'Daisy Dixon is the guide you need in encountering the disturbing side of human expression.' Helen Carr

What makes an artwork immoral? Why do these troubling creations have such a hold on us? And how should we deal with them?

We live in a moment when the dangers of art seem more prevalent than ever: artists are 'cancelled' for their misdeeds, public statues are toppled, images of violence and obscenity await us at the touch of a button. But as this provocative new history demonstrates, we humans have always used art to make sense of the less innocent aspects of ourselves and the world around us.

In Depraved, philosopher of art Daisy Dixon takes the reader on a journey through some of the most volatile and contentious works ever produced – from prehistoric sculpture to extreme metal music, Renaissance paintings to videogames. She reveals how beautiful art can sometimes be the most insidious, and why the greatest threat might lie in our own judgements about the art we censor or condemn.

Above all, Dixon builds a powerful case for returning the terrible gaze of our disturbing creations, showing how we can confront them head-on and tame their toxic effects.

The Building of England puts into context the significance of a country’s architectural history and unearths how it is inextricably linked to the cultural past – and present.

From humble Saxon huts, to soaring gothic cathedrals, through feats of Victorian engineering to the homes we live in today, Simon Thurley tells the story of England through the places and people that built it.

The Building of England challenges us to think differently about English history. Through the lens of architecture Thurley shows how a thousand years of economic, social and cultural change made England the place it is today. People built for defence, power, profit, farming, manufacture, travel, religion and entertainment. The story of England is embedded in all our buildings. This book brings the buildings, their designers, builders, owners and users vividly to life to show that they are a profound reflection of our history.

In this fully updated and expanded edtion of his 2013 classic, The Building of England brings the story completely up to date: now ending in 2020. It places English architecture full square in its historical context.

What do artists say? How do they put their visions, ideas, and feelings into words? This selection of quotations by some of the world’s best-known modern and contemporary artists, paired with works of art from The Museum of Modern Art’s collection, offers reflections on art, life, and more. This accessible publication brings readers into the world of art and artists-a witty and thrilling glimpse into creativity itself, and a portable companion for makers, thinkers, and artists alike.

In every creative person's life, there are times when you lose the energy, joy, and freedom you had when you were first starting out. It can feel as if everything you've worked so hard to learn until this point is more of a hinderance than a help. From the recent art school graduate to the retiree searching for their creative third act, we all need help returning to the excitement, the sense of discovery and the raw creativity of a child at play.

In Don’t Call It Art, best-selling author Austin Kleon shares ten rejuvenating lessons he learned from being a studio assistant to the artists closest to his heart: his two young sons. This is a creative liberation handbook for looking at the world with fresh eyes, unlearning what you've learned and making new leaps in your life and work.

British Landscapes covers a wide range of genres, showcasing a history of 20th century art in Britain: British Post-Impressionism by Spencer Gore and Walter Sickert; a focus on the 1920s printmaking revival of etching and wood-engraving with FL Griggs and Robin Tanner; 1930s travel posters and watercolours by David Jones and Eric Ravilious; an exploration of Surrealism through Paul Nash, John Tunnard and Julian Trevelyan; and wartime landscapes by John Piper, Sutherland and Keith Vaughan. The final section considers the development of abstraction in British art via the St Ives artists and their contemporaries, such as Ivon Hitchens.

It explores the concept of placemaking, and how artists have conveyed the spirit or sense of a particular place in their artworks. It not only includes pastoral idylls but also urban, suburban and industrial landscapes. A leitmotif running throughout is the relationship of people to the land: from images of rural labour and farming to the development of leisure tourism. It also considers how the British landscape has been central to the formation of regional and national identities, and how tangentially it can convey the anxieties of socio-political events, such as the First and Second World Wars.

This fully illustrated catalogue is published to accompany the exhibition of the same title at Pallant House Gallery.

Antoni Gaudì's architecture is among the world's most instantly recognisable sights. His still unfinished basilica, La Sagrada Famìlia welcomes five million visitors annually. Yet in this the centenary year of his death, knocked down in the street by a tram, mistaken for a tramp and spending his last hours in a paupers' hospital, much about this unworldly genius remains a mystery, not least the source of inspiration to create extraordinary buildings that stand in a place of honour of their own in the canon of architecture. His explanation – that the fount of his imagination was God – sits uncomfortably alongside his modern-day fame in a secular world that nonetheless celebrates him.

In reconnecting Gaudì's peerless architecture with the highs and lows of his faith, Peter Stanford walks in his footsteps through Barcelona, retracing his life through the buildings, parks and landscapes he admired and those that he created. Join him on Gaudì's journey from the Catalan countryside, where his love affair with nature began, to becoming a celebrated figure in the booming industrial city of Barcelona, with its extremes of rich and poor – and its undercurrent of violence and anti-clericalism that almost left La Sagrada Famìlia an unfinished folly. Tragedy, loss and depression stalked his life, but reinforced his belief that his work was a religious vocation, prompting contemporary moves by the Vatican towards declaring him a saint.

• Frida’s formative years in the Blue House and how her environment shaped her earliest artistic impulses. 
• The dynamic cultural and political landscape of Mexico and its influence on Frida's evolving identity. 
• The contrasting worlds of Mexico and ‘Gringolandia,’ and how travel transformed her worldview and aesthetic. 
• The creative partnership between Kahlo and Diego Rivera, explored through the homes and studios they shared. 
• How domestic space and landscape became essential themes throughout her work. 

A vibrant portrait of art and identity, Frida Kahlo at Home invites readers to step inside the spaces that inspired a legend and to see her paintings and her life anew.  

This sumptuously illustrated and fascinating book delves into the stories behind the gardens which inspired some of the most beautiful and important works of art.

These gardens not only supplied the inspiration for creative works but also illuminate the professional motivation and private life of the artists themselves – from Cezanne’s house in the south of France to Childe Hassam at Celia Thaxter’s garden off the coast off Maine.

Flowers and gardens have often been the first choice for artists looking for a subject. A garden close to the artist’s studio is not only convenient for daily material and ideas, but also has the advantage of changing through the seasons and over time. Claude Monet’s Giverny was the catalyst for hundreds of great paintings (by Monet and other artists), each one different from the one before. Sometimes a whole village becomes the focus for a colony of artists as at Gerberoy in Picardy and Skagen on the northernmost tip of Denmark.

This book is about the real homes and gardens that inspired these great artists – gardens that can still be visited today. The relationship between artist and garden is a complex one. A few artists, including Pierre Bonnard and his neighbour Monet were keen gardeners, as much in love with their plants as their work, while for others like Sorolla in Madrid, his courtyard home was both a sanctuary and a source of ideas.

This book is as unmissable for art lovers as it is for anyone who knows the joy of time spent in gardens, offering an intriguing insight into the lives of these great painters and the gardens which inspired them to their creative heights. Now available in paperback.  ]]> https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/product/looking-for-mr-schwitters/ Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.bellbookshop.co.uk/?post_type=product&p=55562