Press

The Preserving Garden

978-1-760-76382-4

“A fun-to-read and easy-to-follow primer about pickling, pureeing, bottling, roasting, and more… Bold, colorful, 2D eye candy adds to the book's breezy, page-turning style… A well-organized table of contents and index allow readers to use this book as a reference guide… There's a lot to learn and many things to try out in The Preserving Garden and you'll want to keep notes.”

— Washington Gardener

The Quentin Blake Book

978-0-500-09435-8

“A handsome 90th-birthday celebration of Mr. Blake's life and work.”

— The Wall Street Journal

“Richly detailed.”

— The New York Review of Books

“A visual feast and an engaging biography of the artist most known for illustrating Roald Dahl's books… A work of art to slowly take in and a fascinating peek into the life of an iconic artist.”

— School Library Journal

The Quest for Shakespeare's Garden

978-0-500-25224-6

“Art historian and garden expert Roy Strong pieces together an account of how Shakespeare's rich use of plant imagery has inspired eclectic gardens all around the world and helped pave way for the development of garden conservation and restoration as field of study. Strong spills stories as if seated by a fireplace after a banquet, and his prose layers fine, formal English over the crisp, juicy histories that he's expertly researched. Glossy pages of quotes from Shakespeare's plays and sonnets complement Strong's words, as do illustrations from collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.”

— Publishers Weekly

Quiet Spaces

978-0-500-34369-2

“British architect Smalley's elegant debut showcases spaces that embody his 'quiet' style… Smalley's minimal commentary, constituting a few brief paragraphs per location, complements the spare designs and leaves the emphasis on the attractive spreads. Despite the muted tone, this makes an impression.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Smalley's way of treating his inspirations in the book with equal weight to his own work is refreshing and illuminating, revealing shared qualities but also Smalley's enduring fascination with beautiful design regardless of the who, when, or where… The mix results in a monograph that is surprisingly cohesive regardless of the various voices and times, reinforcing the timeless quality of Smalley's architecture.”

— A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

“Showcases the work of London architect William Smalley as well as peaceful interiors around the world by other architects who inspire him.”

— Detroit News

Ravens and Red Lipstick: Japanese Photography since 1945

978-0-500-29287-7

“A broad survey for Western audiences, the book also dips into less familiar territory. Both neophytes and those familiar with Japanese photography are likely to discover something unexpected… The book not only provides rich, multivalent context for its arresting images, but also hope for more nuanced understandings of traditions not our own… Ravens is refreshing because it allows…subtleties of ideation and reception to bubble up, even in a book that covers over 70 years of photography.”

— Los Angeles Times

Ravilious & Co.: The Pattern of Friendship

978-0-500-23955-1

“This book follows the lives of talented British artists and designers of the 192s and 193s [who] met as classmates at London's Royal College of Art, [with] the focus on Eric Ravilious (193-42), now known for his beautifully composed rural landscapes in watercolor. Friend has captured all aspects and successes of these dedicated artists. Numerous illustrations showcase a variety of the assured arc and design works pro­duced during the period. This book should inspire readers curious about 2th-century British art and design.”

— Library Journal

Reclaimed: New Homes from Old Materials

978-1-760-76314-5

“Offers an alternative to the status quo, demonstrating how to reuse materials for contemporary residential design. Divided into four material categories this thoughtful guide catalogues 24 houses and apartments across the world.”

— Architectural Record

Red Carpet Oscars

978-1-760-76302-2

“Author Dijanna Mulhearn reflects on almost 100 years of Oscars fashion, digging into the 'why' of celebrities' outfit choices in addition to the 'what' [and] takes it way back to the early years of the show, through some of the more memorable celebrity looks of today.”

— People

“A delectable compilation, sure to please fashion and film devotees.”

— Library Journal (starred review)

“Gigantic and gorgeously illustrated.”

— New York Daily News

“Photographs offer an incredible parade of silver screen talent… and Mulhearn's text helps tell the couture story, providing social context and a taste of each evening's drama and the actors' personalities… Fascinating.”

— BookPage

“A great way to enrich your TV viewing pleasure, or an Oscar party.”

— Avenue Magazine

“Will delight both film buffs and fashionistas, as it provides brief capsule summaries of what went on at each year's celebration along with photos of Hollywood's biggest and most glamorous stars as they approached the awards ceremony… The handy index allows fans to track their preferred stars or find favorite designers.”

— Shelf Awareness

Rendez-vous with Art

978-0-500-23924-7

“Rendez-vous with Art is your chance to stroll the Met, the Bargello, the Louvre, and more with de Montebello as he chats with Martin Gayford. Together, they teach us fresh ways to look at and think about their artwork the spaces that house these treasure troves.”

— Traditional Home

“The sprawling-yet-intimate structure works…The two authors discuss why photographs never quite capture art …and the two art lovers mourn, as they run into a crowd at the Prado, that the more famous a picture is, the harder it is to see.”

— New York Observer, Gallerist NY

“As we accompany the two friends on their wanderings, we get an unvarnished glimpse of where their affections and prejudices lie. Normally, such insights are rare…Would that Rendez-vous with Art were made required reading in today's postgraduate art history programs!”

— The New Criterion

“The chief pleasure of reading de Montebello is to watch a connoisseur at work. Can such a refined, scholarly vision survive the current trend towards the anthropological, populist approach?”

— Financial Times UK

“A series of lively conversations, notable for their wit and erudition, about their encounters with great art (mostly European, pre-1800) in a half-dozen countries over two years.”

— Associated Press

“The book raises fundamental, fascinating questions about art that typically aren't raised elsewhere. Philippe de Montebello offers new takes on well-known artists like Titian, Velasquez, Goya, and Rubens, and also introduces readers to far less known and anonymous artist. Once you experience art the way de Montebello does, you will never looks at a painting, a sculpture, or even a museum visit the same way.”

— The Huffington Post

“Few books of late have pleased me as much as this one…Not the least value of this volume is the discussion of a matter that never makes it into art writing, neither criticism nor art history: the physical and emotional interaction between the painting on the wall and the human who stands before it, in a state of greater or lesser receptivity.”

— The Weekly Standard

“The discussions are witty as well as erudite, and the book invites readers to participate vicariously and thoroughly enjoy the experience.”

— Portland Book Review

“As the authors emphasize, the art that viewers see in these institutions is representative of the greater whole of the civilization or culture from which it emanates…Offers an intimate entry point into the process and pleasure of encountering art objects within museums and other collections…Highly recommended.”

— Choice

Renoir: An Intimate Biography

978-0-500-23957-5

“A moving biography of French impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, sourced from thousands of letters and hundreds of previously unpublished writings by the artist, his family, and his friends, including many first-generation impressionists. White's research is exhaustive, her enthusiasm is infectious, and her style is unaffected, ensuring chat this touching biography will enjoy a broad readership encompassing both specialists and general art enthusiasts alike.”

— Publishers Weekly

“No one, not even Renoir himself, can ever have commanded so much information on the topic.”

— Daily Telegraph

“Renoir would have been grateful for the thoroughness with which his new biographer Barbara Ehrlich White has peeled away the myths and the lies first disseminated by his son Jean Renoir in an early hagiography of his father. Drawing on hundreds of unpublished letters, Renoir: An Intimate Biography reveals how the poor man fought back for so long against illness, and created an entire fantastical world of overflowing nudes or near-nudes as a form of consolation for his creeping physical decrepitude.”

— The Independent (UK)

“The Renoir portrayed here is a generous, cheerful man but also a furtive and sometimes duplicitous one, a painter of genius who often churned out hackwork, a loving husband who constantly worried his wife would find out about the systematic lies he'd been telling her for years. It's a Renoir scarcely hinted at in the sunny swirl of his paintings - and all the more fascinating for that.”

— Christian Science Monitor

“White has studied Renoir for more than half a century and here draws on some '3,000 letters by, to and about' him. Using that correspondence and the fruits of her life's research, she creates a finely nuanced portrait of depth and feeling. Studded with stirring quotations from unpublished letters and embellished with reproductions of many of Renoir's most-beloved works, this is a jewel of a biography, and it will be treasured by anyone interested in art.”

— Booklist

“Comprehensive and authoritative…provides an account of the artist's life, work and impact from a contemporary and inside viewpoint. It is a compelling and engaging read.”

— The Artist (UK)

“White's scholarly biography is the result of '56 years of professional concentration on Renoir's paintings, character and personality.' The research is here, and it's impressive. We learn about the Impressionists with whom Renoir traveled and the official Salon against which they sometimes rebelled. Manet, Monet, Cézanne and Pissarro all make appearances, as does the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who created a market for these painters. Along the way, we also learn a great deal about 19th century French society and mores.”

— The New York Times Book Review

“A well-rounded view of the artist's personal and professional life… White's readable, intriguing study sheds new light on misconceptions regarding Renoir's personality. Readers with prior knowledge of the artist will love to learn more, while those interested in the impressionists will enjoy peeking into the lives of artists such as Monet, Cézanne, and others.”

— Library Journal (starred review)

“Moving… Renoir: An Intimate Biography is Ms. White's second study of the painter, drawing on an additional 2,000 letters made available to her since her Renoir: His Life, Art, and Letters appeared in 1984. Through her command of Renoir's correspondence we get vivid glimpses of his inner life… She is reliably content to let Renoir speak for himself, allowing his grounded aims, temperament, and wit to shine through.”

— Wall Street Journal

“An in-depth biography of the French impressionist painter… ideal for readers seeking to delve deeply into Renoir's personality. White, one of the leading authorities on the life and work of Renoir, offers an 'intimate' look into his life, a narrative fueled by her amassing a cache of more than 3,000 letters—many from the families of Renoir's illegitimate daughter, Jeanne, and his three sons, including the great film director Jean, as well as from fellow artists. They shed particular light on his relationships with key women in his life, especially his wife, female models, and fellow artist Berthe Morisot.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“For Renoir devotees, this is an unmissable, revelatory account… This documentary life, based on thousands of letters, many unpublished, which White has collected since 1961, is the most personal account of any Impressionist ever written. It engages with Renoir from a domestic rather than art historical perspective, bringing to quotidian life the stick-thin, wiry, energetic painter, pipe in mouth, as he converses in a rasping guttural Paris accent to friends and lovers, rearranges his cluttered studio, chats to servants in the grand homes of his collectors. Nineteenth-century Parisian bohemia has long been frozen into myth; White's return to primary sources allows her to catch the timbre of felt experience.”

— Financial Times

“Scholars of Renoir will be indebted to White for assembling so many new letters that shed fresh light on the texture of Renoir's family life, friendships and daily routines…White's diligent work does reveal the 'manipulative personality' of her subject more candidly than ever before, laying bare both his contradictions and the release he found from them in the illusions of painting.”

— Literary Review

Research & Design: The Architecture of Variation

978-0-500-34257-2

“[R]eaders will be mesmerized by the unworldly, undulating, futuristic forms of buildings and projects existing now on printed page and computer monitor, and perhaps someday on solid ground.”

— Library Journal

“Readers will be mesmerized by the unworldly, undulating, futuristic forms of buildings and projects existing now on printed page and computer monitor, and perhaps someday on solid ground.”

— Choice

Robin Hood

978-0-500-28935-8

“An admirable work of historical detection.”

— A. L. Rowse, author of The Elizabethan Renaissance

“Holt's work is solid and interesting, likely to last.”

— Library Journal

The Rolling Stones: Unzipped

978-0-500-02385-3

“Wonderful… Of all the many Stones books, this well-rounded one provides behind-the-scenes satisfaction.”

— Star Tribune

“There are books about the Stones, there are books by the Stones… and there are books that, frankly, are the Stones. Or, at least, there are now… Unzipped is the visual equivalent of putting on your favorite clutch of Stonesian albums and just losing yourself for a day or so.”

— Goldmine

“A must for Stones' fans and really anyone who loves rock 'n' roll.”

— WAG

“A lavish tribute to [the band's] iconography… A very plush, surprisingly eye-opening package, not unlike the Stones' musical body of work.”

— Psychobabble

“Presented in lavish and spectacular fashion, Unzipped traces not only the band's astounding musical career but also their indelible imprint on recording, clothing, art and design, filmmaking, and concert staging… There are lots of books about the Stones' career, but Unzipped takes it to another level in visually examining the band's reach not just in music but pop culture.”

— Forbes

“[A] fresh take on the band and its influence on pop culture… This book is sure to put a smile on the face of the rock fan on your holiday gift list.”

— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution