‘Enjoyable… a fine portrait not only of impressionism but the society that made it possible’  THE SUNDAY TIMES

Paris, January 1871 – the final, agonising days of the Franco-Prussian War. As the German army cements its advantage, shells rattle through the Left Bank. It is a bitterly cold winter; there is no fuel, no medicine, no food. The city’s poorer citizens have long turned to eating rats, cats and dogs. France has been brought to its knees.

Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas are trapped in the besieged city. Renoir and Bazille have joined regiments outside of Paris, while Monet and Pissarro fled the country just in time. Out of the Siege and the Commune, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. A feeling for transience – reflected in Impressionism’s emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things – would change art history forever.

This is the extraordinary account of the ‘Terrible Year’ in Paris and its monumental impact on the rise of Impressionism.

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‘Vigorous and enjoyable’  DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Smee has a gimlet eye, a seductive style and a novelist’s feel for character and incident’  NEW YORK TIMES

‘Detailed, lively and at times richly novelistic’  LITERARY REVIEW

From their quirky habits to their unwavering devotion, Tell Your Dog I Love Them captures the charm, personality, and pure magic of our four-legged friends with warmth, humour and unmistakable authenticity. Featuring a mix of artistic styles including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, collage and print, it brings together witty observations, relatable moments and the delightful chaos that every dog owner will recognise!

Beautifully illustrated and filled with humour, sentiment and insight, this book is a love letter to the unique connection between humans and their dogs. Perfect as a gift or a personal keepsake, it offers every dog lover a joyful and heartfelt way to celebrate their best friends.

Here, the great, polymathic artist and craftsman shares what he has learned over the course of a lifetime of making and thinking about art. Unlike his contemporaries, Gentleman was never a teacher; his lessons are a sequence of unconventional prompts and reflections that will deepen how you think about art and the world around you.

Sincere, practical and unpretentious, Gentleman’s insights are a breath of fresh air. Here are new ways to focus, notice the world and cultivate your own style; techniques to evolve your work, from playing with time to painting in bad weather; methods for getting the most out of mistakes and negative criticism; and, above all, reminders to return, always, to the simple delights of creativity.

The third title from bestselling author Robert Osti, Drawing the Body is a highly accessible book that presents an engaging, systematized way to draw the human figure – from static, structural, and anatomical depictions to realistic and expressive forms.  

With minimal, essential text, the book is organized as a sketchbook with abundant images and practical exercises throughout. Included are step-by-step demonstrations that feature original illustrations from the author, photography of human figures, as well as art historical references from Old Masters.

This beautiful and utilitarian guide is indispensable and will appeal to artists, art students, and anyone interested in the artistic and scientific depiction of the human figure and human anatomy.