own reference photos.

Martin Luther's Bible, first printed in 1534, was not only a milestone for the printing press, but also a momentous event in world history. A UNESCO world heritage masterpiece, Luther's translation from Hebrew and ancient Greek into German made the Bible accessible to laypeople and gave printed reference to a whole new branch of Christian faith: Protestantism. In this meticulous two-volume reprint, TASCHEN presents a complete facsimile of the Luther Bible. Based on a precious copy of the original and printed in color, it reveals the multilayered splendor of this publication, showcasing the meticulous script, elaborate initials, and exquisite color woodcuts from the workshop of Lucas Cranach. In an accompanying booklet, Stephan Fussel, director of the Institute for Book Sciences at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, adds his expertise to the publication with detailed descriptions of the illustrations, as well as an introduction exploring Luther's life and the seismic significance of his bible.

"The Stanley Kubrick Archives showed up one morning in our offices, where my editor and I circled it like curious apes." -Time Out, New York This is the first book to explore Stanley Kubrick's archives and the most comprehensive study of the filmmaker to date. In 1968, when Stanley Kubrick was asked to comment on the metaphysical significance of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he replied: "It's not a message I ever intended to convey in words. 2001 is a nonverbal experience.... I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbalized pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophic content." The philosophy behind Part 1 of The Stanley Kubrick Archives borrows from this line of thinking: from the opening sequence of Killer's Kiss to the final frames of Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick's complete films are presented chronologically and wordlessly via frame enlargements. A completely nonverbal experience. The second part of the book brings to life the creative process of Kubrick's filmmaking by presenting a remarkable collection of mostly unseen material from his archives, including photographs, props, posters, artwork, set designs, sketches, correspondence, documents, screenplays, drafts, notes, and shooting schedules. Accompanying the visual material are essays by noted Kubrick scholars, articles written by and about Kubrick, and a selection of Kubrick's best interviews.

In art history, we tend to be on first name terms only with the most revered of masters. The Renaissance painter and architect Raphael Santi (1483-1520) is one such star. The man we call simply Raphael has for centuries been hailed as a supreme Renaissance artist. For some, he even outstrips his equally famous, equally first-named, contemporaries, Leonardo and Michelangelo. From 1500 to 1508, Raphael worked throughout central Italy, particularly in Florence where he secured his reputation as a painter of portraits and beautifully rendered Madonnas, archetypical icons within the Catholic faith. In 1508 he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II and later embarked on an ambitious mural scheme for the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. Within this room, Raphael's The School of Athens is considered a paradigm of the High Renaissance, merging Classical philosophy with perfected perspectival space, animated figures, and a composition of majestic balance. This essential introduction explores how in just two decades of work, Raphael painted his way to legendary greatness. With highlights from his prolific output, it presents the mastery of figures and forms that secured his place not only in the trinity of Renaissance luminaries but also among the most esteemed artists of all time.

From June 18 to July 3, 2016, 100 kilometers east of Milan and 200 kilometers west of Venice, thousands of people will walk on water. The Floating Piers by Christo and Jeanne-Claude deploys 70,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric above a modular floating dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes to create a temporary three-kilometer walkway across the surface of Lake Iseo, connecting the mainland to the islands of Monte Isola and San Paolo. The piers are 16 meters wide and approximately 40 centimeters high, with sloping sides. Visitors experience the artwork by walking from Sulzano to Monte Isola and over to San Paolo. The mountains surrounding the lake also offer a bird's-eye view of the project, revealing unnoticed angles and perspectives.The Floating Piers is Christo and Jeanne-Claude's first large-scale project since they realized The Gates in 2005 and draws upon their established history of projects in Italy, including Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower in Spoleto, 1968; Wrapped Monuments in Milan, 1970; and The Wall - Wrapped Roman Wall in Rome, 1973-74. As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, The Floating Piers is funded entirely through the sale of Christo's original works of art. After the 16-day exhibition, all components will be removed and recycled.This book presents rich photographic coverage of The Floating Piers alongside sketches, models, documents and designs, revealing the process behind this waterborne work of art. Incorporating everything from approval procedures to the manufacture of fabric and anchoring elements, it testifies not only to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's unique creative imagination but also to the immense technical, bureaucratic, and logistical feats that allowed the concept to take float.

It's the old story. When TASCHEN released the first limited edition of Crumb Sketchbooks 1982-2011, fans drooled over the gorgeous packaging of this six-volume boxed set, the artist's thoughtful editing, the hand-written introduction, marbleized page edges, and signed Crumb-colored art print. Not all, however, could afford the steep price. So they whined and coveted, with the wail growing louder when the second boxed set, 1964-1982, was released the next year. Covet no more. Robert Crumb. Sketchbook, Vol. 1: June 1964 - Sept. 1968 combines the two earliest volumes from the limited editions, produced directly from the original artworks now belonging to an ardent French collector, into one fat 440-page Crumb feast, selling for an irresistible price. This book contains hundreds of sketches, including early color drawings from the master of underground comic art, cover roughs for the legendary Zap and Head comics, the original Keep On Truckin' sketches, the first appearance of Mr. Natural, plus his evolution and refinement, Fritz The Cat, the Old Pooperoo, and many, many voluptuous Crumb girls, all wrapped up in a quality hard cover featuring an illustration newly hand-colored by Crumb himself.

A building by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is at once unmistakably individual, and evocative of an entire era. Notable for their exceptional understanding of an organic environment, as well as for their use of steel and glass to revolutionize the interface of indoor and outdoor, Wright's designs helped announce the age of modernity, as much as they secured his own name in the annals of architectural genius. This meticulous compilation from TASCHEN's previous three-volume monograph assembles the most important works from Wright's extensive, paradigm-shifting oeuvre into one authoritative and accessibly priced overview of America's most famous architect. Based on unlimited access to the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives in Taliesin, Arizona, the collection spans the length and breadth of Wright's projects, both realized and unrealized, from his early Prairie Houses, through the Usonian concept home, epitomized by Fallingwater, the Tokyo years, his progressive "living architecture" buildings, right through to later schemes like the Guggenheim Museum, New York, and fantastic visions for a better tomorrow in the "living city." Author Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, who served as Wright's apprentice during the 1950s, discusses recent research on Wright and gives his own insights on these game-changing buildings.

Every dress begins with a drawing, every skirt with a sketch. Illustration is integral to fashion design not only as a means of expression, and the starting point of every design, but also for patterns and prints as well as magazine editorial illustrations. Often, artists will even illustrate the newest looks directly from the catwalks. It's high time we celebrated fashion illustration in our Illustration Now! series: here you'll find new work from 90 artists around the globe, including Ruben Toledo, Aurore de La Morinerie, Bil Donovan, Tanya Ling, and Jean-Philippe Delhomme. The book features quotes by experts from the fashion world: Valentino compliments the work of Gladys Perint Palmer; voices out of the studios of Maison Martin Margiela, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and H&M add their praise for the talents in the book.Following an introduction by illustration expert Steven Heller, the historical essay by art and fashion historian Adelheid Rasche provides an in-depth exploration of the subject. Looking back to the 17th century, she draws a timeline of fashion illustration until today, accompanied by images such as an early etching by Francois Watteau, a drawing by Paul Iribe for the book of the famous Parisian couturier Paul Poiret, and illustrations by the highly acclaimed masters of modern fashion illustration Rene Gruau and Antonio Lopez, as well as, from more recent years, Francois Berthoud.

His name is less familiar than Vargas's and Elvgren's, but his brilliantly colored and voluptuous pin-ups are well known. Peter Driben's career began in 1934, with covers for La Paree Stories, Pep Stories, Snappy, New York Nights, and Bedtime Stories. He progressed to High Heel, Silk Stocking Stories, Gay Book, and Joker, but true fame arrived in 1944 with his first cover for Beauty Parade. For the next 11 years Driben painted the most popular magazine covers in America for Beauty Parade, Wink, Titter, Eyeful, Flirt and Whisper magazines. Long after his death he was rediscovered in Taschen's The Best of American Girlie Magazines and has since decorated T-shirts and coffee mugs, album covers, and tattooed tushes. Now his many fans can have over 200 of his original paintings and published covers, from the beginning to the end of his prolific career, in a light, portable and affordable edition.

Masters and monographs: An encyclopedia of 20th century photographers and their finest publications A comprehensive overview of the most influential photographers of the last century and their finest monographs. Arranged alphabetically, this biographical encyclopedia features every major photographer of the 20th century, from the earliest representatives of classical Modernism right up to the present day. Richly illustrated with facsimiles from books and magazines, this book includes all the major photographers of the last one hundred years especially those who have distinguished themselves with important publications or exhibitions, or who have made a significant contribution to the culture of the photographic image. The entries include photographers from North America and Europe as well as from Japan, Latin America, Africa, and China. Photographers A-Z focuses on photographic images and culture, but also features photographers working in applied areas, whose work goes beyond the merely illustrative, and is regarded as photographic art and is conserved by major museums, such as Julius Shulman, Terry Richardson, Cindy Sherman, and David LaChapelle."

When we think Tom of Finland we first picture muscular, macho young men in military gear. Tom's vision of masculine perfection was formed during his service as an officer during World War II. Though he served in the Finnish air force, it was the German troops, stationed in Finland to help the country repel invading Russian forces, which served as inspiration. After all, only the Germans had uniforms created by Hugo Boss, tightly tailored, replete with designer touches, and complimented by high, shiny black leather boots. Tom, at 19, was smitten, an obsession that deepened following his first sexual experiences with German officers in the blackout streets of Helsinki. Tom began putting his military fantasies on paper in 1945 to memorialize his thrilling nighttime encounters when the war ended. At first the Hugo Boss uniforms dominated, but as the years and then decades passed he included American naval uniforms as well, and then his own hybridized designs of black leather, jodhpurs, boots, and peaked caps, with military insignia replaced by Tom's Men patches. As Tom attracted an army of loyal fans, he created, with pencil, pen and gouache, an army of free, proud, masculine fantasy men committed to pleasure and male camaraderie.The Little Book of Tom: Military Men explores Tom's fascination with militaria through a mixture of multi-panel comics and single-panel drawings and paintings, all in a compact and affordable 192 pages. Historic film stills and posters, personal photos of Tom, sketches, and Tom's own reference images explore the cultural context and private inspirations behind the ultimate Tom of Finland hero.

Whether you're thinking of getting a tattoo or just want to see to what lengths others have gone in decorating their bodies, this is the book to check out.1000 Tattoos explores the history of the art worldwide via designs and photos-from 19th-century engravings to tribal body art, from circus ladies of the '20s to classic biker designs.

Create your own Gustav Klimt gallery with this set of 16 ready-to-frame prints, featuring such jewel-like masterpieces as The Kiss, The Tree of Life, and the “woman in gold”, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.

The prints are packaged in a sturdy cardboard box and are suitable either for framing or as a poster.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) never left his homeland of the Netherlands but in his massive body of painting, drawing, and etching, he changed the course of Western art. His prolific oeuvre encompasses religious, historical, and secular scenes, as well as one of the most extraordinary series of portraits and self-portraits in history. Rembrandt's work foregrounds texture, light, and acute observation. Like sudden, startling apparitions in a shadowy street, his subjects are illuminated against deep, dark backgrounds and rendered with immense physical as well as psychological scrutiny. Whether biblical or mythological figures, powerful patrons, or fellow citizens, each subject is bestowed not only with meticulous facial features but also with the intrigue of thoughts and feelings so that even age-old narratives such as the bible story of David and Bathsheba find a new level of human drama. Rembrandt also left one of the most extensive series of self-portraits of any artist, chronicling his own face from his youth to the year of his death. Rembrandt's rise coincided with the blossoming of the Dutch Golden Age, an era of prosperity in the Netherlands. He was encouraged by wealthy patrons, but was above all driven by a profound fascination with people. In this book, we tour some of Rembrandt's key paintings, etchings, and drawings to introduce his techniques, inspirations, and exceptional achievements. From the Baroque Belshazzar's Feast to the world-famous Night Watch we uncover a world of deep, rich tones, masterful draftsmanship, and a remarkable sensitivity for the human condition.

The 20th century saw fashion evolve from an exclusive Parisian salon business catering for the wealthy elite into a global industry employing millions, with new trends whisked into stores before the last model has even left the catwalk. Along the way, the signature silhouettes of each era evolved beyond recognition. For women, House of Worth crinolines gave way to Vionnet's bias-cut gowns, Dior's New Look to Quant's Chelsea Look, Halston's white suit to Frankie B.'s low-rise jeans. In menswear, ready-made suits signaled the demise of bespoke tailoring, long before Hawaiian shirts or skinny jeans entered the game.20th-Century Fashion offers a retrospective of the last hundred years of style via 400 fashion advertisements from the Jim Heimann Collection. The images trace not only the changing trends but also the evolution in their marketing and audience, as fashion was adopted into popular culture and the mass market, decade by decade. An in-depth introduction and illustrated timeline detail the style-makers and trendsetters, and how historic events, design houses, retailers, films, magazines, and celebrities shaped the way we dressed-then and now.

He was known as the Raphael of flowers and rightly so: Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) devoted himself exclusively to the task of capturing the diversity of the flowering plants in naturalistic watercolor paintings. He worked in Paris as a botanical illustrator for rich and influential patrons, during which he documented remarkable, rare plants and flora new to the science of his day. Nearly all of his watercolors were published as copper engravings in large formats and launched on the market with botanical descriptions as sumptuously designed publications in small editions that are today superlative collectors items. The Choix des plus belles fleures et quelques branches des plus beaux fruits (Selection of the Most Beautiful Blooms and Branches with the Finest Fruits), issued in 36 parts between 1827 and 1833) is a late work of Redoute, in which he published 144 hand-colored stipple engravings of his best representations of flora in revised form along with a few novelty items.

Us and Them is an ode to partnership and art. First published in 1999, it gathers photographs by Helmut Newton and his wife, the actress and photographer June Newton, who worked under the pseudonym Alice Springs. The collection is arranged into five sections, alternating the gaze between Newton and Spring's own tender internal world of "Us," and the glamorous encounters of their social and professional milieu-"Them." The "Us" sections of the book reveal the pair's portraits of each other and themselves, as startling in their moments of vulnerability as they are infectious in their episodes of joy. We see the pair pensive, weary, or roaring with laughter. Alice photographs Helmut on set with his models, in the shower, and in stilettos. Helmut captures Alice in the kitchen, in costume, and hanging up the washing in the nude. Along the way, we are alerted to the frailties and intimacies that make up a long-term partnership, which coexisted with the high-voltage glamour for which Newton is renowned. The particular power of the pictures is to locate as much magnetism and beauty in an aging, ailing partner (Helmut in the hospital, Alice adjusting her spectacles), as in the pristine physiques of a Newton fashion shoot. In the concluding "Them" section, Newton and Springs each turn their lens on the same, typically famous, subjects, including Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling, David Hockney, Dennis Hopper, Karl Lagerfeld, and Timothy Leary. While Newton casts these subjects with his unique brand of statuesque allure, Springs deploys a softer focus to find something more suggestive, delicate, or playful. As we move from, in Newton's words, "truth and simplicity" to "editorializing," through youth and age, love and sex, and the public and private spheres, this new edition of Us and Them offers not only an elegant example of independent visions within a shared life, but also a tender and inspiring chronicle of love through passing time.

Stay in touch. The ongoing catalog of contemporary art, now in its fourth volume
Think of this tome as a global go-round of the world's most influential galleries: if it's hot in the art world today, it's in this book. Emerging artists are featured alongside established greats like Chuck Close, David Hockney, or Brice Marden. A to Z entries on more than 100 artists include images of important recent work, an introductory text, and a short exhibition history with bibliographical information. The illustrated appendix collects contact details for the galleries representing the artists as well as auction results of the last few years.
Bonus: a special feature focusing on the art boom in Eastern Asia, with essays by Karen Smith on the contemporary art scenes in Beijing and Shanghai, and by Colin Chinnery on the postwar art-historical developments between China, Japan, and Korea. Conversations with leading curators from Seoul and Tokyo throw a light on the current developments in these cities, while a small art guide of the region's metropolises in the appendix can serve as a guide to the must-see venues for travellers or browsers through the World Wide Web.
Featured artists:
Adel Abdessemed, Ai Weiwei, Doug Aitken, Allora & Calzadilla, Darren Almond, David Altmejd, Francis Alÿs, Cory Arcangel, Tauba Auerbach, John Baldessari, Matthew Barney, Georg Baselitz, Karla Black, Cosima von Bonin, Monica Bonvicini, Cecily Brown, Glenn Brown, Andre Butzer, Cai Guo-Qiang, Maurizio Cattelan, Chuck Close, George Condo, Tacita Dean, Nathalie Djurberg, Peter Doig, Marlene Dumas, Olafur Eliasson, Elmgreen & Dragset, Urs Fischer, Fischli & Weiss, Walton Ford, Gunther Forg, Tom Friedman, Katherina Fritsch, Cyprien Gaillard, Theaster Gates, Luis Gispert, Douglas Gordon, Mark Grotjahn, Subodh Gupta, Andreas Gursky, Rachel Harrison, Mona Hatoum, Richard Hawkins, Arturo Herrera, Charline von Heyl, Damien Hirst, Thomas Hirschhorn, David Hockney, Carsten Holler, Thomas Houseago, Gary Hume, Anish Kapoor, Mike Kelley, Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Klara Liden, Brice Marden, Marepe, Beatriz Milhazes, Takashi Murakami, Bruce Nauman, Ernesto Neto, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, David Noonan, Albert Oehlen, Chris Ofili, Gabriel Orozco, The Otolith Group, Jorge Pardo, Philippe Parreno, Raymond Pettibon, Elizabeth Peyton, Richard Phillips, Richard Prince, Michael Raedecker, Neo Rauch, Anselm Reyle, Gerhard Richter, Sterling Ruby, Ed Ruscha, Mark Ryden, Anri Sala, Wilhelm Sasnal, Cindy Sherman, Simon Starling, Rudolf Stingel, Thomas Struth, Mickalene Thomas, Wolfgang Tillmans, Gert & Uwe Tobias, Janaina Tschape, Luc Tuymans, Keith Tyson, Piotr Uklanski, Adrian Villar Rojas, Danh Vo, Kara Walker, Jeff Wall, Rebecca Warren, Pae White, Christopher Wool, Yang Fudong, Haegue Yang, Zeng Fanzhi

Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was interested in the telling of truths. Always operating outside the main currents of 20th-century art, the esteemed portrait painter observed his subjects with the regimen and precision of a laboratory scientist. He recorded not only the blotches, bruises, and swellings of the living body, but also, beneath the flaws and folds of flesh, the microscopic details of what lies within: the sensation, the emotion, the intelligence, the bloom, and the inevitable, unstoppable decay. Despite rejecting parallels between him and his renowned grandfather, the correlation between Lucian Freud's sitting process for portraiture and Sigmund Freud's psychotherapy sessions is a fascinating element to this figurative oeuvre. Despite the thickness of the impasto surfaces, Freud's portraits of subjects as varied as the Queen, Kate Moss, and an obese job center supervisor penetrate the physicality of the body with a direct and often disarming insight. The result is as much a psychological interrogation as it is an uneasy examination of the relationship between artist and model. This book brings together some of Freud's most outstanding and unapologetic portraits, to introduce an artist widely considered one of the finest masters of the human form.

"This book is really two books. It is a biography, and it is also a pictorial retrospective of an actress whose greatest love affair was conceivably with the camera," wrote Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography, Marilyn.Now TASCHEN has paired Mailer's original text with Bert Stern's photographs from the legendary Last Sitting-widely considered the most intimate photographs of Monroe ever taken-to create a fitting tribute to the woman who, at the time of her death in 1962, was the world's most famous, a symbol of glamour and eroticism for an entire generation. But though she was feted and adored by her public, her private life was that of a little girl lost, desperate to find love and security. Mailer's Marilyn is beautiful, tragic, and complex. As Mailer reflects upon her life-from her bleak childhood through to the mysterious circumstances of her death-she emerges as a symbol of the bizarre decade during which she reigned as Hollywood's greatest female star. This book, conceived by Lawrence Schiller, Mailer's collaborator on five works, combines the author's masterful text with Stern's penetrating images of the 36-year-old Marilyn. Photographed for Vogue magazine over three days at the Bel-Air Hotel, Marilyn had never allowed such unfettered access, nor had she looked so breathtakingly beautiful. Six weeks later, mysteriously, she was dead. In this bold synthesis of literary classic and legendary portrait-sitting, Mailer and Stern lift the veils of confusion surrounding Monroe-the woman, the star, the sex symbol-and offer profound insight into an iconic figure whose true personality remains an enigma even today.First published as a TASCHEN limited collector's edition, this book is now available in a standard hardcover version, published on the 50th anniversary of Bert Stern's "Last Sitting" and of Marilyn Monroe's death, August 5, 1962.