A National Book Critics Circle finalist • One of Vogue's Best Books of the Year A dazzling biography of one of the twentieth century's most respected painters, Helen Frankenthaler, as she came of age as an artist in postwar New York “The magic of Alexander Nemerov's portrait of Helen Frankenthaler in Fierce Poise is that it reads like one of Helen's paintings. His poetic descriptions of her work and his rich insights into the years when Helen made her first artistic breakthroughs are both light and lush, seemingly easy and yet profound. His book is an ode to a truly great artist who, some seventy years after this story begins, we are only now beginning to understand.” ―Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women At the dawn of the 1950s, a promising and dedicated young painter named Helen Frankenthaler, fresh out of college, moved back home to New York City to make her name. By the decade's end, she had succeeded in establishing herself as an important American artist of the postwar period. In the years in between, she made some of the most daring, head-turning paintings of her day and also came into her own as a woman: traveling the world, falling in and out of love, and engaging in an ongoing artistic education. She also experienced anew―and left her mark on―the city in which she had been raised in privilege as the daughter of a judge, even as she left the security of that world to pursue her artistic ambitions. Brought to vivid life by acclaimed art historian Alexander Nemerov, these defining moments--from her first awed encounter with Jackson Pollock's drip paintings to her first solo gallery show to her tumultuous breakup with eminent art critic Clement Greenberg―comprise a portrait as bold and distinctive as the painter herself. Inspired by Pollock and the other male titans of abstract expressionism but committed to charting her own course, Frankenthaler was an artist whose talent was matched only by her unapologetic determination to distinguish herself in a man's world. Fierce Poise is an exhilarating ride through New York's 1950s art scene and a brilliant portrait of a young artist through the moments that shaped her.

Captivated in his youth by the new technology of photography. Kazumasa Ogawa (1860-1929) became one of the most enterprising and important early photographers, technicians, and printers in Japan. This book presents a majestic collection of images from one of Japan's most important early photographers.

This book examines the artistic partnership of Ben Nicholson and Winifred Nicholson in the 1920s and their friendship and collaboration with Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, and the potter William Staite Murray. Inspired by each other, the Nicholsons experimented furiously and often painted the same subject, one as a colorist the other more interested in form. Winifred wrote of her time with Ben, 'All artists are unique and can only unite as complementaries not as similarities'. New research based on previously unpublished letters, photographs and other material draws out their fascinating connections. All the works, many of which are previously unpublished, are illustrated in full color, each with comments relating to the work by the artists and their critics.

The Grosvenor School of Modern Art was founded by the influential teacher, painter and wood-engraver, Iain McNab, in 1925. Situated in London's Pimlico district the school played a key role in the story of modern British printmaking between the wars. The Grosvenor School artists received critical acclaim in their time that continued until the late 1930s under the influence of Claude Flight who pioneered a revolutionary method of making the simple linocut to dynamic and colourful effect. Cyril Power, a lecturer in architecture at the school, and Sybil Andrews, the School Secretary, were two of Flight's star students. Whilst incorporating the avant-garde values of Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism, the Grosvenor School printmakers brought their own unique interpretation of the contemporary world to the medium of linocut in images that are strikingly familiar to this day and are included in the print collections of the world's major museums, including the British Museum, the MoMA New York and the Australian National Gallery. This new book which accompanies an exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery illustrates over 120 linocuts, drawings and posters by Grosvenor School artists and its thematic layout focuses on the key components which made up their dynamic and rhythmic visual imagery. For the first time, three Australian printmakers, Dorrit Black, Ethel Spowers and Eveline Syme - who played a major part in the Grosvenor School story - are included in a major museum exhibition outside of Australia.

A pioneering painter and printmaker, Nikolai Astrup (1880-1928) spent his life capturing the landscapes of his home in Western Norway, imbuing his work with mysticism and an enigmatic symbolic content. The first UK exhibition of his work will run at the Dulwich Picture Gallery from February to May 2016. Over 90 oil paintings and prints will explore the breadth and depth of Astrup's unique artistic practice, shining a spotlight on of one of Norway's most renowned artists of the twentieth century. AUTHOR: Frances Carey is an independent curator and consultant who was formerly Deputy Keeper of Prints and Drawings and Head of National Programmes at the British Museum. She has published on the history of art and culture from the eighteenth century to the present day. Ian A.C. Dejardin is the Sackler Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, London. He graduated with a Master (Hons) in History of Art from Edinburgh University; appointed Curator at Dulwich in 1997, he became the gallery's Director in 2005 and since then has presided over a varied and international exhibition programme. MaryAnne Stevens is an independent art historian and curator who has previously worked at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, as Director of Academic Affairs, before serving as Acting Secretary for three years. She has been published extensively, and curated or co-curated many major international exhibitions, including Manet: Portraying Life and Jean-Etienne Liotard. SELLING POITS: * An elegant catalogue showcasing the illustrations and prints of Nikolai Astrup * Beautiful illustrations displayed without the distraction of scholarly comment * Astrup is a well-loved Norwegian painter, uniquely able to capture the spirit of his home 175 colour

Published in conjunction with the exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery on November 1, 2014-March 8, 2015 and Art Gallery of Ontario on April 11-July 12, 2015.