During the last two centuries BC, the Western Han dynasty of China forged the first stable empire covering all of China and presided over a golden age that shaped much of subsequent Chinese art and culture. From family values to the structure of the...

This captivating selection of 70 intimate black and white photographs conveys Patti Smith's singular experience as a photographer as it relates to many facets of her fascinating life and career. Exquisitely designed and produced, "Patti Smith: Camera...

For over a century the Chicago art community has struggled to define itself in relation to other urban art centers. While prominent American artists past and present have had strong connections to Chicago, many left to make their reputations elsewher...

"Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised", wrote Apsley Cherry-Garrard of his time with the 1910 Scott expedition to the South Pole. And that's how most of us still imagine polar exp...

Not for sale in selected countries! From comics icon Stan Lee, creator of the Mighty Marvel Universe and characters such as Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and the X-Men, comes the ultimate how-to book for aspiring comic book writers. In these pages, a...

This is a lavishly illustrated exploration of the rise of printmaking in Southern California and its legacy on post-war American art. The first goal of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, founded in Los Angeles in 1960, was to "create a pool of master...

In September 1644 the election of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj catapulted his family to the height of Roman society. From that moment on, the Pamphilj became active patrons of the arts, which were harnessed as the visual expression of the family's new id...

Art is often appreciated for its ability to delight our eyes and refresh our minds. But it can also serve as a powerful vehicle for exploring darker emotions, such as fear, sadness, and grief. And while these themes have an artistic history dating ba...

This is the first systematic and truly methodical study of de Kooning's idiosyncratic working methods and use of materials. This in-depth study of the paintings of Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Dutch-born American abstract expressionist painter, fro...

What is still life? We are familiar with the objects portrayed but have difficulty explaining the essence of this popular art form. Erika Langmuir examines the special fascination of still life, and what distinguishes it from other categories of pain...