History & Criticism Books

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised. ...more

Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is the first book to explore the meticulously composed and richly detailed photographs that Norman Rockwell used to create his famous artworks. Working alongside skilled photographers, Rockwell acted as director, carefully orchestrating models, selecting props, and choosing locations for the photographs--works of art in their ...more

In this book, the distinguished writer Edward Luttwak presents the grand strategy of the eastern Roman empire we know as Byzantine, which lasted more than twice as long as the more familiar western Roman empire, eight hundred years by the shortest definition. This extraordinary endurance is all the more remarkable ...more

illustrated with 12-page color photo insert and line art throughout A revised and expanded edition of the classic drawing-instruction book that has sold more than 2,500,000 copies. When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within ...more

Thomas Kinkade, known as the Painter of Light, is the most collected artist in the world. His heartwarming paintings included in the Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light 2010 Wall Calendar are inspired from simple life-affirming values: home, family, friends, tradition, community, and God. Cobblestone bridges, majestic lighthouses, quiet fishing holes, ...more

Featuring over 1,500 engravings that originally graced the pages of Webster's dictionaries in the 19th century, this chunky volume is an irresistible treasure trove for art lovers, designers, and anyone with an interest in visual history. Meticulously cleaned and restored by fine-press bookmaker Johnny Carrera, the engravings in Pictorial Webster's ...more

Named one of the best art books of 2008 by The New York Times and The Sunday Times [London]: “An indelible portrait of a peculiar society.”—Vogue The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, ...more

Mary Engelbreit is commonly referred to as "The Queen of Everything." For 2010, let Mary Engelbreit's Your Home Is Your Canvas 2010 Desk Calendar be an inspiration and help make your days the "breit"est they can be. Some artists use a canvas to create masterpieces, but others use their home ...more

Mary Engelbreit is commonly referred to as "The Queen of Everything." For 2010, let Mary Engelbreit's The More the Mary-er Calendar be an inspiration and help make your days the "breit"est they can be. For years, Mary Engelbreit's artwork has been a great source of inspiration to people around the ...more

It's a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of World War II: a lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge Vermeers, one of which he sold to Hermann Goering, making a mockery of the Nazis. And it's a story that's ...more