Benedict Read died suddenly on 20 October 2016. His influence on art-history in the field of sculpture, and his ground-breaking authoritative volume, Victorian Sculpture (1982) were hugely important. He was instrumental in bringing about a sea-change in academic attitudes towards both the nineteenth century and to sculpture. This memorial Festschrift published by the PMSA of which Ben was a founder, former Chairman and trustee, celebrates his academic achievement, his considerable contribution to scholarship and the generosity of spirit with which he shared his knowledge. It is a powerful testament to the inspiration of a remarkable person. Sculpting Art History: Essays in Memory of Benedict Read contains 30 essays by friends, former students and colleagues - James Lomax, Marjorie Trusted, Julius Bryant, Rowan Bailey, Caroline Hedengren-Dillon, Jykri Suikonen, Joanna Barnes and Harriet Israel, Alison Inglis, Philip Ward-Jackson, Sandra Berresford, Ann Compton, Barbara Bryant, Claudine Mitchell, Alison Glew, Jane Winfrey, Andrew Jezzard, Juliette Peers, Mary Ann Steggles, Michael Paraskos, Sarah Crellin, Paula Murphy, Mark Stocker, Patrick Eyres, Katharine Eustace, Jonathan Black, Gerardine Mulcahy-Parker, Gillian Whiteley, Charles Avery and Jacqueline Banerjee together with 17 appreciations by Ben's family, friends and colleagues.

The United Kingdom was the last major nation-state in the world to adopt decimal currency, 50 years ago in 1971. Why was it so slow to do so? What changed politicians' and peoples' minds about it in the 1960s? Were Britain's plans to join the EEC influential? What was the impact of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand going decimal several years earlier? Or did it simply happen because of common sense, with a decimal system so much easier to learn and use than pounds, shillings and pence? The route to find the right designs was a complex one, with interfering politicians, struggling artists, and at one stage an angry Duke of Edinburgh! It took over five years to get there, and then there was the seven-sided 50 pence - a design classic we would say today, but what did the media and public think of it when it was launched in 1969? When Britain Went Decimal takes readers through the changeover leading to D-Day (decimalisation day), and beyond: how smooth and successful was the process? Did newspapers secretly hope it would fail? While decimalisation might have seemed right at the time, did it lead to inflation, as many people believe today? Entertainingly written and beautifully illustrated, this first book on decimalisation since 1973 attempts to answer all these questions and more, looking as much at the design - indeed the 'art' behind the new coinage - as at social, economic and political history.

Te Papa holds New Zealand's national art collection, whose origins date back to 1865 and the establishment of the then Colonial Museum (later the Dominion and then the National Museum). Built up over the years by a succession of directors and curators, the collection's 40,000 works track New Zealand history and the art movements within it. In this generous book, Te Papa's curators and a wide range of other expert art writers showcase the strengths of the New Zealand art collection by discussing around 270 works. From very early colonial work through to recent acquisitions, and including photography, their essays offer insights into the art, the artists and the context and issues that drove them. The book is complemented by biographies of all the featured artists, making it a valuable resource.

Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (1943-2014) was a much loved and respected academic and curator of broad and varied interests, who made an immense contribution to New Zealand art history over almost half a century. His scholarship was matched by a terrific generosity of spirit and personal charisma. Colonial Gothic to Maori Renaissance is a remarkable tribute to his memory from friends, colleagues and former students alike. Its contents are as varied and interesting as the man himself: Victorian church architecture and liturgy, mysticism, the New Zealand International Exhibition of 1906, the Toi Te Papa exhibition of 2006, traditional and contemporary Maori art, and the artists Thomas Benjamin Kennington, Gottfried Lindauer, Colin McCahon, Tony Fomison, Philip Clairmont and Emily Karaka are all included here. Beautifully illustrated and scholarly yet readable, this book is a powerful testament to the inspiration of a remarkable person.