Sargent and Fashion explores the dynamic relationship of painting and dress — from portraits and performance, gender expression and the New Woman, to the pull of tradition and the excitement of new ideas. "The coat is the picture," John Singer Sargent exclaimed to his fellow artist Graham Robertson in the summer of 1894, tugging a heavy overcoat ever more tightly around his sitter's slender figure. Sought-after by sitters for his ability to present to the world flattering and engaging likenesses, Sargent was simultaneously pursuing his own artistic vision. Rather than holding up a mirror to contemporary fashion, Sargent made fashion a part of his artistic repertoire. He often chose what his sitters wore, pinned their garments, or draped fabric around them, all with a view to creating confections to be recorded on canvas through his unrivalled artistic gifts. With contributions from many of the leading thinkers on Sargent and his world, and lavish reproductions of major portraits and exquisite costumes of the period, this publication offers a vital new perspective on one of the most famous and fashionable artists of all time.

Sargent and Fashion explores the dynamic relationship of painting and dress — from portraits and performance, gender expression and the New Woman, to the pull of tradition and the excitement of new ideas. "The coat is the picture," John Singer Sargent exclaimed to his fellow artist Graham Robertson in the summer of 1894, tugging a heavy overcoat ever more tightly around his sitter's slender figure. Sought-after by sitters for his ability to present to the world flattering and engaging likenesses, Sargent was simultaneously pursuing his own artistic vision. Rather than holding up a mirror to contemporary fashion, Sargent made fashion a part of his artistic repertoire. He often chose what his sitters wore, pinned their garments, or draped fabric around them, all with a view to creating confections to be recorded on canvas through his unrivalled artistic gifts. With contributions from many of the leading thinkers on Sargent and his world, and lavish reproductions of major portraits and exquisite costumes of the period, this publication offers a vital new perspective on one of the most famous and fashionable artists of all time.

This book focuses on interpretations of the myth that lead to the Symbolist period and explores the Symbolist understanding of the Prometheus myth. It examines the main projections that were made onto the Prometheus figure, through a study of the artistic works devoted to the Titan.

Walter Sickert was one of the most influential artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An apprentice of Whistler and close associate of Degas, he engaged with the work of French artists of the time. Sickert in turn influenced many British painters up to the present day. This book will show how Sickert transformed the representation of everyday life, with his innovative approach to subject matter, radical compositions and the evocation of the materiality of existence in paint. It will explore the changing nature of his work - from an impressionistic approach in the 1880s to a pioneering use of photography in the 1930s - and how he returned over and over to locations and subjects, including his penetrating self-portraits. Sickert's imagination was fuelled by news and current events such as the Camden Town Murders and newspaper photography, but also by popular culture - music halls, the stage, the rise of cinema and celebrity. Featuring over 200 images from the exhibition and a wide range of essays by scholars, as well as reflections on Sickert's relevance and influence by a selection of contemporary painters including Kaye Donachie and Somaya Critchlow.

Discover the work of Aubrey Beardsley, a complex and intriguing artist who shocked and delighted late-Victorian London Aubrey Beardsley (1872&1898) is best remembered for his powerful illustrations for Salome by Oscar Wilde. Spanning just seven years, his intense, prolific career as a draftsman and illustrator was cut short when he died at the age of 25. His subversive black-and-white drawings and his complex persona became synonymous with decadence: He alighted on the perverse and erotic aspects of life and legend, shocking audiences with his bizarre sense of humor and fascination with the grotesque. His keen observation of his contemporaries makes him of his time, but his distinct style has resonated with subsequent generations. A major influence on the development of Art Nouveau, and on psychedelic pop culture and design in the late 1960s, Beardsley&s drawings remain a key reference for many artists today. Here, short essays on aspects of Beardsley&s remarkable career complement reproductions of his fascinating work.

This book focuses on interpretations of the myth that lead to the Symbolist period and explores the Symbolist understanding of the Prometheus myth. It examines the main projections that were made onto the Prometheus figure, through a study of the artistic works devoted to the Titan.