Books published by Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd

Discribes and illustrates the making of the precision timekeeper, at each stage with line drawings and brief explanatory captions. This handbook provides an insight to the enthusiast and watch-collector who, until its publication, had often been able only to admire the superb craftsmanship of a fine watch without understanding how it works.

Extensively illustrated, this is the first accessible publication on the history of tapestry in over two decades.Woven with dazzling images from history, mythology and the natural world, and breath-taking in their craftsmanship, tapestries were among the most valuable and high-status works of art available in Europe from the medieval period to the end of the eighteenth century. Over 600 historic examples hang in National Trust properties in England and Wales - the largest collection in the UK.This beautifully illustrated study by tapestry expert Helen Wyld, in association with the National Trust, offers new insights into these works, from the complex themes embedded in their imagery, to long-forgotten practices of sacred significance and ritual use. The range of historical, mythological and pastoral themes that recur across the centuries is explored, while the importance of the 'revival' of tapestry from the late nineteenth century is considered in detail for the first time. Although focussed on the National Trust's collection, this book offers a fresh perspective on the history of tapestry across Europe.Both the tapestry specialist and the keen art-history enthusiast can find a wealth of information here about woven wall hangings and furnishings, including methods of production, purchase and distribution, evolving techniques and technologies, the changing trends of subject matter across time, and how tapestries have been collected, used and displayed in British country houses across the centuries.

A long-awaited reprint of an important illustrated reference work on the general history of the watch from 1500 to 1980.When Watches was first published in 1965 it quickly gained for itself a reputation as the foremost general history of the subject and, following the expanded edition in 1979 which covered recent years past 1830, this has remained unchallenged in horological history.In this long-awaited reprinted edition, collectors and horological students can again make use of the reference illustrations and history in this work as approached by the leading horology historians and clockmakers of the twentieth century. Clutton and Daniels write expertly on the vast history of watches, through the changing tastes and styles of collectors and makers, as well as imparting their own knowledge on various technical aspects within the watches.The expansive historical section encompasses both decorative and mechanical aspects of mid-sixteenth to late twentieth century watches, including those by George Daniels himself, detailing the rich history behind more modern designs and fascinations. These later years include a variety of semi-experimental escapements, as well as covering the development of the precision watch and work leading to it by Ferdinand Berthoud and Pierre Le Roy, discussed alongside John Arnold in England, to satisfy the technical-minded collector.Horology and collecting have grown with the changing technologies, and watches continue to be produced to an exceptional technological standard. Precision watches from the 1730-1930 period are covered in detail, as well as high standard Swiss and American watches of the last hundred years; these highly complicated watches benefit greatly from having both colour and mono illustrations to clarify the details. For a truly comprehensive understanding of escapements, photographs of these have been included alongside a critical approach to this essential mechanism. Since its first publication, Watches has provided an essential work of reference and history behind some of the most renowned minds and creations. Now reprinted for a new generation of collectors and students, and featuring over 600 illustrations, the technical and decorative elements of historical watches can be studied and enjoyed once more.

LONG LISTED FOR THE WILLIAM MB BERGER PRIZE FOR BRITISH ART HISTORY 2022.A major survey of Dame Laura Knight, first female Royal Academician and popular British artist of the 20th century.Laura Knight (1877-1970) was one of the most famous and popular English artists of the twentieth century. She was the first woman to have a solo exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, in 1965. In the following decades her realist style of painting fell out of fashion and her work become largely overlooked. A new generation has rediscovered her work, finding a contemporary resonance in her depictions of women at work, of people from marginalized communities and her contributions as a war artist.This beautifully illustrated book, which accompanies a major exhibition at MK Gallery, provides an overview of Knight's illustrious career: from her training at Nottingham Art School at the age of 13 and her time in North Yorkshire and Cornwall, to her visits to traveller communities and a segregated American hospital. It also features her circus, ballet and theatre scenes, paintings of women during the war and her late paintings of nature.The selection of over 160 works combines celebrated paintings with less known graphic and design works, including ceramics, jewellery and costumes that reflect the artist's enduring interest in the everyday activities of people from all walks of life.

This is the first book to concentrate on Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals's highly innovative approach to male portraiture.Frans Hals is one of the greatest portrait painters of all time and, together with Rembrandt, is one of the most eminent seventeenth-century Dutch artists. Published to coincide with the Wallace Collection's exhibition of the same name, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait explores the artist's highly innovative approach to male portraiture, from the beginning of his career in the 1610s until the end of his life in 1666.Through pose, expression and virtuosic painterly technique, Hals revolutionised the male portrait into something entirely new and fresh, capturing and revealing his sitters' characters like no one else before him. This book includes the first in-depth study of Hals's great masterpiece, The Laughing Cavalier, from 1624. The extravagantly dressed young man, confidently posed with his left arm akimbo in the extreme foreground of the picture and seemingly penetrating into the viewer's space, has been charming audiences for over a century.Richly illustrated, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait situates The Laughing Cavalier within the artist's larger oeuvre and demonstrates how, at a relatively early point in his career, Hals was able to achieve this great masterpiece.

A fascinating record of how London and Londoners were shaped by nearly 700 years of public executions.More frequent in London than in any other city or town in Britain, these morbid spectacles often attracted tens of thousands of onlookers at locations across the capital and were a major part of Londoners'' lives for centuries. From Smithfield to Kennington, Tyburn to Newgate Prison, public executions became embedded in London''s landscape and people''s lives. Even today, hints of this dark chapter in London''s history can still be seen across the city.Featuring the lives and legacies of those who died or who witnessed public executions first hand from 1196 to 1868, this book tells the rarely told and often tragic human stories behind these events. It includes a range of fascinating objects, paintings and documents, many from the Museum of London''s collections, such as the vest said to have been worn by King Charles I when he was executed, portraits of ''celebrity criminals'', and last letters of the condemned. From the sites of execution to the thriving ''gallows'' economy, the book reveals the role that Londoners played as both spectators and participants in this most public demonstration of state power over the life and death of its citizens.

During the five hundred years that horology has been accepted as a separate art only a dozen or so men have made a positive contribution to its progress.Included in this little group of masters is the illustrious name of Abraham Louis Breguet (1747–1823), the arch-mécanicien in an age of mechanics. His contribution was as brilliant as it was original and, during a period when horological fashion was the slave of science, he lifted the watchmaker’s art to a new dimension of visual and technical excellence. In doing so he radically changed the whole concept of horology and transformed it into an art form that won him the adulation of Europe.The unceasing search for perfection in the performance of his products led Breguet to the invention of mechanical principles that even today, are used in the design of the watch. His influence on the appearance and style of the watch was dramatic and his most complicated examples maintained the slim, elegant appearance that was to revolutionise watchmaking.Breguet’s extraordinary ability in all branches of horology achieved for him the reputation of a genius, the patronage of kings and – rarest of all – the respect of the horological world. His products have never lost favour and many, in constant use, have been handed down through generations to their present owners. The passing of the years, with their many changes of fashion, have not diminished the beauty of the proportions and appearance of Breguet’s work.The Art of Breguet is the complete, illustrated history of the work of Abraham Louis Breguet by the late George Daniels who has provided a detailed study of Breguet’s horological philosophy that explains so many of the misunderstood aspects of his work. He describes in detail the complexity of Breguet’s art and, by so doing, supplants the mystique that has surrounded it with a clearer understanding of its function. Over one hundred line drawings illustrate the progress of technical development and each is accompanied by an analysis of the mechanism and its intended purpose.The history of the development of the internal and external appearance of the vast range of Breguet’s products is illustrated in a separate section, arranged in the order of manufacture to reveal the pattern of change in appearance. Each item is accompanied by a description of its external characteristics, mechanism, period of manufacture and, where possible, the date of sale.This reprinted edition, with a foreword by Emmanuel Breguet, has been long awaited and is addressed equally to the student and to the collector of Breguet’s work.

A fascinating record of the early years of Thomas Lawrence: the story of an exceptional young portraitist and future president of the Royal Academy. Like his Renaissance predecessors Raphael, Michelangelo and D├╝rer, the young Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was considered to be a boy genius. This survey of Lawrence''s first twenty-five years tells the story of an exceptional artist growing up at the end of the century when Britain created its own unique artistic voice. It accompanies a major exhibition at the Holburne Museum in Bath and includes previously unpublished works as well as some of Lawrence''s most brilliant masterpieces.Lawrence first came to public attention when he was cited in a scientific paper on ''early genius in children''; shortly afterwards his family moved to Bath where the eleven-year-old was kept busy making likenesses of the spa town''s fashionable visitors. By 1790, his spectacular portraits were the most applauded works in the Royal Academy''s annual exhibition, which opened days before his twenty-first birthday. This book considers the young artist''s self-image as a prodigy, the impact of Bath''s rich cultural life on his formation, the rapid development of his painting technique following his move to London, and his use of celebrity, print media and the Royal Academy to grow his reputation. Particular attention is given to Lawrence''s perceptive depictions of old age and bold celebrations of youthful energy. His portraits from this time present a fascinating glimpse of British high society at the turn of a memorable century: they include celebrities such as the Duchess of Devonshire, Emma Hamilton and actresses Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Farren, as well as political leaders, members of the Bluestocking circle and the Royal Family.

The first major book on Riesener, one of the greatest French cabinet-makers of all time. Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806) was one of the greatest French cabinet-makers of all time, supplying the court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and furnishing royal and aristocratic houses. His pieces are of exquisite design and superb workmanship, using the most costly materials throughout and becoming a byword for all that is admired in French furniture worldwide. This first major monograph on Riesener traces his career in pre-revolutionary France, highlighting his work as the most celebrated cabinet maker of the Louis XVI period and focusing on the enduring appeal of his furniture through the nineteenth century and beyond. Based on the extensive collections of the Wallace Collection, Waddesdon Manor and the Royal Collection it is fully illustrated with new photography and includes much new research making it essential not only to art historians and collectors, but also to decorative arts enthusiasts and lovers of fine furniture.

A beautifully illustrated guide to Rubens''s two greatest landscape paintings. Rubens: The Two Great Landscapes is a handsomely illustrated monograph that brings together Rubens''s two greatest landscape paintings: A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning and The Rainbow Landscape. Painted as pendants, the pair have been in London since 1803, when they were separated, the former eventually entering the collection of the National Gallery and the latter that of The Wallace Collection. The book puts the creation of these two landscapes into the full context of Rubens''s later life and his semi-retirement. It demonstrates how they are the zenith of his achievements as a landscape painter and explores how he drew skillfully on Flemish influences, including Bruegel, in creating two highly original compositions.Written to engage and appeal to the non-specialist reader and academic alike, the book makes an important contribution to scholarship in the field, including original technical research and new photography that show how these complex compositions evolved iteratively as the panels onto which they were painted were expanded. It also presents an updated and almost complete history of the provenance of the two paintings describing their passage through eminent collections from the time of Rubens''s death until they reached their respective collections in London, separated by less than a mile.

UK Winner of the Entertaining category of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2020Food defines us as individuals, communities, and nations - we are what we eat and, equally, what we don't eat. When, where, why, how and with whom we eat are crucial to our identity. Feast and Fast presents novel approaches to understanding the history and culture of food and eating in early modern Europe. This richly illustrated book will showcase hidden and newly-conserved treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum and other collections in and around Cambridge. It will tease out many contemporary and controversial issues - such as the origins of food and food security, overconsumption in times of austerity, and our relationship with animals and nature - through short research-led entries by some of the world's leading cultural and food historians. Feast and Fast explores food-related objects, images, and texts from the past in innovative ways and encourages us to rethink our evolving relationship with food.

Trimmings are often overlooked as mere details of a furnished interior but in the past they were seen as vital and costly elements in the decoration of a room. They were used not only on curtains and beds but also on wall hangings, upholstered seat furniture and cushions, providing a visual feast for the eye with their colour and intricate detail. Sometimes more expensive than the rich fabrics they enhanced, trimmings are often the only surviving evidence of a lost decorative scheme, reapplied to replacement textiles or found as fragments in the attic.This book, the first of its kind, traces their history in Britain and Ireland from 1320 to 1970, examining the design and usage of tassels, fringe, braid (woven lace), gimp and cord and their dependence on French fashion. Lavishly illustrated with new photography, the substantial text links surviving items in historic houses and museums to written evidence, paintings, drawings and other primary sources to provide a firm framework for dating pieces of less-certain provenance. The importance of the 'laceman', the maker of these trimmings, is also examined within an economic and social context, together with the relationship to the upholsterer and interior decorator in the creation of a fashionable room.

The Grosvenor School of Modern Art was founded by the influential teacher, painter and wood-engraver, Iain McNab, in 1925. Situated in London''s Pimlico district the school played a key role in the story of modern British printmaking between the wars. The Grosvenor School artists received critical acclaim in their time that continued until the late 1930s under the influence of Claude Flight who pioneered a revolutionary method of making the simple linocut to dynamic and colourful effect. Cyril Power, a lecturer in architecture at the school, and Sybil Andrews, the School Secretary, were two of Flight''s star students. Whilst incorporating the avant-garde values of Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism, the Grosvenor School printmakers brought their own unique interpretation of the contemporary world to the medium of linocut in images that are strikingly familiar to this day and are included in the print collections of the world''s major museums, including the British Museum, the MoMA New York and the Australian National Gallery. This new book which accompanies an exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery illustrates over 120 linocuts, drawings and posters by Grosvenor School artists and its thematic layout focuses on the key components which made up their dynamic and rhythmic visual imagery. For the first time, three Australian printmakers, Dorrit Black, Ethel Spowers and Eveline Syme - who played a major part in the Grosvenor School story - are included in a major museum exhibition outside of Australia.

The Wallace Collection hosts a major exhibition in collaboration with The Henry Moore Foundation for spring 2019 exploring the sculptor Henry Moore's fascination with armour at the Wallace Collection, an interest which fundamentally influenced his work over many years.

Chinese wallpaper has been an important element of western interior decoration for three hundred years.

For hundreds of years the Bactrian camel ploughed a lonely furrow across the vast wilderness of Asia.

A glittering display of the Fitzwilliam Museum's finest pieces of jewellery and metalwork from the 1850s to 1940

Based on new research this fascinating book draws together a group of works from public and private collections to examine, for the first time, the relationship that Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) had with the theatrical world and the most celebrated stage artists of his day, such as James Quin, David Garrick and Sarah Siddons. Gainsborough painted notable portraits of these and twenty others, including dramatists, dancers and composers. This publication firmly establishes the artist's place within the theatrical worlds of Bath and London and shows why the art of ballet, and in particular Gainsborough's sitters, rose to prominence in 1780 and examines parallels between Gainsborough's much admired painterly naturalism and the theatrical naturalism of Garrick and Siddons with whom he had personal friendships.

A sequel to the author's previous title on Ravilious it surveys the life and work of fellow artist Edward Bawden, another popular exponent of the modern British tradition.

The conclusions of an important interdisciplinary approach to Michelangelo studies conducted by a team of international experts from fields as diverse as art history, conservation science, anatomy and technical archaeology.

In February 2017 the Holburne Museum will present the first ever exhibition devoted to the Bruegel dynasty in the UK.

In Spring 2017 Dulwich Picture Gallery will present the first major museum exhibition devoted to the work of British female modernist painter Vanessa Bell (1879-1961).