Writers and Creatives - 5 Book Bundle

The Bloomsbury Group by Frances Spalding - Published: National Portrait Gallery - 30-09-2021 - 120 pages.

Biography & Literature - Biography & Literature - ‘A delightful introduction to an enduring subject’ – Angela Wintle, Sussex Life

The most constructive and creative influence on English taste between the two wars, 'The Bloomsbury Group' was a union of friends who transformed British culture with their approach to art, design and society.The Group began the twentieth century with a desire to rebel and challenge what they felt were the religious, artistic, social and sexual taboos of Victorian England. Together they created a revolution in British style that resonates with contemporary painters, writers, actors, designers, fashion editors and publishers.

This book explores the impact of Bloomsbury personalities on each other, as well as their legacy to the twenty-first century. Author Frances Spalding demonstrates how this network of artists, lovers and patrons recorded one another obsessively in both words and images. She presents twenty fascinating biographies, all of which are illustrated with paintings and intimate photographs created by members of the Group. Highlighted in her revealing account are: Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell, Duncan Grant, Lady Ottoline Morrell, Roger Fry, J.M. Keynes, Lytton Strachey and Dora Carrington.

Creative Demons and How to Slay Them by Richard Holman and Al Murphy - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 24-02-2022 - 168 pages.

Advertising, Business & Management - Advertising, Business & Management - Bedevilled by the demons of self-doubt, fear of failure or lack of inspiration? Lay waste to your mind-forged monsters with the help of Creative Demons and How to Slay Them.

If you’ve ever embarked on a creative endeavour, then there’s a good chance you’ll have been bedevilled by self-doubt, fear of failure or a lack of inspiration at some point along the way. This book will help you to banish those mind-forged monsters one by one, no matter how grotesque or scary they may be.

Drawing on inspirational anecdotes from art, philosophy, neuroscience, nature, music and contemporary culture, creativity expert Richard Holman provides you with your very own mental armoury to see you through every stage of the creative process. By learning through the experiences of such creative luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, Marina Abramovic, J.K. Rowling, Dr Seuss and Herbie Hancock, you’ll find out how best to overcome the perils of procrastination, the sting of criticism, the seductive tug of convention or the gnawing feeling that you’re not up to it.

It’s time to say farewell to your demons and make your next creative project the very best it can be.

The Art Museum in Modern Times by Charles Saumare Smith - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 25-03-2021 - 272 pages.

Art - Art Reference, History & Theory - The National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy all saw either radical architectural interventions or rethinks of their mission under Charles Saumarez Smith’s leadership, making him uniquely qualified to explore the ways in which art museums have changed over the past century and examine where they might be headed in the future.

For this book, Saumarez Smith has undertaken an odyssey to art museums across the globe. From Tate Modern in London to the Benesse House Museum on the Japanese island of Naoshima; from the Getty Center in Los Angeles to the Museum of New and Old Art, a ferry-ride from Hobart in Tasmania; from the Pompidou Centre in Paris to the West Bund Museum in Shanghai – he has visited them all, casting an acute eye on the way the experience of art is shaped by the buildings that house it and the organizing principles by which it is displayed.

What has changed over the past century? Where the public once visited museums to be educated in art history, he argues, they are now more likely to be in search of a private, aesthetic experience. Museum displays that were automatically didactic, chronological and either national or Western in viewpoint are now thematic and global. While museums used to be invariably in city centres, they may now be in remote locations, destinations of cultural pilgrimage. And where architects once created neutral spaces in which to display art, they now build spectacular architectural landmarks, stamping an identity on run-down neighbourhoods and sparking regeneration through cultural tourism.

With 122 illustrations in colour

Judith Kerr by Joanna Carey and Quentin Blake - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 25-07-2019 - 112 pages.

Art - Artist Monographs - An overview of the life and work of much-loved children’s illustrator and author Judith Kerr, creator of classics such as The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and Mog.

A thoughtful and intimate portrait, this book is not only a celebration of Judith Kerr’s classic work, but a record of the hard work, development and serious intent behind it. Referencing Kerr’s biographical novels, Joanna Carey introduces us to the illustrator as she goes about her daily life, showing us into her studio, exploring her materials, her relationship with her publisher and editors, and her reflections over the years. Drawing on a great range of previously unpublished visual material, we see behind the scenes of Kerr’s unforgettable creations.

The Quentin Blake Book by Jenny Uglow - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 29-09-2022 - 256 pages.

Design - Illustration & Animation - A fully illustrated overview of the life and work of the universally loved Quentin Blake, released ahead of the artist’s 90th birthday in December 2022.

Quentin Blake is an artist who has charmed and inspired generations of readers. Tracing Blake’s art and career from his very first drawings – published in Punch when he was 16 – through his collaborations with writers from Roald Dahl and John Yeoman to Russell Hoban and David Walliams, to his large-scale works for hospitals and public spaces and right up to his most recent passions and projects, acclaimed author Jenny Uglow here presents a fully illustrated overview of Quentin Blake’s extraordinary body of work, with accompanying commentary by the artist himself.

With unprecedented access to the artist’s entire archive, The Quentin Blake Book reveals the stories behind some of Blake’s most famous creations, while also providing readers with an intimate insight into the unceasing creativity of this remarkable artist.