From the much-lauded Art & Ideas series from Phaidon Press which 'boasts expert but undogmatic texts and a wealth of illustrations' - The Sunday Telegraph. This concise and authoritative study of the French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) is an insightful reappraisal of the life and works of one of the most influential artists of the 19th century. Regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic School, Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes, and his study of the optical effects of colour, profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist Movement. Dr Simon Lee considers Delacroix's life and art within the context of this tumultuous age in the years following the French Revolution and the rise of the British Empire. He looks at all the major works from Liberty Leading the People, Scenes from the Massacres of Chios with their Turkish costumes, Lord Byron in Arnaout costume, the female personification of the Greek nation half kneeling, hands outstretched, near bare breasted, dripping blood from the sleeve entitled Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi, Justice Wall, Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard to many frescoes and ceiling paintings such as the Chapel of Holy Angels, Saint-Sulpice, Paris, Orientalist works to portraits. Here are his paintings, drawings, lithographs and prints, generously illustrated and explored in depth. Heavyweight quality softback, 352pp, over 100 colour illus.

Showcasing the greatest collection of inspirational product design, here are 500 of the most innovative, beautiful products from the last five centuries that are still in production today. The book includes not only classic objects by Breuer, Le Corbusier, Eames, Castiglioni and Philippe Starck, but also anonymously designed pieces that have achieved perfection in design and functionality. These objects have shaped our society and improved the function of homes, offices and public buildings all over the world and this accessible guide documents not only the history of design, but also the history of taste and culture. We can appreciate by way of a half page colour photograph the object beautifully photographed together with the designer, dates and summary. Among our favourites are the Nuvola Rossa Bookcase of 1977 with its collapsable frame and six removable shelves, Ellen Levy's Aluminium Shelving Brackets, Starck's Ará Lamp of 1988, Post-It Notes 1980, Frank Gehry's Wiggle Chair of 1972, the Moulton Bicycle, the Tulip Chair, the Bisley Multi-drawer Cabinet of 1951, Alessi's Coffee Service of 1945 and more chairs and day beds and tables and the US tunnel mailbox and the Moleskine notebook (1850) and right back to Chinese Scissors of 1663 and the Arare Teapot of the 1700s, the Yale Cylinder Lock and the Swiss Army Knife of 1891. Compact, classy heavyweight, 500 colour photos, 512 pages.
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Beautiful Calla Lilies, Rams Head with Blue Morning Glory, Figures Under a Rooftop, A Nude Series, Flagpole, My Last Door, Abstraction White Rose, Black Iris, Winter Cottonwoods, Autumn Maple Leaves in the Trees section, Above The Clouds, On The Old Santa Fe Road and Storm Clouds Over Lake George, a Black Mesa landscape are among the temptingly colourful artworks in this collection. Georgia O'Keeffe's unique artistic vision made her one of the great American artists of the 20th century. Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) taught art in South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, and spent many years making art in New York and New Mexico. Beginning in the 1950s she travelled extensively around the world, and out of all these experiences, she distilled a style that is at once American and universal, cool and passionate. Reproduced in glorious colour here is a curator's collection from the premier collection of her work at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe New Mexico with a brief biographical overview and chronology. 80 page Abrams softback rare exhibition catalogue, 2003.

Originally published by the great art publisher Phaidon Press in 1969, there was a second and third revised and enlarged edition in 1994, of which we have a rare 2014 reprint in outsize beautiful quality softback with 89 illustrations, 48 in colour and measuring 22.86 x 30.5cm. Francisco Goya (1746-1828) is one of Spain's most famous artist and widely acknowledged as an outstanding painter in the European tradition and often called the last of the Old Masters and the first of the Moderns. From the gaiety and tenderness of the Tapestry Cartoons to the mysterious ferocity of the Black Paintings made in his old age, enjoy in close up detail reproduced in full page colour such masterpieces as A Woman Reading A Letter, The Bewitched Man, Blind Man's Bluff, The Fall, Self-Portrait with Dr Arrieta, The Forge, and a comparison between The Execution of Maximilian by Manet with Goya's The Third of May 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid, a bloody scene capturing the last seconds before the man in the white shirt his arms outstretched in front of horrified onlookers faces the firing squad at close range. This contrasts with the tenderness of the six year old Victor Guye wearing the uniform of page to Joseph Bonaparte with its brocaded jacket and open lace collar standing holding a book, or of Mariano Goya the artist's grandson at around the same age seated beside an enormous musical score while he is beating time with a roll of paper. 128pp. Very low original cover price of £6.95.

With their iconic tiny yellow square heads and expressive features like scowling eyebrows, happy smiles, pirate eye patch and stubble, or clowns and hundreds of thousands more, the LEGO minifigure, often referred to as a minifig, is the small plastic articulated figurine made of special LEGO bricks and produced by Danish building toy manufacturer the LEGO Group since 1978. Usually found within LEGO sets they are also incredibly popular collectables sold separately. The little yellow figurine has never looked back and over 40 years exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon. Deceptively simple in design and yet endlessly adaptable, it is a true work of art. This landmark volume explores the making of an icon and its colourful history, milestone moments, evolving design, and lasting impact with compelling interviews and essays, lush photography and never-before-seen visuals from inside the LEGO archives and beyond. A beloved toy, a singular global icon, the minifigure is one of the most recognisable toys on the planet, synonymous with the joy of play and the power of imagination and endless expression. Packed with colour photos, 144 large pages, 23.5 x 28.5cm.
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A Victoria and Albert Museum publication reprinted many times, we have the now rare 2012 latest edition cataloguing 120 masterpieces from the Ceramics Collections at the V&A, one of its greatest glories. The museum was founded originally as a museum of manufacturers to display both historic and contemporary artifacts as examples for students of design, and from the start ceramics formed a substantial part of the collections. The museum also started to buy historic ceramics, mostly of the Renaissance period, and received major gifts and bequests including Italian and French Renaissance pottery, Dutch Delftware and in 1884 over 1,500 English ceramics were added following a generous donation. China has contributed more to the worldwide development of ceramics than any other country, and in the opinion of some, the wares of the Song and Ming dynasties set a standard of artistic excellence that has never been surpassed. Trade in ceramics between China, the Middle East and Europe led to a cross-pollination between the potting traditions of these lands, criss-crossing the globe. Both lustre painting and tin-glazing were widely practiced in Spain during and following the years of Islamic rule and exported in considerable quantities to late Medieval Italy where it was greatly admired and imitated. From Italy knowledge of the tin-glazed process percolated throughout Western Europe where it dominated fine ceramic production until the 18th century, when tough, inexpensive earthenwares from Staffordshire finally drove it out of the market. Italian Renaissance Maiolica is celebrated for its polychromed figure decoration, and much 18th century French and German faïence was made in imitation of contemporary European porcelain, but a great deal of Dutch and English Delftware was inspired by Chinese blue-and-white, a costly and exotic import. Industry and art and how trade and cultural interchange has shaped potting tradition is celebrated in this magnificent volume, conceived as a visual timeline. Outstanding new photographs reveal an array of stunning pieces from dramatic Chinese funerary sculpture to exquisitely painted Italian Renaissance pottery and bold modernist wares. Tea sets, vases, coffee pots, soup tureens, tankards, and a spectacular flower pyramid, much to enjoy in these hundreds of colour photos. 144 large pages, 22 x 27.5cm.

'The Poetry, Letters and Art of The Great Master' here is a beautifully designed book with dozens of sketches, architectural drawings, facsimiles of poems and letters and finished works of art in glowing colour, a rare and revealing picture of Michelangelo, one of the towering figures of the Renaissance. Best known as a sculptor, painter and architect of exceptional genius, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, David sculpture, and the dome of St Peter's Basilica are among the most celebrated artistic achievements of all time. He is also considered one of the greatest poets and writers of the 16th century, and his life is documented in revealing letters to family and friends. He also filled hundreds of sheets of paper with exquisite drawings, many of which form the basis for masterpieces. Many of those sketches of the human form served as studies for the ceiling. One of his sonnets describes how he stood up with his head tilted back to paint the ceiling, not lying on scaffolding as often thought. Along with these more technical insights, his letters also reveal aspects of his character which could be by turns proud, cranky, paranoid, and incisively wise, as well as his deep affection for the two great loves of his life. Nearly 500 letters written by him exist and a fair selection are reproduced here including correspondence with his friend and fellow artist Sebastiano del Piombo, Giorgio Vasari, not to mention popes, dukes, and Francis I, the King of France and letters about financial transactions or shipments, or advice about marriage. Above all he was an artist who drew and drew and drew on the backs of receipts, poems, letters he had received and drafts of his own letters. Curmudgeonly, yet Michelangelo did have a sense of humour as clearly on display in his satirical letter date December 1525 about a colossal statue of Pope Clement VII. Michelangelo lived to be 89 years old and lived through a century of upheaval in politics, religion, society and art, yet his letters rarely discuss his theories about his art but he often expresses his ideas about the making of sculpture. With beautiful quotations and many fine illustrations throughout 384 nicely designed pages with curved corners. Organised chronologically and selected by Carolyn Vaughan, former editor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Softback.

With its streamlined shapes and forward-looking approach, the Art Deco style still looks modern today. In the 1920s and 30s, designers and craftsmen made innovative use of both natural and man-made materials to produce elegant pieces that broke with tradition and celebrated the future. In this magnificent heavyweight compendium, antiques expert Judith Miller explores the key makers and pieces of the movement, explaining what to look for as a collector. The key areas of collecting she covers are furniture, glass, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, silver and plastics, prints and posters, rugs and textiles, all with their clean lines, bright colours and bold motifs. Art Deco cocktail paraphernalia, streamlined radios and travel posters advertising exotic destinations catered for new leisure pursuits and designers such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann and René Lalique produced beautiful furniture and glassware for the luxury market. See bronze and ivory, a graphic gallery, animal sculptures, often in bronze depicting sleek panthers on wedge-shaped marble bases or and Erté cold-painted bronze of a woman in theatrical costume, French gilded bronze and enamel clocks, a rare table clock by Cartier in rose quartz and shaped like an egg, wrought-iron items with strong vertical lines and bowls and candlesticks and cocktail stands which are utilitarian and extraordinarily beautiful in their aesthetic design. One of the most renowned silversmiths was Denmark's Georg Jensen (1866-1935) whose silverware in geometric and aesthetically elegant curves and designs remain beautiful to this day. There is an enamelled glass gallery, Italian colourful glass and collectable figures whether in the Egyptian or the Wiener Werkstätte mould. 241pp, 25 x 28cm, hundreds of colour photos.
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Colourful carved and decorated totem poles, beautiful beaded soft supple moccasins, fully beaded dresses and accessories, the deer dancer, the Bear Clan Hat, sky messages making material offerings to the spirits for guidance, bentwood boxes, chests, masks and canoes from British Columbia decorated with swirling symmetrical colourful pattern carvings, porcupine quills, birch bark and sweet grass used by the Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa) keep North American native traditional art alive. Here are garments of great celebrated leaders such as the shirt of Crazy Horse to pictures of Indians of All Tribes protesting at Alcatraz about their rights and properties, all about Indian and American education and the drive for justice and political recognition which led to new confrontations at Wounded Knee and Washington, DC. This magnificent celebration of Native American cultures and civilisations combines a wide-ranging text by scholars, writers and readers from tribes like the Standing Rock Sioux and Mohawk and Cherokee and Maya and many more, exploring the profound meaning of ceremonial life and its intimate connections with the land. There is a poignant chronicle of the impact of Indian boarding schools on Native families and cultures, the activist days of the 1970s and poems by Louise Erdrich and others and eloquent examples of a literary renaissance. 320 full page gorgeous colour illustrations depicting wondrous examples of indigenous cultures. 336pp in very large softback, 22.86 x 30cm, originally published in 2004 to commemorate the opening of the Museum of the American Indian.

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79) was one of the most important and innovative photographers, criticised in her lifetime for her unconventional techniques. Right now a new exhibition with a modern photography is being staged at the National Portrait Gallery. She is now celebrated as a pioneering portraitist and to mark the bicentenary of her birth and the 150th anniversary of her first museum exhibition, the only one in her lifetime, held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1865, Bibliophile has got hold of this rare 2015 exhibition catalogue. Drawing on the V&A's significant collection of photographs acquired directly from Cameron and letters she wrote to the museum's founding director, Curator Marta Weiss tells the story of Cameron's artistic development and presents for the first time a group of photographs recently revealed to have belonged to her friend and mentor the artist G. F. Watts which shed light on previously unacknowledged aspects of Cameron's experimental approach. There is a modernity and contemporary spirit to her visual language and themes at a time when photography was still in its infancy. Her delicacy of touch is shown in her portraits of naked children, beautiful women with long flowing hair decorated with flowers and women portrayed not only as seductresses and paramours but as caring mothers and grandmothers with children and grandchildren, affection, caressing and kissing, and in home theatricals with mythological, biblical and allegorical scenes. She attached heavy swans' wings to children's shoulders and created great beauty in such tableau as King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther in Apocrypha, the bearded old man, the beauty resting on the shoulders of another woman captured so artistically. Simple and beautiful is the first example entitled Annie, 1864, a little girl of around seven years with unbrushed hair gazing wistfully as are many of these subjects. Page after page of sepia and black and white beautifully reproduced full page photographs. 224pp, marbled endpapers, cloth binding and silver tooling for the title, 26 x 22cm. The paperback sells at £30 and we have the glamorous hardback first edition with English intro and further text in German and French .
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