But Gregor Muir knew them at the start; his unique memoir chronicles the birth of Young British Art. Muir, YBA’s ‘embedded journalist’, happened to be in Shoreditch and Hoxton before Jay Jopling arrived with his White Cube Gallery, when this was still a semi-derelict landscape of grotty pubs and squats. There he witnessed, amid a whirl of drunkenness, scrapes and riotous hedonism, the coming-together of a remarkable array of young artists – Hirst, the Chapman brothers, Rachel Whiteread, Sam Taylor-Wood, Angus Fairhurst - who went on to produce a fresh, irreverent, often notorious form of art - Hirst’s shark, Sarah Lucas’s two fried eggs and a kebab. By the time of the seminal Sensation show at the Royal Academy YBA had changed the art world for ever.

    Now he has produced another thrilling, iconoclastic work of cultural history that is a trailblazing biography of an era--from the eve of the First World War and the rise of Hitler to the fall of the Berlin Wall--that illuminates our current world, with its cults of celebrity and the crisis of the authentic. Solar Dance is a penetrating examination of legitimacy and truth, fakery and pretence--highly relevant to all of us today.

    Yet the great plunder -including a Gainsborough, a Goya, two Rubenses, and a Vermeer- remained at large for years. Cahill taunted the police with a string of other crimes, but in the end it was the paintings that brought him low. The challenge of disposing of such famous works forced him to reach outside his familiar world into the international arena, and when he did, his pursuers were waiting.The movie-perfect sting that broke Cahill uncovered an astonishing maze of banking and drug-dealing connections that redefined the way police view art theft. As if that were not enough, the recovery of the Vermeer-by then worth $200 million-led to a remarkable discovery about the way Vermeer achieved his photographic perspective.The Irish Game places the great theft in Ireland's long sad history of violence and follows the thread that led, as a direct result of Cahill's desperate adventures with the Russborough art, to his assassination by the IRA. With the storytelling skill of a novelist and the instincts of a detective, Matthew Hart follows the twists and turns of this celebrated case, linking it with two other world-famous thefts-of Vermeer's "The Concert" and other famous paintings at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo. Sharply observed, fully explored, The Irish Game is a masterpiece in the literature of true crime.

    Passionately argued, brilliantly written, and filled with Paglia’s trademark audacity, Glittering Images takes us on a tour through more than two dozen seminal images, some famous and some obscure or unknown—paintings, sculptures, architectural styles, performance pieces, and digital art that have defined and transformed our visual world. She combines close analysis with background information that situates each artist and image within its historical context—from the stone idols of the Cyclades to an elegant French rococo interior to Jackson Pollock’s abstract Green Silver to Renée Cox’s daring performance piece Chillin’ with Liberty. And in a stunning conclusion, she declares that the avant-garde tradition is dead and that digital pioneer George Lucas is the world’s greatest living artist. Written with energy, erudition, and wit, Glittering Images is destined to change the way we think about our high-tech visual environment.

    Alexander's Museums in Motion was hailed as a much-needed addition to the museum literature. In combining the history of museums since the eighteenth century with a detailed examination of the function of museums and museum workers in modern society, it served as an essential resource for those seeking to enter to the museum profession and for established professionals looking for an expanded understanding of their own discipline. Now, Mary Alexander has produced a newly revised edition of the classic text, bringing it the twenty-first century with coverage of emerging trends, resources, and challenges. New material also includes a discussion of the children's museum as a distinct type of institution and an exploration of the role computers play in both outreach and traditional in-person visits.

    From the taboo striped cloaks of the Middle Ages to the liberating stripes of the French and American flags, The Devil's Cloth chronicles the checkered past of this maligned and misunderstood pattern that has been linked to everything from medieval scandals to religious and political uprisings to contemporary fashion statements. The story begins nearly a thousand years ago, when the monks of the Carmelite Order were ordered by the Pope to surrender their striped garments--to superstitious minds a sure sign of the devil. Anti-stripe sentiment raged throughout the Middle Ages, becoming the de rigueur fashion for prostitutes, hangmen, lepers, court jesters, and disloyal Round Table knights. Over the centuries, the list expanded to include Jews, heretics, adulterous wives, madmen, convicts, and servants. Briefly rescued from ignominy by the Renaissance, the stripe enjoyed a resurgence in 1775, where its newly conferred status as an enduring symbol of freedom paved the way for a subsequent European comeback. With lively narrative style, Pastoureau traces the fascinating trajectory of the ubiquitous stripe from the stripe-related stress of biblical figures--Cain, Delilah, and Judas prominent among them--to the bathing suits, pinstripe suits, and pajamas of today. Not even the hapless zebra escapes the skewering lens of history. Whether its subject is horizontal or vertical, stylish or subversive, this richly informative book will appeal to readers of every stripe.

    They are alive with images and symbols--all of which are packed with meaning. But today few people, from regular visitors to tourists, truly understand the wealth of meaning in what they find there. How to Read a Church is must reading for anybody who wants to know more about what they see in a church or cathedral. It explores the principal features of churches and what each represents. It also explains: "the significance of church layout "the importance of such details as the use of colors or letters "the identity and significance of people and scenes "the symbolism of animals, plants, colors, numbers, and letters "the meaning of it all In addition to exploring these brick-and-mortar motifs, the author also reveals fascinating and unexpected details such as how to 'read' the priest and the congregation, and he shows the varied ways that church architecture and appointments reflect the Christian year. From major themes to small but vital details, How to Read a Church will serve as a fascinating guide to the history, meanings, and messages of these beautiful buildings and the treasures they contain.

    17th century to the present. Book was reprinted in 2006

    It focuses on critical analysis of the subject through a workbook section and self-quizzes along with prompts to explore the chapter's images and topics through the ArtStudy 2.0 CD-ROM, Web Site, and WebTutor? supplements.

    Now one of our most respected cultural historians chronicles these clamorous debates about the public appropriateness of paintings, sculpture, memorials, and monuments.Michael Kammen examines the nature, diversity, and persistence of major disputes generated by art and artists and shows what has changed since the 1830s and why. He looks at the role of artists and patrons, local and national governments, conservatives and liberals, and the media in creating and sustaining heated controversies. We see the notable acceleration of such episodes since the 1960s; the effect of the democratization of American museums; the quest for provocative shows to attract crowds; the increased visibility resulting from the public art movement that has stirred anger and created some of our stormiest battles; the desire of many artists and galleries to shock, provoke, and contest, engendering the perplexity, if not outright hostility, of audiences; the use of art as social criticism; the effort to include and appeal to minorities; the threat of litigation and the role of courts; and the commercialization stemming from dependence on corporate sponsorship.Kammen’s central themes include such questions as, What kind of art is most appropriate for a democratic society? What should our relationship be to Old World criteria of excellence in the arts? How can we achieve a distinctively American art? Why have so many controversies hinged upon issues of nudity, decency, and sexuality? Why has public art (most notably sculpture) become so politicized that began in the late 1960s? He explores the “death-of-art” debate since the 1970s and issues of censorship that have arisen over time. Finally, he asks whether art controversies have invariably had a negative effect—noticing the interesting ways in which minds have been changed and museums have overcome difficult episodes. He also reminds us that when New York’s Museum of Modern Art celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, President Dwight Eisenhower declared “as long as artists are at liberty to feel with high personal intensity, as long as our artists are free to create with sincerity and conviction, there will be healthy controversy and progress in art.” Kammen agrees.

    Its coverage and color capture the authors' lasting excitement for the period and its artists. A three-part organization covers international currents in the Fourteen Century, Fifteenth-Century Innovations, and Renaissance and Reformation in the Sixteenth Century. For a complete understanding of Northern Renaissance Art--its geography, patronage, and audience expectations.

    Doing up a mansion in Alabama sounded easy. But curvy girl Kara finds there are holes in the roof, a jungle outside and wildlife living in the cupboards. The only upside is the muscled, shirtless gardener who leaves her breathless...but he wouldn’t be interested in a big girl like her...right?He’s out of his depth...Hank can tame any garden. But can he figure out this fancy New Yorker who he can barely keep his hands off...and who can’t see the beauty in her delicious curves?As Kara tries to adjust to a town full of big skirts and homemade lemonade, Hank fights to find a way into her closed-off heart. Temperatures soon rise...but can he convince a city girl to put down roots...and have his children?

    Her late, much-loved surrogate father apparently had some matchmaking in mind when he arranged for a sexy architect to take over his home and company. Too bad Derek is a single dad who's been there, done that, and intends to remain unattached. Their priorities are totally out of sync. Their chemistry? Unbelievably potent. Thanks to his former mentor, Derek Logan just inherited an architectural business, a house and the gorgeous client next door. He's keeping away from forever relationships, but this doctor's sensual touch is addictive. Helping Macy build her dream medical complex awakens Derek to how much more he now wants out of life. But has he hesitated too long to prove he's ready for and deserving of her love?

    When she was a gullible teenager, she believed boyfriend Seth to be a modern-day brooding Heathcliff. Fourteen years later, when Seth has proved to be more like Homer Simpson, Cara vows never to fall in love again, and turns her back on romance for good. Leaving Seth behind, Cara secures a job as nanny at Moreland Hall on the Yorkshire Moors, but is shocked to discover her new employer is none other than the tall, dark, and disturbingly handsome Mr Rochester. Her resolve to be more level-headed is soon tested when strange things begin to happen at Moreland Hall. Why is Mr Rochester's mother hidden away upstairs? What are the strange noises she hears from the attic? Why is the housekeeper so reluctant to leave her on her own? And where is Mr Rochester's mysterious wife? As events unfold, Cara knows she must keep a cool head, curb her imagination – and resist Mr Rochester at all costs. After all, one Brontë hero in a lifetime is more than enough for any woman. Two would be downright greedy. Wouldn't it?

    This was not the city of decadence, carnival, and nostalgia familiar to us from later centuries. It was a ruthless imperial city, with a shrewd commercial base, like ancient Athens, which it resembled in its combination of art and sea empire. Venice: Lion City presents a new way of relating the history of the city through its art and, in turn, illuminates the art through the city's history. It is illustrated with more than 130 works of art, 30 in full color. Garry Wills gives us a unique view of Venice's rulers, merchants, clerics, laborers, its Jews, and its women as they created a city that is the greatest art museum in the world, a city whose allure remains undiminished after centuries. Like Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches, on the Dutch culture in the Golden Age, Venice: Lion City will take its place as a classic work of history and criticism.