Best Coffee Table Art and Museum Books of 2019

May 06, 2022 Post a Comment

Gorgeous Coffee Table Books from Great Museums

Although going to a nifty museum is i of the primary reasons to travel, the best institutions in the earth often bring their priceless collections to you lot on the printed page. If you seek inspiration or preparation for your next big trip (or if you just want to relive the pleasures of a vacation you took years ago), immerse yourself in a handsome publication released by 1 of these museums. We're not talking about mere pamphlets, souvenirs from temporary exhibitions, or throwaway guides, merely substantial tomes, each published recently, that will ever await skilful on your table or bookshelf and remind of you a distant exhibit forevermore. To assistance you know what yous'll find on their glossy pages, nosotros've included descriptions written past the publishers themselves.

Bodleian Library Treasures

"Rare books, music, manuscripts, ephemera, and maps, many of the treasures photographed and described for this lavish volume are well-loved effectually the globe, from Jane Austen's manuscript of The Watsons to notebooks created by the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a map of Narnia drawn by C. S. Lewis, and the original manuscript of the renowned children'due south work The Air current in the Willows. Others are known for their beauty or historical significance, including the Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta, and the boggling medieval manuscript the Douce Apocalypse. Still others agree poignant stories like the small handwritten volume presented as a New Twelvemonth'southward present in 1545 to Katherine Parr by an eleven-year-erstwhile stepdaughter who would subsequently become Queen Elizabeth I. Vaisey brings these and other treasures together in chronological order, showcasing the Bodleian Library's renowned collections." (Bodleian Library, University of Oxford)

Where the museum is: Oxford, U.K.

The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects

By Richard Kurin; 784 pages; $25 (hardcover), $37 (paperback), and $28 (e-book)

"Under Secretary for Fine art, History, and Civilisation Richard Kurin, aided by a team of top Smithsonian curators and scholars, has assembled a literary exhibition of 101 objects from across the Smithsonian's museums that together offer a marvelous new perspective on the history of the United States... Kurin sheds remarkable new calorie-free on objects we think we know well, from Lincoln'due south hat to Dorothy's ruby slippers and Julia Child'south kitchen, including the often astonishing tales of how each made its mode into the collections of the Smithsonian. Other objects will be eye-opening new discoveries for many, but no less evocative of the near poignant and important moments of the American feel. Some objects, such as Harriet Tubman's hymnal, Sitting Balderdash's ledger, Cesar Chavez's marriage jacket, and the Enola Gay bomber, tell hard stories from the nation'due south history, and inspire controversies when exhibited at the Smithsonian... In Kurin'south hands, each object comes to vivid life, providing a tactile connection to American history." (Penguin Books)

Where the museum is: Washington, D.C.

The Prado Masterpieces

Past Museo Nacional del Prado; 494 pages; $125

"The get-go-ever comprehensive showcase of the masterpieces plant in the collection of the Museo Nacional del Prado in [Madrid,] Espana. The numerous works by Francisco de Goya, the single most extensively represented creative person, every bit well as by Diego Velázquez, El Greco, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, and Hieronymus Bosch are some of the highlights of the collection. Comprehensively showcasing the museum's permanent collection, this magnificent book is the first of its kind to be published in clan with the Prado, covering the collection from aboriginal sculpture to the nineteenth century.... In that location are sections looking in depth at specific painters (Velázquez, Titian, El Greco, and Bosch) and at the themes of still life, portraits, and religious paintings. The Prado: Masterpieces tin can be read as a consummate history of Western fine art, as illustrated past the careful selection of highlights from the museum'due south collection." (Thames & Hudson)

Where the museum is: Madrid

Secrets of Churchill's War Rooms

By Jonathan Asbury; 288 pages; $35 (hardcover), $23 (paperback)

"At the war'south cease, Churchill and his colleagues left... and locked the door behind them—and the State of war Rooms remained there, untouched and little known, until the early 1980s. Today, those celebrated chambers are on display every bit the Churchill War Rooms showroom. With Secrets of Churchill's War Rooms, yous tin can go behind the glass partitions that divide the War Rooms from the visiting public, closer than ever before to where Churchill not merely ran the war—only won it. This magnificent volume offers upwards-close photography of details in every room and provides admission to sights unavailable on a uncomplicated tour of Churchill War Rooms. These are views that few people in the world accept ever seen. Become backside closed doors to sit at Churchill'southward desk, open up upwardly long-abased drawers and sift through 70-year-old papers. See the anxious scratches on the arms of Sir Winston's chair, selection upward the phone that he used to speak to the president of the United States, and examine the map that loomed over his bed as he took his famous afternoon naps. Including more than iii hundred detailed images and firsthand memories of Churchill equally a leader, dominate, father, husband, and a man, Secrets of Churchill's War Rooms tells the fascinating story of the piece of work carried out in these cloak-and-dagger offices." (Majestic War Museums)

Where the museum is: London

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings

By Kathryn Calley Galitz; 544 pages; $75

"As the offset large survey published in 30 years, and the commencement big general survey of the Met'southward paintings collection, [this book] is the first to celebrate the greatest and most iconic paintings of one of the largest, almost important, and most beloved museums in the world. This impressive book'southward broad sweep of material, all from a unmarried museum, makes it at once a universal history of painting and the ideal introduction to the iconic masterworks of this earth-renowned institution. Lavish colour illustrations and details of 500 masterpieces, created over v,000 years in cultures beyond the globe, are presented chronologically from the dawn of civilization to the present. These works stand for a grand tour of painting from ancient Egypt and classical antiquity and prized Byzantine and medieval altarpieces, to paintings from Asia, India, Africa, and the Americas and the greatest European and North American masters." (Skira Rizzoli)

Where the museum is: New York City

The Louvre: All the Paintings

Past Vincent Pomarède; 784 pages; $75

"Endorsed by the Louvre and for the first time ever, every painting from the earth'south most popular museum is available in one stunning volume. All iii,022 paintings on display in the permanent painting collection of the Louvre are presented in total color in this hit, slipcased book. ... All 3,022 paintings are fully annotated with the name of the painting and creative person, the date of the work, the birth and death dates of the artist, the medium that was used, the size of the painting, the Louvre catalog number, and the room in the Louvre in which the painting is plant." (Black Dog & Leventhal)

Where the museum is: Paris

National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame: Jubilant 30 Years

By Lisa Schlansker Kolosek; 276 pages; $55 (hardcover), $45 (e-book)

"The only museum in the United States defended entirely to the art course of dance, the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame opened in June 1987... Lisa Schlansker Kolosek has created a rich pictorial history tracing not only the museum's remarkable evolution just the relevance of the museum to the city of Saratoga Springs, New York. Kolosek tells the story of the museum'due south origins, from its notable founders' grand idea to the selection and complete renovation of a historic 1920s bath business firm as its home. Combining a complete survey of exhibitions presented by the museum and the incredible history of the Hall of Fame, which recognizes dance luminaries across multiple genres, this book offers an in-depth look at the museum's expansive drove of costumes, visual fine art, and archival materials... Beautifully illustrated with more than four hundred photographs, this book pays tribute to the immense bear upon of the National Museum of Trip the light fantastic toe and Hall of Fame." (Excelsior Editions/State University of New York Press)

Where the museum is: Saratoga Springs, New York

Paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago: Highlights of the Drove

Introduction by James Rondeau; 176 pages; $forty

"The Art Found of Chicago, one of the most beloved and important museums in the globe, houses an extraordinary collection of objects from various places, cultures, and time periods. This beautiful catalogue opens the doors of the museum to readers, presenting an expansive selection of painted works from around the globe, introduced insightfully by James Rondeau, president and director of the Art Establish. New color photography accompanies entries written by a team of curators, art historians, and educators, which put the works into context. The volume showcases a dazzling range of paintings, including an Egyptian funeral portrait, an ancient Mexican wall landscape, Chinese scroll paintings, Japanese painted screens, and works by artists such as Caillebotte, Cassatt, El Greco, Gauguin, Homer, Hopper, Johns, Lichtenstein, Matisse, Mitsuoki, Monet, Morisot, Motley, O'Keeffe, Picasso, Pollock, Rembrandt, Richter, Rubens, Sargent, Seurat, Tiepolo, Turner, Van Gogh, Warhol, Whistler, and Wood; contemporary artists featured include Kerry James Marshall, Wanda Pimentel, and Kazuo Shiraga." (Art Institute of Chicago)

Where the museum is: Chicago

Treasures of the British Museum

By Marjorie Caygill, 240 pages; $35 (hardcover), $25 (paperback)

"The British Museum is the nigh magnificent treasure-business firm in the world. The wealth and range of its collections is unequalled by any other national museum. The Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies, drawings past Botticelli and Michelangelo, Assyrian reliefs, the Lewis Chessmen and the Sutton Hoo treasure are all to be found there. Treasures of the British Museum delights readers with the intriguing stories behind these treasures and many more. This timely new edition brings the story correct up to date, with chapters on important acquisitions fabricated past the Museum in the concluding fifteen years, including the Warren Cup and the Queen of the Night." (British Museum Press)

Where the museum is: London

The Wide Drove

Past Francesco Bonami; 464 pages; $85

"This volume of superb writing and lavish illustrations pays tribute to one of the virtually significant collections of gimmicky art in the globe and now a major new museum, The Broad in Los Angeles. For more than than 4 decades Eli and Edythe Broad accept fostered public appreciation of contemporary art through their collection of almost two,000 works, notable for its incredible sophistication and breadth... Readers will please in essays by filmmaker John Waters on Jeff Koons; music critic Greil Marcus on Christopher Wool; novelist Siri Husvedt on Anselm Kiefer; travel writer and essayist Pico Iyer on Takashi Murakami; Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Mark Stevens on Cy Twombly; and former Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Fine art, New York, John Elderfield on Jasper Johns, among many other pairings. Curated every bit carefully as an exhibition, this collection of timeless images and timely writings gives readers a unique pathway through this enormous, and enormously influential, collection." (Prestel)

Where the museum is: Los Angeles

Timeless Dazzler: The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany

By the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum; 208 pages; $xxx

"American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany is most famous for his revolutionary and widely popular drinking glass windows, lamps, and vases, merely his contributions to late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art and design were and then much more than. Tiffany was too a painter, photographer, interior decorator, and designer of ceramics, enamels, and jewelry. This book presents more than 200 of the artist's works from the renowned Tiffany drove of [Florida'southward] Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Fine art in chronological sequence, providing a biographical view of the man backside the famous drinking glass." (Schiffer)

Where the museum is: Winter Park, Florida

Versailles: A Private Invitation

By Guillaume Picon and Francis Hammond; 320 pages; $65

"This comprehensive monograph on Versailles offers unprecedented access to the château and grounds of one of France's most significant and legendary historical landmarks. For this book, Versailles granted the lensman carte blanche admission to the palace and its grounds. This new edition includes previously unseen material on the recently restored Cabinet de la Meridienne (Marie-Antoinette'southward boudoir), the Salon d'Aurore, and new, up-close and in-situ details of objects that are not part of the general public excursion. Too included are historical memoirs and letters that provide fascinating insight into life at the palace." (Flammarion)

Where the museum is: exterior Paris

New Museum: 40 Years New

By Lisa Phillips; 240 pages; $50

"A rich, illustrated history of the New Museum, a pioneering, internationally renowned institution. Through a detailed chronology that captures the New York museum's legendary firsts, major milestones, groundbreaking exhibitions, and prescient curatorial thinking, this book provides the first authoritative history on an institution whose assuming and experimental spirit has made information technology a model twenty-first-century fine art museum. The volume traces its growth, from its beginnings in a classroom at the New Schoolhouse, to its role as an international institution." (Phaidon Printing)

Where the museum is:New York City

The Vatican: All the Paintings

By Anja Grebe; 542 pages; $75 (hardcover), $45 (paperback)

"The Vatican is i of the nigh visited sites in the world and houses many museums and palaces, every bit well equally 1 of the finest art collections known to man. Works of involvement include Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and his Pieta; the Raphael frescoes; the works of Giotto, Fra Angelico, Titian, and Caravaggio; and some of the world'south finest statues, manuscripts, architecture, and gardens, also every bit the earth's most precious Christian relics... The volume is organized into 22 sections representing the museums and areas of the Vatican, including the Pinacoteca, the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, the Borgia Apartments, the Vatican Palaces, and St. Peter's Basilica. Each i of the 976 works of art represented in the book—including 661 classical paintings on display in the permanent painting drove and 315 other masterpieces—is annotated with the proper name of the painting and artist, the date of the piece of work, the nascence and death dates of the artist, the medium that was used, the size of the work, and the itemize number (if applicable)." (Black Dog & Leventhal)

Where the museum is: Rome

The Museum of Broken Relationships

By Olinka Vistica; 224 pages; $12 (hardcover), $12 (e-volume)

"A postcard from a childhood sweetheart. A wedding dress sealed in a jar. A gyre of undeveloped film. An axe used to chop an ex-lover's piece of furniture in a fit of rage. A wind-upward toy, a bar of bath lather, a tin of Love Potion with the simple caption 'Doesn't work.' These objects, and many more, make up the whimsical, imaginative, poignant population of the Museum of Broken Relationships... Now, as the physical museum arrives for a permanent spot in Los Angeles, the authors accept collected the best, funniest, most heartwarming and heartrending stories from their huge choice of submissions. Much similar the bestselling PostSecret series, this beautiful oversized, 4-color book volition offer an irresistible glimpse inside other people's surreptitious worlds, creating moments of deep human being connectedness. It is a must read for anyone who has ever loved and lost." (Grand Central Publishing)

Where the museum is: Los Angeles

America'due south National Gallery of Art

Past Philip Kopper and the Publishing Office of the National Gallery of Art; 400 pages; $75

"In celebration of the 75th anniversary [in 2016] of a dear cultural institution, America's National Gallery of Art takes readers on a definitive inside bout through the museum's remarkable history. With lively prose and abundant illustrations, this richly detailed book recounts the evolution of the Gallery under its 4 directors―David Finley, John Walker, J. Carter Brown, and currently Earl A. Powell 3―and highlights the museum'southward collections, exhibitions, architecture, and ambient. Later chapters explore the Gallery's new accent on contemporary art and its historic 2022 agreement to have custody of the Corcoran Collection, giving readers and visitors a window onto the future of this national treasure." (Princeton University Press)

Where the museum is: Washington, D.C.

Sir John Soane'southward Museum, London

Past Tim Knox and Derry Moore; 160 pages; $36

"Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was one of the most inventive and original architects of his time... His almost famous and enduring legacy, all the same, is probably his extraordinary house-museum, which Soane adult from three properties in the atmospheric London district of Lincoln's Inn Fields. In this unique establishment, which embodies Soane's architectural vision and his passion for collecting, he accumulated an outstanding collection of plaster casts and more than 7,000 books, together with such spectacular items as the sarcophagus of the Egyptian male monarch Seti I... Written by a former director of the museum, and including the latest research into the creation of the house and its collections, the volume begins with a succinct and insightful history of Soane'south life. It reveals how he non only used his business firm-museum every bit a laboratory for developing his architectural ideas, only also intended the collection to become an 'Academy of Architecture' that would inform and inspire students for generations to come.... The second function of the book comprises a room-by-room tour of the building, including details nearly Soane's eclectic collection. The vivid text and evocative photographs, featuring many previously unpublished watercolors and artefacts, provide an eloquent account of this perpetually surprising, unforgettable cabinet of curiosities, which offers a fascinating and moving insight into the genius of an exceptional man." (Merrell Publishers)

Where the museum is: London

Frommer'southward has the guide

When y'all're ready to visit these places for yourself, Frommer's publishes the guidebooks to bring yous there. Our online Bookstore is the place to get your hands on all our current titles, which are freshly researched by experienced writers who give you honest opinions—costless of promotion, paid sponsorships, and fluff. Click here to visit the Frommer'due south Bookstore.

Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, New York City, Orlando, Oxford, Rome, Saratoga Springs, Versailles, Washington, D.C.

stlouisreeme1945.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/848228-gorgeous-coffee-table-books-from-great-museums