Unicorn Press – The Bell Bookshop

John Nash

Emma — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

John Nash (1893-1977) is the quintessential twentieth-century painter of the English countryside. Nash began as a watercolour painter, and the medium remained his mainstay throughout a long career. He also worked regularly in oil paint and was an immensely skilled draughtsman and wood engraver. A dedicated gardener and plantsman, his botanical studies are of real quality. This is the first full-length monograph to deal with all aspects of his career.

My Dearest Heart The Artist Mary Beale

Emma — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Mary Beale (1633-1699) was one of the earliest professional women artists in Britain. Her successful career was documented by her husband, Charles, whose almanacks provide a unique record of Mary’s patrons, painting technique and family affairs. Her portraits of politicians, clergy, aristocracy and intellectuals reflect the vibrant literary, scientific and political scene of the seventeenth century. She has been seen as a feminist icon not only as a professional artist but also as a poet and the author of a ‘Discourse on Friendship’ (1667) which argued for the equality of husband and wife in marriage – a radical concept at that time.

The Hermitage

Emma — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Hermitage Musuem in St Petersburg is possibly the greatest museum in the world. It began as a showcase for the art treasures of the Tsars and reflects their legendary extravagance. Imperial romances, marriages and murders all had an impact on the collection, as did the byzantine bartering of international politics. Nationalised by the Bolsheviks in 1917, the museum expanded to fill the imperial family’s Winter Palace and the three riverside pavilions that were built onto the palace in the late eighteenth century. Vast, confiscated collections came the way of the museum as a result of the Revolution – the finest treasures of the Russian nobility, as well as two great merchant collections of Gauguin, Matisse and modern masters.The courage and devotion to scholarship of its curators have helped the museum survive the terrible trials of the twentieth century: the exile, imprisonment and execution of many staff during Stalin’s purges, and extremities of hunger during the siege of Leningrad – when 2,000 people lived in a makeshift bomb shelter in the museum cellars. With the 1990s has come a new battle, as the Hermitage struggles to survive amidst the economic chaos of post- Communist Russia.The Hermitage is the first full history of this great museum in any language. It highlights the human adventures involved in the creation and preservation of one of the finest art collections in the world, and reveals the hitherto unchronicled dramas of the Communist years. It provides an unusual perspective on Russia’s troubled history.

Stumbling Towards Victory

Emma — Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The First World War tore apart the early twentieth century. Both terrible and terrifying, it banished misplaced optimism that war on such an unconscionable scale could never occur. A century after the guns fell silent on the Western Front, its scars continue to shape our modern idea of remembrance.As the national museum of arms and armour, the Royal Armouries brings a unique perspective to studies of the Great War. Stumbling Towards Victory contains photographs – many previously unpublished – from the museum archives, all of which were taken in the final twelve months of the war. Amidst the haunting emptiness of broken ground and shattered trees, these images convey the horror, and hope, of that final cataclysmic year. Published to coincide with the First World War centenary commemorations, Stumbling Towards Victory illustrates the final months of a global conflagration that was nothing less than an armageddon for the ages.

The Natural History Of Churchyards

Emma — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

From the earliest pagan sites to modern urban cemeteries, burial grounds have alwaysenjoyed a sacred, protected status in the history of society. Consequently they have becometranquil oases in which wildlife can flourish – a microcosm of the natural habitat long sincedisappeared from the surrounding area.

In Earth to Earth, Professor Stefan Buczacki uncovers the wild animals and plants that thriveamongst the headstones, from the graveyard beetle to the mighty yew. He also explores thehistory of churchyards and the landscape, as well as what can be done to conserve themfor future generations. Accompanied by specially commissioned illustrations by Felicity Price-Smith and selectedquotations, this beautiful gift book reveals the natural secrets to be found in God’s Acre.