Art & Photography

Two centuries ago, Punjab's Sikh ruling elite lavishly patronised artists and craftsmen to enhance the extraordinary splendour of (read more)

Two centuries ago, Punjab's Sikh ruling elite lavishly patronised artists and craftsmen to enhance the extraordinary splendour of their flourishing empire. A sumptuous array of objects fit for Sikh kings, queens, warriors and saints were produced by skilled artisans to reflect a vibrant and potent new power on the world's stage. By the mid-19th century, the Sikh kingdom had met its demise at the hands of the British Empire.

With the loss of Sikh patronage, artistic production switched to serve the tastes of the new colonial rulers, bringing to an end a unique cultural endeavour. Over the next century and a half, original Sikh artefacts gradually dispersed across the globe, often as official gifts, prized auction purchases and also as loot. (hide)

The first photo book by the Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a record-breaking Year in Space. This is an awe-inspiring collection (read more)

The first photo book by the Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a record-breaking Year in Space. This is an awe-inspiring collection of the photos Scott took himself while on board the International Space Station, many of which have never been seen before. Scott Kelly has seen the world in ways most of us never will.

During his record-breaking 340 consecutive days on board the ISS, Scott Kelly circled the earth 5,440 times, witnessing 10,944 sunrises and sunsets - that's 16 a day. In all this time, he posted just 713 photos on Instagram. But it's not all sunrises, sunsets and #nofilter.
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A compelling and innovative reflection on the way photography captures and condenses timeTwo photographs, connected by a ladder, (read more)

A compelling and innovative reflection on the way photography captures and condenses timeTwo photographs, connected by a ladder, separated by a century. First, William Henry Fox Talbot photographed a faithfully realistic image of a ladder against a haystack in the English countryside.One hundred years later, an anonymous photographer captured another ladder, "photographed" alongside an incinerated man by the blinding light of the atomic bomb. These two images underpin a poetic and theoretical reflection on the origins of photographic technique, the imaginative power of montage, and the relation of photography to time itself in Jean-Christophe Bailly's The Instant and Its Shadow, translated into English for the very first time. (hide)

This is a lavish pictorial record produced in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). It features 200 unique (read more)

This is a lavish pictorial record produced in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). It features 200 unique photographs taken by Isabella Bird that transport the reader to the China of the late 19th century. It includes supporting text by travel photography expert Debbie Ireland.

Ammonite Press is proud to collaborate with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in celebrating the achievements of Isabella Bird in this lavish pictorial record of her last great journey through China, in the closing years of the 19th century, with supporting text by travel photography expert Debbie Ireland. Bird was in her mid-sixties when she undertook her travels, to a land that was largely unknown and largely misunderstood in the West, where a woman travelling alone was greeted with incredulity and, occasionally, hostility. The highlight of her visit was journeying by boat and sedan chair to make a major tour of the valley of the Yangtze River and much beyond, right up to the border with Tibet. (hide)

Before Kirk Hammett assumed the heavy metal mantle of one of the most successful and beloved bands in rock history, he was a geek (read more)

Before Kirk Hammett assumed the heavy metal mantle of one of the most successful and beloved bands in rock history, he was a geek for the imaginative universe of horror. This generously illustrated book highlights the finest examples from Hammett s personal collection an astonishing trove of horror and sci-fi film posters that span the history of the genre. The guitarist credits his musical force to a lifelong fascination with the gothic fantasy developed in these films and their original posters.

In this volume, several intriguing essays cover the history of the film poster, the brain s response to fear, and Hammett s own contributions to the world of the macabre.

Published:8 Aug 2017 (hide)

If one can "see" the wind and "feel" the swell at the sight of a painting, it's probably a painting of Johannes Holst (1880- 1965). (read more)

If one can "see" the wind and "feel" the swell at the sight of a painting, it's probably a painting of Johannes Holst (1880- 1965). Over seven decades Holst has created more than two thousand paintings that are admired and collected all over the world. This new magnificent volume gathers more than 1,500 paintings of Johannes Holst.

The text section outlines Holst's oeuvre as well as the ups and downs of his life, supplemented by top-class guest contributions (hide)

John Everett Millais (1829 - 1896) was one of the most significant English painters of the nineteenth century, successful and respected (read more)

John Everett Millais (1829 - 1896) was one of the most significant English painters of the nineteenth century, successful and respected during his career, honoured as the first painter to be created a baronet, he remains, as recent exhibitions of his work have demonstrated, equally well known today. Whilst his substantial contributions are rarely, if ever, denied, in past art historical accounts of Millais's long career there has been an unfortunate tendency to superficially distinguish between the early promise of his Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces and the perceived commercial and traditionalist orientation of his later works. In this new study of the artist's life and work Rosenfeld argues that such readings are far from accurate, demonstrating that the development of Millais's art was at the forefront of contemporary painting throughout his life.

At the same time as Manet and Monet were liberating their nation's art from traditional forms and subjects, Millais was leading British art with the bravura manner and looser symbolic associations of Aestheticism (the most important movement after Pre-Raphaelitism), which in turn influenced the portraits of John Singer Sargent and the landscapes of Vincent Van Gogh. In Rosenfeld's words, it is a 'consistently relevant and inventive Millais' that emerges in this book. Millais's lifetime saw radical transformations in art, and his productive career is uniquely representative of the development of the modern artist. (hide)

Artists use sketchbooks for a myriad of purposes - to capture a moment, to develop an idea, to record a scene...This book advises (read more)

Artists use sketchbooks for a myriad of purposes - to capture a moment, to develop an idea, to record a scene...This book advises on how to enjoy keeping a sketchbook and how to make the most of their use. With practical examples throughout, it is a beautiful and valuable guide that will inspire you to pick up a pencil or brush, mark the page and start your own visual diary. Topics covered include looking at different types of sketchbooks - their size, theme and purpose; ideas for drawing and painting in a sketchbook inside, outside or while travelling and advice on professional sketchbooks and scrapbooks.

Pub Date:22/02/2016 (hide)

Kew is eminent worldwide in botanical science and the study and preservation of plant species, and Christabel King has been doing (read more)

Kew is eminent worldwide in botanical science and the study and preservation of plant species, and Christabel King has been doing illustrations for them for 40 years and is their foremost botanical artist. Here she explains both scientific botanical illustration and the looser botanical art, and covers materials, collecting and preserving plant specimens, drawing and painting techniques, magnification, using dividers, drawing from life, composition, light and shade and transferring drawings. She goes on to discuss painting leaves, flowers, cacti and succulents, wildflowers, trees and plates for Curtis's Botanical magazine.

A chapter on travel drawings gives a flavour of the author's passion and worldwide experience. There is a helpful section on suitable subjects for beginners and a glossary of terms. The text is highly illustrated throughout with beautiful paintings. (hide)

The Kunstmuseum Bern owns one of the most important art collections in Switzerland. Since the foundation of the Staatliche Kunstsammlung (read more)

The Kunstmuseum Bern owns one of the most important art collections in Switzerland. Since the foundation of the Staatliche Kunstsammlung in Bern in 1809 and the opening of the first museum building in 1879 the collection has grown continuously and has attained world renown. Over 170 masterpieces of the collection are assembled in a single publication for the first time and made accessible to a broad public through new art-historical analyses and numerous colour illustrations.

The Kunstmuseum Bern houses prestigious works of Swiss and international art from the late thirteenth century until the present day. The collection contains over 3,000 paintings and sculptures and 48,000 works on paper and videos, including, for example, masterpieces by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Paul Cezanne, Salvador Dali, Ferdinand Hodler, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franz Paul Klee, Franz Marc, Henri Matisse, Meret Oppenheim, Pablo Picasso and Felix Vallotton. The works assembled in this volume are presented with full-page illustrations and are re-examined by some 70 international authors.
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