The long and stellar career of John Everett Millais (1829-1896) has been framed in terms of his rise to notoriety as an original member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood followed by a compromising descent into comfortable success as a popular painter and leading figure in the Royal Academy. But this dismissal of Millais's post- Raphaelite work overlooks more than forty years of artistic endeavor and distinction. In this book, nine scholars reexamine Millais's entire career from a variety of perspectives, arriving at a new vision of his place in the history of British art and finding that fame and recognition did not represent the end of this important Victorian artist's development. The contributors consider the whole fabric of Millais's work, seeking the patterns of continuity through his career. They acknowledge the significance of Millais's association with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood yet place that brief phase into the context of his entire body of work. Exploring such topics as Millais's position among contemporary artists; his active interests in theater, literature, and science; his life-long love of nature; his role as a celebrity and a popular artist; and his enduring fascination with the poignant specter of mortality, the book presents a portrait of Millais not limited by the parameters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. It is a portrait of a supremely gifted artist, a rival of Frederic Leighton, and a counterpart to Alfred Lord Tennyson.

John Everett Millais: Beyond the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Arts & Photography

Mancoff, Debra

History & Criticism

Paul Mellon Centre BA

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), best known and admired for his striking and seductive portraits of women, was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists whose work is inspired by the art of the early Italian Renaissance. Rossetti's powerful and unconventional portraits, with their sumptuous, jewel-like colours, are explored in this beautiful gift book. Examples have been drawn from the full range of Rossetti's work - including paintings, drawings, print illustrations, decorative designs and staged photographs - and chart the artist's lively engagement with mythology, history, literature, biblical subjects and modern life. Rossetti defined his experiences through his passion for his subjects and this book traces his deliberate intertwining of art and life. His models such as Jane Morris, Elizabeth Siddal and his sister Christina, were his inspiration and, in his rejection of conventional beauty, he redefined difference as desirable. Through his view of women - in which admiration veered towards fixation, praise towards possession - Rossetti confronted the staid 19th-century public with a new and powerful image of women, and the allure of that power is still felt today. With 126 illustrations in colour

Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Portraits of Women (V&A Artists in Focus)

Thames&Hudson

An exquisitely designed and engrossing thematic study of the representation of the face on objects and in works of art from across the globe and throughout history
The face is not only central to identity, but is also the primary vehicle for human expression, emotion, and character. It signifies intellect and power, is often regarded as a window into the soul, and is the focus of attention when individuals meet. How have different cultures depicted faces―whether a likeness or idealized; whether masked or revealed; whether newborn, in the prime of life, dying, or even deceased? Why has the depiction of the human face been so central to artistic expression in all world cultures?
Art historian Debra Mancoff explores the depiction of the human face through the full range of objects and works of art in the collection of the British Museum, and she discovers how the face subtly conveys the full spectrum of human emotion across continents and through the centuries. Arranged thematically (Birth and Childhood; Love and Beauty; Faith, Ritual, and Mythology; Rulers and Warfare; Identity and Disguise; Everyday Life; Death and the Afterlife), each of the book’s chapters begins with a brief introduction before depicting faces in various pairings and groupings, offering insights into experiences that we all share as human beings. 350 color illustrations

The Face: Our Human Story (British Museum, 7)

The legend of Vincent van Gogh's tortured soul and tragic life has long fascinated art lovers, shaping the way we view and interpret his work. But Van Gogh, the artist and the man, was also profoundly inspired by the beauty of nature and produced some of the most vibrant depictions of the natural world ever put to canvas. Van Gogh Fields and Flowers offers a refreshing look at this side of the artist's life and work. This gorgeous book is filled with color reproductions of Van Gogh's vibrant paintings of trees, fields, bouquets, and, of course, his acclaimed irises and sunflowers. The selection of more than 40 works includes both popular and lesser-known pieces, from Fields with Poppies to Four Cut Sun-flowers, which are accompanied by extracts from the artist's letters and an accessible text by art historian Debra N. Mancoff. Readers will come away from this book with a richer understanding of the joy and pleasure that Van Gogh experienced in his life and expressed with his brush.

Van Gogh Fields and Flowers

Individual Artists

Chronicle Books+

At last a comprehensive, full-color volume joins Hudson Hills Press's successful series of books on one of the world's greatest art museums.

Treasures from The Art Institute of Chicago

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Hudson Hills

Accessible and informative, this book is a gorgeous introduction to great American artists. While the history of American art is as varied as the fifty states the country is comprised of, it tells a story of a uniquely American aesthetic: bold, innovative, and uncompromising. Starting with the portraits of John Singleton Copley and the landscape masterpieces of Frederic Church, this exciting look at the most important American artists moves through the era of Cassatt, Whistler, and Sargent to the groundbreaking works of O Keeffe, Cornell, and Calder. This book also celebrates the artists who placed America at the forefront of modern art: Pollock, de Kooning, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Oldenburg, and Johns. The works of Sherman, Serra, and Close prove that America continues to produce challenging and influential artists. With its colorfully illustrated spreads and contextual approach, this is a superb guide for anyone interested in learning about American art.

50 American Artists You Should Know (50 You Should Know)

Prestel

Lavishly illustrated and thematically arranged, Fashion Muse looks at the many iterations a muse can take: Greek goddess, fairy-tale princess, wife, lover, supermodel, celebrity, and artist. A prominent art historian with a profound knowledge of the culture of fashion, Debra N. Mancoff delves far and wide to present pairings both familiar and surprising, including the first couturier Charles Frederick Worth and his wife; Elsa Schiaparelli and the Surrealists; Yves Saint Laurent and the painter Mondrian; Oleg Cassini and Jacqueline Kennedy; and Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy. She reveals numerous designers whose muse was their own image, from Coco Chanel to Diane von Furstenberg to the Olsen twins. And she examines the influence of figures from the worlds of art, celebrity, and pop culture. Entertaining, inspiring, and surprising, this enthralling exploration places the muse where he or she belongs: at the highest peaks of the creative process.

Fashion Muse: The Inspiration Behind Iconic Design

Reference

Few artistic movements capture classic notions of beauty as romantically as the Pre-Raphaelites―a group of 19th-century painters and poets who aimed to revive the purer art of the late medieval period. In this beautiful volume, Debra N. Mancoff, an expert on Pre-Raphaelite art and the floral lexicon, presents forty breathtaking examples, which illuminate the meaning of flowers in all aspects of Victorian culture. She offers brief commentaries on individual paintings as well as biographies of the period’s leading artists and their models. A captivating introduction to an artistic movement, this exquisitely produced book is also a romantic keepsake of an artistic sensibility that speaks volumes.

The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers

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Books by Mancoff, Debra