The friendship between William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones began when they met as undergraduates in 1853 and lasted until Morris' death in 1896, despite their differences in temperament and in attitudes to political engagement. This friendship was...

In this groundbreaking examination of British war art during the Second World War, Brian Foss delves deeply into what art meant to Britain and its people at a time when the nation's very survival was under threat. Foss probes the impact of war art on...

The great American artist William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) completed a wide variety of portraits over his long career. Among his subjects were presidents, businessmen, celebrities, New York luminaries, and members of his family as well as a number o...

William Powell Frith (1819-1909) was the greatest British painter of the social scene since Hogarth. His panoramas of the wide spectrum of nineteenth-century life broke new ground in their depiction of the diverse London crowd and are icons of their...

Why do we have such extraordinarily powerful responses toward the images and pictures we see in everyday life? Why do we behave as if pictures were alive, possessing the power to influence us, to demand things from us, to persuade us, seduce us, or e...

William Holman Hunt was one of the major artistic talents of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, founded in 1848. Hunt's work was always characterised by great seriousness of purpose – he was the only member of that group to remain committed to its princ...

Waves battering the weathered rocks on a shore, young boys sailing carefree on open waters: "Winslow Homer's" raw, evocative seascapes are among the most distinctive and powerful in American art".Winslow Homer: Poet of the Sea" offers here a fresh ex...

A perennial favourite of museum visitors, the works of William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) embody the quintessential characteristics of American Impressionism: outdoor landscapes, a colourful palette, and an energetic brush stroke. He was also a portra...

Willem Drost was one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils, and he is also considered one of the most mysterious. This book, the first ever devoted to this exceptional artist, unravels many of the mysteries of Drost's life and career. Curator and art his...

Art criticism was once passionate, polemical, and judgmental; now critics are more often interested in ambiguity, neutrality, and nuanced description. And while art criticism is ubiquitous in newspapers, magazines, and exhibition brochures, it is als...