Secondhand Art Books

Many of Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts were intended as preparatory sketches for future published works, and the "Codex Leicester" is one of the most advanced. Written densely on 18 sheets...

To read most histories of art, you might be forgiven for supposing that great artists are superhuman, and the knowledge of different movements, periods and styles is essential to truly...

'Aloha, A! What begins with A? There is Antarctica, Azerbaijan, algal blooms, and alluvial fans. Astronauts appreciating awe-inspiring views of Earth from above. And these ancient Appalachian ridges in America...

In the years following World War I the way we perceive the world was turned upside down by a group of writers, painters and film-makers: the surrealists. Their aim was...

From classical antiquity to post-modernism, this book spans the art of the whole of western civilization. 18 chapters, by experts and art historians from around the world, examine the supreme...

There is widespread agreement that art is 'very important' - but it can be remarkably hard to say quite why. Yet if art is to enjoy its privileges, it has...

Beatrice Woods' life was extraordinary in every way, from earliest childhood, when her dominating Victorian mother realized she "wasn't like the rest of them," to her productive life in old...

One of the most fully achieved human beings who has ever lived, Leonardo remains the quintessential Renaissance genius. Creator of the world's most famous painting, scientist, philosopher, builder, he is...

The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called 'indispensable' and 'a transfixing study of American mores and manners that happens to incorporate boundless laughs, too' is...

What does the breathtakingly beautiful art depicted on the walls of caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, tell us about the nature of the ancestral mind? How did these...

In a series of essays by some of the most internationally acclaimed writers on art, the extraordinary artistic challenges of the twentieth century are introduced and discussed with unparalleled lucidity,...

learn how to use pastels with step-by-step techniques and projects to follow, in 180 colour photographs

Whether you're a well-versed David Dickinson or new to the trade, this vibrant and up-to-date guide from antiques expert Judith Miller is a priceless addition to your bookshelf. Features unique,...