Thames&Hudson

Frank Lloyd Wright is a one-man phenomenon — between 1887 and 1959 he completed more than 400 commissions in the USA as well as writing numerous books and giving frequent lectures. Thousands of visitors annually flock to the fifty Wright buildings in America that are open to the public and he is an inspiration to countless architects and designers everywhere. 50 Favourite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright showcases his very best work in interior design. Here are the most glorious living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens, public spaces and more from the buildings that Wright designed over his prolific seven-decade career. Exemplifying the architect’s unfailing principles of unity, simplicity and respect for nature, these rooms also present a chronological picture of his stylistic development. Stunning photographs highlight furniture, fireplaces and lighting, carpets and fabrics, stained glass and china. A visual delight, this is the perfect gift for lovers of this most famous and popular of architects.

This volume presents photographer Cartier-Bresson's own selection of 130 of his photographs of Paris, taken over 50 years. Accompanying text discusses the history of Cartier-Bresson's engagement with the city and its place in his achievement.

Jewelry was one of the most successful expressions of Art Nouveau style. This book provides an account of the movement that spread through Europe and the US. Biographies of over 300 designers are included, with a guide to identification, from the elegance of the French masters — Vever, Lalique and Fouquet — to the linear, geometric designs of the Viennese — Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser.

By the time of the Paris exhibition of 1925 from which Art Deco took its name, the idea that an interior and its furnishings should form a complete design — a «total look» — dominated the thinking of both designers and their clients. Studios began to emerge to serve the needs of a design and style-conscious middle-class. This text displays the flourishing design ingenuity through contemporary photographs and illustrations of selected interiors complemented with modern photographs of individual pieces. It traces the sylistic evolution and dominant motifs of Deco, the triumph of the 1925 exhibition and the pure «high style» of the Paris ensembliers; the growth of Streamline Moderne offshoots in the US; the international revival of Deco as a decorative style for a new generation of post-modern designers; and the restoration of many Art Deco interiors to their original state.

Piero Fornasetti established an enduring reputation as a designer with a style that was all his own – a style based on illusionism, architectural perspectives and a host of personal leitmotifs, such as the sun, playing cards and fishes, from which he spun seemingly endless variations. 'He makes objects speak' said Gio Ponti, his friend and longtime collaborator. Designers and collectors today celebrate his use of allusion, unsettling images and striking juxtaposition to create uiue, whimsical objects. Fornasetti's masterpieces shock, delight and inspire.

Everybody concerned with the design of interiors or gardens will find this book an inspiration: everybody who knows and loves the French will enjoy an intimate record of a mode de vie of enviable ease and charm. The French touch cannot be taught, for it is the creation of a way of life. To be understood, the classic poise and insouciance which create it must be experienced and here is the perfect opportunity. A wealth of lavish colour photographs take the reader into dozens of the most beautiful homes of France and the regional organization of the book reflects a paramount respect for local traditions. Many are historic buildings, lovingly restored and furnished with brilliant flair, but by no means all are châteaux or mansions. Here are farmhouses and village homes, modest townhouses and tiny flats, a converted loft and even an old silkworm factory. All are lived in, and all reflect in every detail the taste and personality of their owners. The gardens have been laid out, embellished and cared for with equal devotion and élan, whether acres of formal landscape or a small townhouse patio.

The furniture designs of William Morris, C. R. Ashbee and Charles Rennie Mackintosh are even more popular today than in their own lifetimes. The work of other figures, such as William Burges and Christopher Dresser is also being avidly collected. Jeremy Cooper’s survey contains an astonishing range of photographs and drawings: nearly 700 illustrations offer a uniquely comprehensive coverage of nineteenth-century furniture. Every major designer is represented, and the choice of pictures includes little-known pieces from private collections. Rare contemporary photographs of Victorian and Edwardian interiors show how the furniture formed part of complete decorative ensembles. Extensive commentaries on the illustrations and detailed text provide the essential background – wherever possible using the actual words of the designers, architects and critics themselves.

For over twenty years, Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born, English-educated architect, has symbolized the vanguard of contemporary architecture. Although only a handful of her projects have been built — all to great acclaim — her continually new ideas stun the world of design with their commitment to revolutionary forms. As a result she is one of the most respected architects in the world, with an enormous following of students and practitioners, visionaries and designers. In this book — the first and definitive record of her entire career — Hadid’s vision of architecture is revealed: at once thrillingly dynamic and intensely thoughtful. She has been asked to countless international competitions, and won many, the most controversial being that for the Cardiff Opera House. Hadid’s complete work is illustrated here by her electrifying drawings and paintings, plus hundreds of sketches, plans and models. Texts written by the architect and her office reveal specific concerns and solutions to each project.

An essential dual-purpose handbook on imperial China: a highly readable popular history and a unique work of reference. Contents include: • Biographical accounts of all 157 emperors of China • Timelines throughout with visual guides to the length and important events of each emperor's reign • Datafiles for every emperor listing key information • Extensive quotations from contemporary sources • Many special features ranging from the Great Wall to the Opium War • Maps detailing, for example, the Silk Roads and the maritime expeditions of the Ming Dynasty

Photography's most original artist presents the celebrities of her time in a remarkable collection of portraits. This work reveals the growth of an artist who saw no artificial boundary between art and the paying job and who succeeded in putting her indelible stamp on the visual imagination.

From the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, the Place de la Concorde to Montmartre, life in Paris is charged with elegance — from private homes and the varied architectural styles along its boulevards, to the quays of the Seine, winding streets, cosy bistros, and intimate restaurants. Gardens, including the Luxembourg and the Tuileries, provide an outdoor paradise in the heart of the city. Lavishly illustrated, Living in Paris includes an extensive guide to the capitol's best addresses; it is an inspiring resource for anyone who has strolled along the streets or dreamed of visiting the City of Lights.

Henri Cartier-Bresson reveals — as only a few great artists have done consistently — the richness, the sensibilities, and the varieties of the human experience in the twentieth century. This volume of Aperture's Masters of Photography series confirms the genius of the photographer whose pictures with the new, smaller hand-held cameras and faster films defined the idea of the decisive moment in photography. Cartier-Bresson's imagery is intimate, but it is also utterly respectful of his subjects. In his wide travels throughout the world, he has captured universal meanings through the glimpses into the lives of individuals in scores of countries. Each photograph is in itself a masterpiece of dramatic form; taken together, Cartier-Bresson's works constitute a personal history of epic scope. Henri Cartier-Bresson presents forty-two of the artist's photographs, each recognized a masterpiece of the medium. In addition, Cartier-Bresson offers a brief statement of his own artistic ethos, his striving for the spontaneity through intuition that imbues his work.

Celebrating Eastern elegance as a decorative style, this sumptuous book illustrates how it can be achieved in both the East and the West. Here are the refined craftsmanship of Thai textiles and ceramics; traditional statuary from Burma; the minimalist perfection of a Japanese apartment. Increasing accessibility has opened up a huge range of objects and designs which can be used and applied just as effectively in Western interiors as in the traditional dwellings of Japan, Thailand, Burma, and the other countries of eastern Asia. Much of In the Oriental Style is devoted to innovative Western interiors which draw their inspiration from Oriental design and objects. A wealth of individual pieces – antiques, ornamental screens, lacquerware, basketry and furniture – is illustrated and described, showing the enormous variety in decoration that even the simplest objects can bring to a Western home or garden.

This new book brings together for the first time a collection of photographs taken on two separate visits to Mexico — the first in 1934, just as the young twenty-seven-year-old was embarking on his photographic career, and the second some thirty years later. The dramatic images, preceded by a thought-provoking commentary from Carlos Fuentes, record with brutal accuracy the panorama of everyday life — an execution wall; crowded markets; stark, dusty landscapes; children playing in alleys — a unique record of a country and its people that includes some of the most famous and powerful photographic images of the century.

The arts and crafts of Morocco express a centuries-long intermingling of influences from Africa, Islam, and from the alliance of the Moors and the Spaniards. Yet despite their versatility and diversity, Moroccan crafts are relatively little known outside the country. The author's account, based on his own first-hand research, examines all the media one-by-one: textiles, jewelry; leather, wood and metalwork; and pottery and ceramics. These objects derive either from a rural lifestyle, with symbols and patterns that express the powerful animistic beliefs of the Berber country artisans, or from the cities, in which Islamic tenets provide the vigorous context. All of them are thus endowed with a spiritually charged meaning to add both their utility and to their beauty. This book contains guidance for collectors and analyzes the belief systems, festivals and ceremonies to which the arts relate.

A collection of over 360 photographic images of the human body. As well as bodies celebrated by photographers of sport, dance and fashion, the are bodies scrutinized by medical and anatomical photographers. The artists featured include Nadar, Alfred Stieglitz and Robert Mapplethorpe.

The National Railway Museum in York has a large and varied collection of railway art and artefacts; this books shows over 200 of the best posters dating from the railways' heyday prior to nationalization. In this period, renowned poster artists of the calibre of Edward McKnight Kauffer, Tom Purvis and Cassandre were commissioned by the railway groups to promote not only their lines but also the most beautiful and appealing cities and towns in their areas for tourists to visit. The railway companies virtually invented the package tour, and promoted it intensively not only in the UK but also in the USA. The introduction explains the history of the companies during the period covered, and examines their attitudes to poster advertising. The book is then divided into four sections, one for each of the railway groups: the resulting selection makes an analysis of poster art in the UK in its golden age of the Twenties and Thirties. Extended captions explain the context of the works, and information about the artists is provided. The authors are on the curatorial staff of the National Railway Museum, York.

Alastair Duncan introduces us to the work of more than eighty architects, furniture makers and interior designers. The colour and monochrome photographs – almost all of them specially commissioned for this book – form a valuable portfolio of Art Deco furniture for anyone seeking comprehensive information about this design movement. This volume will have lasting appeal for collectors as well as the general public.

An absorbing reappraisal of Les Fauves—their ideas, paintings and the critical response to their works.

Explore a truly astonishing range of interests, philosophies, religions, and cultures — from alchemy to angels, Buddhism to Hinduism, myth to magic. The distinguished authors bring a wealth of knowledge, visionary thinking, and accessible writing to each intriguing subject in these lavishly illustrated, large-format paperback books.

From his early work for Vogue to his portraits of the rich and famous, Helmut Newton (1920–2004) conveys a unique vision of a wealthy and glamorous world that often shocks but never ceases to fascinate. He lived and worked all over the world and was one of the most internationally famous and controversial photographers of the 20th century. His shots of haute couture and the beau monde are instantly recognizable, having appeared in virtually every major magazine in Europe and the United States. PHOTOFILE brings together the best work of the world’s greatest photographers, in an attractive format and at an easily affordable price. Handsome and collectable, the books are produced to the highest standards. Each volume contains some sixty full-page reproductions printed in superb duotone, together with a critical introduction and a full bibliography. The series has been awarded the first annual prize for distinguished photographic books by the International Center of Photography, New York.

Born in 1932 in Pennsylvania, Duane Michals has become best known for his compelling narrative sequences, including The Voyage of the Spirit After Death, Paradise Regained and The Fallen Angel. His oeuvre reflects a haunting obsession with life and death, fantasy and reality – thematic opposites expressed through his technical use of double exposures, superimposed images, props, mirrors and the ambiguous notations that often appear on the margins of the photographs. PHOTOFILE brings together the best work of the world’s greatest photographers, in an attractive format and at an easily affordable price. Handsome and collectable, the books are produced to the highest standards. Each volume contains some sixty full-page reproductions printed in superb duotone, together with a critical introduction and a full bibliography. The series has been awarded the first annual prize for distinguished photographic books by the International Center of Photography, New York.

Available again, this beautifully produced collection of fashion illustration celebrates the richness of fashion drawing in Vogue magazine. William Packer, painter, writer and art critic, has collected the very best drawings from over seventy years of Vogue for this inspired volume, which features the work of hundreds of artists, from Edouard Benito, Rene Bouche, and Pierre Brissaud, to Salvador Dali. Their brilliant drawings chronicle not only fashion but also, with wit and delicacy, the international social scene.

Some 15 years ago Cartier-Bresson decided to lay down the Leica and return to his first love painting and drawing to which he brings the same magic that infused his famous photographs. The foreword by John Russell (chief art critic, The New York Times) and introduction by Jean Clair.