Awarded the Washington DC Book Publishers' design and effectiveness competition Honorable Mention in the category of Illustrated Text from a Small- to Medium-Size Nonprofit Publisher and Third Prize in the category of Illustrated Jacket or Cover from a Small- to Medium-Size Nonprofit Publisher Ballyhoo looks at the poster as a form of popular portraiture. These celebrity likenesses are dramatic--and often enormous--but in fact, what a poster communicates about an individual is usually secondary to its principal message: Barnum and Bailey announcing the arrival of their circus, the Woodbury Soap company using Veronica Lake to promote its Omatched make-up, O Greta Garbo advertising the Swedish version of Queen Christina, or Bette Midler publicizing her 1973 concert at the Palace Theater. By interweaving the three themes of poster art, celebrity promotion, and advertising, Ballyhoo suggests how a famous face can enhance the message of the poster and, conversely, how posters have defined and disseminated images of prominent Americans. Furthermore, posters provide an instructive glimpse of an era's prevailing ideals, prejudices, and presumptions. These images remind us of the ubiquitous presence of portrait images outside the world of fine art. Widely disseminated forms of popular portraiture, like the poster, remain a profound influence in our culture."

Is there more to portraiture than eyes meeting eyes? Beyond the Face: New Perspectives on Portraiture presents sixteen essays by leading scholars who explore the subtle means by which artists--and subjects--convey a sense of identity and reveal historical context. Examining a wide range of topics, from early caricature and political vandalism of portraits to contemporary selfies and performance art, these studies challenge our traditional assumptions about portraiture. By probing the diversity and complexity of portrayal, Beyond the Face fills a gap in current scholarship and offers a resource for teaching art history, subjectivity, and the construction of identity.