Book picks similar to
Holbein: Capturing Character by Anne T. Woollett
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Hazzard Blue
Tabitha A. Lane - 2015
Hunt, Eyes Wide Shut?” Kathryn Hazzard needs a miracle if she's going to pay her huge tax bill and urgently repair Hazzard Hall’s leaking roof - inheriting the family stately home isn't the rose garden it’s cracked up to be. When salvation turns up on her doorstep in the form of gorgeous Daniel Hunt, can she risk her reputation by letting him use her beloved home as the venue for his high class and outrageous sex party? It's tempting. But then lots of things are tempting, aren't they? It doesn't mean they're good for you. Just ask Eve about that apple… HAZZARD BLUE IS AN EROTIC ROMANCE WITH NO CLIFFHANGER!
The Louvre: The Many Lives of the World's Most Famous Museum
James Gardner - 2020
Yet few of them are aware of the remarkable history of that place and of the buildings themselves—a fascinating story that historian James Gardner elegantly chronicles in the first full-length history of the Louvre in English.More than 7,000 years ago, men and women camped on a spot called Le Louvre for reasons unknown; a clay quarry and a vineyard supported a society there in the first centuries AD. A thousand years later, King Philippe Auguste of France constructed a fortress there in 1191, just outside the walls of a city far smaller than the Paris we know today. Intended to protect the capital against English soldiers stationed in Normandy, the fortress became a royal residence under Charles V two centuries later, and then the monarchy’s principal residence under the great Renaissance king François I in 1546. It remained so until 1682 when Louis XIV moved his entire court to Versailles. Thereafter the fortunes of the Louvre languished until the tumultuous days of the French Revolution when, during the Reign of Terror in 1793, it first opened its doors to display the nation’s treasures. Ever since—through the Napoleonic era, the Commune, two World Wars, to the present—the Louvre has been a witness to French history, and expanded to become home to a legendary collection, including such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, whose often-complicated and mysterious origins form a spectacular narrative that rivals the building’s grand stature.
Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic
John Wilmerding - 2005
Since then, critics and scholars have largely ignored him. Wyeth, however, who is age 88 at the date of publication, has continued to paint, to the delight of his admirers, collectors, and the art-loving public. Now, in association with the High Museum exhibition, Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic takes a fresh look at the work of one of America's most beloved artists.In examining his entire oeuvre, the book celebrates the artist's ongoing love affair with everyday life-domestic, natural, and architectural. Found throughout Wyeth's work, these objects form patterns that illuminate core themes and reveal the artist wrestling with issues of memory, temporality, embodiment, and the metaphysical. Organized chronologically and thematically, the book explores how the artist's approach to these subjects was formed in his early career, and has been revisited in new and surprising ways in recent years.Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic comprises 150 tempera paintings and 50 drawings and watercolors-including his most-famous works, but also many published here for the first time.
Make Do and Mend a Broken Heart
Katey Lovell - 2020
With his death, Leanne finds herself stony broke, faced with an uninhabitable home and lacking even the basic skills to do it up herself.With the help of the friendly woman who runs the library and the reluctant assistance of the man who works in the local hardware shop, the cottage is lovingly restored. But broken hearts aren't so easy to fix... are they?
The Silk Weaver's Wife
Debbie Rix - 2017
It was of a young woman, seated at an easel; she was painting a silk moth, its eggs nestling on a mulberry leaf.’ 1704: Anastasia is desperate to escape her controlling and volatile father and plans to marry in secret. But instead of the life she has dreamed of, she finds herself trapped in Venice, the unwilling wife of a silk weaver. Despite her circumstances, Anastasia is determined to change her fate… 2017: Millie wants more from her relationship and more from her life. So when her boss Max abruptly ends their affair, she takes the opportunity to write a feature in Italy. Staying in a gorgeous villa, Millie unexpectedly falls in love with the owner, Lorenzo. Together they begin to unravel an incredible story, threaded through generations of silk weavers. And Millie finds herself compelled to discover the identity of a mysterious woman in a portrait… A gorgeously written, richly evocative story, The Silk Weaver’s Wife is perfect for readers who love Kate Morton and Gill Paul. What everyone is saying about Debbie Rix: ‘A spellbinding, epic journey spanning centuries, across countries, continents and vast perilous oceans… The past is vividly brought back to life in great detail and in full colour, from the food they ate to the clothes they wore… I really enjoyed reading this magnificent story.’ Relax and Read Books ‘Perfect historical fiction mixed with present day. I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this book. I gobbled it up over the afternoon and night. Definitely want to read this author again.’ Nik Book Lover ‘The book is beautifully written and the Italian setting is perfectly drawn in both modern and historical settings, with sufficient detail to bring Pisa vividly to life, clearly by someone who loves it and knows it well… this is a wonderful story.’ Being Anne Reading ‘An amazing book rich in detail and filled with characters you are rooting for… Now having read two books from Debbie Rix she has proven to me just what a storyteller she is as she takes her readers on a journey through the past to a time that should not be forgotten. This book is a beautifully crafted novel full of secrets, love, friendship and family bonds… Definitely one not to be missed.’ Shaz’s Book Blog ‘A wonderfully written novel… definitely a book to add to your library. Not only was it highly informative, but immensely entertaining.’ Historical Novel Review ‘An enchanting, engaging tale that I recommend to anyone interested in Italian history and architecture, or just a good novel.’ History and Other Thoughts ‘Debbie manages to evoke the sights, sounds and smells as though you are standing right there. A truly lovely novel.’ Reading Room with a View ‘Debbie had me completely transported back to 12th Century Pisa, and I loved every second of it.
One Perfect Witness
Pat Young - 2018
On each path, a boy, one carrying a gun. When their paths cross, a shot is fired and a boy dies. That leaves two one killer and one perfect witness.This killer will stop at nothing to make sure the witness says nothing. Difficult for most people, even for someone who’s been guarding a secret of his own for five years. What if the witness decides he’s been silent too long?
Sometimes even the unspeakable must be spoken, if we can find the words.
Pat Young is the best-selling author of the psychological thrillers Till The Dust Settles and I Know Where You Live. One Perfect Witness is a suspenseful and gripping thriller which will appeal to fans of authors like Mark Edwards, Cara Hunter and Rachel Abbott.
From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA
Pete Croatto - 2020
Far beyond simply being a sports league, the NBA has become an entertainment and pop culture juggernaut. From all kinds of team logo merchandise to officially branded video games and players crossing over into reality television, film, fashion lines, and more, there is an inseparable line between sports and entertainment. But only four decades ago, this would have been unthinkable. Featuring writing that leaps off the page with energy and wit, journalist and basketball fan Pete Croatto takes us behind the scenes to the meetings that lead to the monumental American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, revolutionizing the NBA’s image. He pays homage to legendary talents including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan and reveals how two polar-opposite rookies, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, led game attendance to skyrocket and racial lines to dissolve. Croatto also dives into CBS’s personality-driven coverage of key players, as well as other cable television efforts, which launched NBA players into unprecedented celebrity status. Essential reading whether you’re a casual or longtime fan, From Hang Time to Prime Time is an enthralling and entertaining celebration of basketball history.
Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open
Phoebe Hoban - 2014
Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open is the first biography to assess Freud's work and life, showing how the two converge. In Hoban's dramatic and fast-paced narrative, we follow Freud from his birthplace in Berlin to London, where he fled with his family in the 1930s, and then to Paris, where he mixed with Picasso and Giacometti. He led a dissolute life in Soho after the war, gambling and womanizing with fierce energy. He painted his wives nude, his children nude, himself nude. He married twice, had an uncountable number of children, and kept working through it all, painting everyone from close friend and rival Francis Bacon to Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. He sometimes spent years on a single painting, which could require hundreds of hours of sittings. However various his subjects, his intent was always the same: to find and reveal the character hidden within by means of his intense visual imagination. Along with its startling biographical revelations, the great thrill of Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open is the way Hoban deconstructs the art itself—its influences, models, and technique—to show how Freud reproduced reality on the canvas while breaking down the illusion that what we see is real.
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera
Ron Schick - 2009
Working alongside skilled photographers, Rockwell acted as director, carefully orchestrating models, selecting props, and choosing locations for the photographs -- works of art in their own right -- that served as the basis of his iconic images. Readers will be surprised to find that many of his most memorable characters -- the girl at the mirror, the young couple on prom night, the family on vacation -- were friends and neighbors who served as his amateur models. In this groundbreaking book, author and historian Ron Schick delves into the archive of nearly 20,000 photographs housed at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Featuring reproductions of Rockwell's black-and-white photographs and related full-color artworks, along with an incisive narrative and quotes from Rockwell models and family members, this book will intrigue anyone interested in photography, art, and Americana.
The Viscount Besieged
Elizabeth Bailey - 1996
Will Isadora follow her dreams, or save her family…?1798, EnglandIsadora Alvescot has always dreamed of becoming a famous actress on the stage.But when her beloved papa suddenly dies, her family’s future is thrown into turmoil.With no immediate male heir, the family estate has been bequeathed to a distant relative – a viscount named Lord Roborough.And now Isadora is being pressured to consider matrimony.When Lord Roborough arrives, Isadora is desperate to do all she can to find out his intentions and determine whether he is a friend or a foe…Will he allow her family to remain living on the estate? Will Isadora still be free to pursue her dreams of acting?Or will she be forced to bend her will to another and become a wife?
INCONVENIENCE GONE: The Short Tragic Life Of Brandon Sims
Diane Marger Moore - 2018
Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon's father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle's shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon's body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder. And she would have except the detective didn't believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice.
Rooms of the Mind
Makenzie Campbell - 2021
Here you’ll find an exploration of pain, heartbreak and wonder at what the world might bring us next.
Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's
R.A. Scotti - 2006
A. Scotti traces the defining event of a glorious epoch: the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Begun by the ferociously ambitious Pope Julius II in 1506, the endeavor would span two tumultuous centuries, challenge the greatest Renaissance masters--Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante--and enrage Martin Luther. By the time it was completed, Shakespeare had written all of his plays, the Mayflower had reached Plymouth--and Rome had risen with its astounding basilica to become Europe's holy metropolis. A dazzling portrait of human achievement and excess, Basilica is a triumph of historical writing.