Artists, Architects, Photographers

Barbara Hulanicki tells the story of the rise and fall of the tiny, energetic boutique that grew into a vast emporium and epitomised Swinging London. The Biba store was to become an icon of hip '60s and '70s London and a hangout for artists, film stars...

A new edition of conversations between the artist Ai Wei Wei and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, coming up to the present dayAi Weiwei - artist, architect, curator, publisher, poet and urbanist - extended the notion of art and is one of the world's most...

Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) is now mostly remembered as a genius of architecture - but he was also an accomplished polymath, who only came to architecture quite late in life. Most famous as the mastermind behind the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral...

Packed with facts, attributions, and entertaining anecdotes about his contemporaries, Vasari's collection of biographical accounts also presents a highly influential theory of the development of Renaissance art. Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto, who...

Learn about key movements like impressionism, cubism and symbolism in The Art Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Art in this overview guide to the...

From 1950 to 1962, John Richardson lived near Picasso in France and was a friend of the artist. With a view to writing a biography, the acclaimed art historian kept a diary of their meetings. After Picasso's death, his widow Jacqueline collaborated in...

Tangled Paths tells the life story of Aby Warburg, one of the most influential historians of art and culture of the twentieth century. It also tells the story of a man who, throughout his life, struggled to assert his place in the world. Charting...

'Fizzes with clever vignettes and juicy tidbits... [a] joyous romp of a book.' Guardian'A fascinating, rollicking book in search of why, where and how fame strikes. Sit back and enjoy the ride.' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads'[An] engaging and...

A treasure trove of carefully selected letters written by great artists, providing unique insight into their characters and a glimpse into their lives. Artists' Letters is a collection of intriguing, entertaining, moving, significant, surprising, witty...

*THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*For the first time in seven years, Allie Brosh, the creator of the immensely popular blog 'Hyperbole and a Half' and #1 New York Times bestselling author, returns with her new collection. Solutions and Other Problems...

A vibrant look at the celebrated artist and designer KAWS.Multidisciplinary artist KAWS was first known for his work as a graffiti artist and his subersive approach to poular imagery on bus shelter and phone booth advertisements. This is the first...

In 1954, following her death, Frida Kahlo's possessions were locked away in the Casa Azul in Mexico City, her lifelong home. Half a century later, her collection of clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and other personal items was rediscovered. Frida Kahlo:...

One of the most moving accounts of non fiction ever written according to the Guardian 'This is a heart-breaking story, beautifully told. I hope it finds a million readers' - Andrew O'Hagan'What a brave and powerful story. If you like Shuggie Bain and...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781484748725Author Chuck SnyderFormat HardbackPage Count 352Imprint HyperionPublisher Hyperion

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer turns his eye to the seventeenth-century Dutch Golden Age Twenty years ago, Benjamin Moser followed a love affair to an ancient Dutch town. In order to make sense of this new place, he threw himself into the Dutch...

Now in paperback, a beautifully illustrated account of of Tove Jansson's life and artThe definitive biography of one of the most unique and beloved children's authors of the 20th century, the creator of the Moomins. Tove Jansson (1914-2001) led a long,...

A new selection of post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gough's letters, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh put a human face on one of the most haunting figures in modern Western culture. In this Penguin Classics edition, the letters are selected and...

'Her bravest work of performance art to date . . . Rawly intimate' ObserverThis memoir spans Marina Abramovic's five decade career, and tells a life story that is almost as exhilarating and extraordinary as her groundbreaking performance art. Taking us...

WINNER OF THE FRANCO-BRITISH SOCIETY LITERARY AWARD 2020'Art is a Tyrant recounts [Bonheur's] life with no little brio.' Michael Prodger, The Times Books of the Year 2020 'A diligently researched, beautifully produced and insistently sympathetic...

In Chanel: An Intimate Life, acclaimed biographer Lisa Chaney tells the controversial story of the fashion icon who starred in her tumultuous era Coco Chanel was many things to many people. Raised in emotional and financial poverty, she became one of...

A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION.Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet...

'Exuberantly entertaining' NYT Book Review'Mark Braude's writing and subject make this book irresistible, as was Kiki herself.' Jim Jarmusch'A delightful, marvelously readable, meticulously-researched romp of a book, Kiki Man Ray brings to life not just...

WINNER OF THE JAMES TAIT BLACK BIOGRAPHY PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSelected as a Book of the Year in the Herald In 1845, a Reading bookseller named John Snare came across the...

The updated retrospective published for McCullin's 80th birthday. Contains 40 new unpublished photographs and a new introduction - the definitive edition.McCullin's reputation has long been established as one of the greatest photographers of conflict in...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781906964320Author David HaycockFormat PaperbackImprint Old Street PublishingPublisher Old Street Publishing

When the brilliant classical architect Charles Barry won the competition to build a new, Gothic, Houses of Parliament in London he thought it was the chance of a lifetime. It swiftly turned into the most nightmarish building programme of the century...

"Chances are if you've shaved with an electric razor, blow-dried your hair, or sparked up a cigarette in the past 60 years, you owe a debt of gratitude to Dieter Rams." - New York TimesMade in close collaboration with Rams himself, this catalogue...

Clare Leighton was one of the finest engravers of the twentieth century. In the 1930s, when she settled in the countryside with her long-term partner, the political journalist Henry Noel Brailsford, she turned her creativity to the land. Gardening became...

Commissioned in 1750, the Palazzo Venier was planned as a testimony to the power and wealth of a great Venetian family, but the fortunes of the Venier family waned and the project was abandoned with only one storey complete. Empty, unfinished, and in a...

Full of sketches, doodles and journal entries, Travels with My Sketchbook gives a fascinating glimpse of the incredible journey of Chris Riddell's time as Children's Laureate.After two years travelling the length and breadth of the country, visiting...

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded... A jewel in its own right' The Times 'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and...

'Bryan's writing pops and zings like a Basquiat painting' - NOEL FIELDINGIn Bright Stars, Kate Bryan examines the lives and legacies of 30 great artists who died too young, celebrating their inspirational stories and extraordinary talent. Some of the...

Shirley, The Life of a Botanical Adventurer is the remarkable story of Dr Shirley Sherwood, scientist, author, travel writer, gardener as well as mother and grandmother. Following the tragic death of her brilliant scientist husband, Michael Cross, in a...

Giorgio de Chirico was one of the most controversial and consequential artists of the twentieth century a key member of the Paris avant-garde, he was a major influence on other artists, especially the nascent surrealists. His repertoire of motifs empty...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781590170014Author Henri MichauxFormat PaperbackPage Count 200Imprint NYRB ClassicsPublisher The New York Review of Books, IncWeight(grams)...

16th-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder redefined how people perceived human nature. Bruegel turned his critical eye to mankind's labours and pleasures, its foibles and rituals of daily life. Portraying landscapes, peasant life and biblical...

Sculptor, architect, painter, playwright, and scenographer, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was the last of the great universal artistic geniuses of early modern Italy, placed by both contemporaries and posterity in the same exalted company as Leonardo,...

Each book in this inspired series by fashion writer Camilla Morton inventively reimagines one of our favorite "Once Upon a Time" stories, blending it with the real-life story of a famed fashion designer. Lushly illustrated by the designers themselves,...

A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR AN OBSERVER BEST ART BOOK OF 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2022 'This is a wonderful book. A...

Titian's works are often seen as embodying the famous tradition of Venetian Renaissance painting. But how 'Venetian' was Titian, and can his unique works be taken as truly representative of his adoptive city? This comprehensive new study, covering...