For nearly two decades, from 1966, Thea Porter created clothes made from sumptuous fabrics that drew inspiration from a view of the exotic Middle East. Combining richly patterned silks with antique fabrics, her clothes were a must for music and film stars such as Pink Floyd, Crystal Gayle, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand. Fashion magazines all over the world featured her latest styles and Thea became a key member of the innovative group of British designers that included Ossie Clark, Zandra Rhodes and Jean Muir. During her lifetime she won huge acclaim, and her place in the history of British fashion was ensured when she won Designer of the Year in 1972. Thea Porter was included in several landmark exhibitions on twentieth-century fashion. 'Thea Porter's Scrapbook' is her story in her own words, an unpublished autobiography she put together before her death in 2000. Edited by her daughter, Venetia, and with an essay by fashion historian Amy de la Haye, this book, illustrated with sketches, letters, press cuttings and photographs, describes Thea's family history and upbringing in Syria, and, through her own letters, her years as a student in London after the Second World War and her life in the cosmopolitan city of Beirut during the 1950s and 1960s.

'Thea's are the only clothes I never throw away.' Joan Collins

Dressing up. Partying all night. This is the world of 1970s fashion, and this book is your backstage pass. Featuring over 25 exclusive interviews with the movers and shakers of the 70s scene, including Grace Coddington, Zandra Rhodes, Willy van Rooy, Marie Helvin, Pat Cleveland, Elsa Peretti and more, Behind the Gloss lifts the lid on the hedonistic, wild world of the 1970s. They were the designers who dressed the Rolling Stones, Charlotte Rampling and Catherine Deneuve; the photographers who shot Diana Ross, Lauren Hutton and Jerry Hall; the fashion editors, hairstylists and make-up artists who worked with some of the most beautiful women in the world; and they would change the fashion world forever. Featuring images, sketches and Polaroids exclusively sourced from the contributors' archives, Behind the Gloss tells the revelatory story of the decade of experimentation.

'James Hanning's book is excellent . . . The fascination of Love & Deception lies in the meticulously detailed account it gives of Philby's strange half-life in Beirut, where he was banished in 1956' Guardian Love & Deception is the extraordinary story of how Eleanor, an able, cultured American living in the espionage hot spot of 1950s Beirut, fell in love with the kindest of men. Unknown to her, that man, Kim Philby, was under suspicion by the British and US intelligence services of having secretly signed up to help the Russians fight fascism in the 1930s, and of remaining in their pay at the height of the Cold War. Despite his mysterious past, Eleanor adored and married Philby, but the strength of their love was challenged as the net steadily closed in on him. The outline of Philby's story is familiar to many, but Love & Deception breaks remarkable new ground. Through extensive research, Hanning produces an eye-opening tale of friendship, politics, love and loyalty. 'Fascinating and superbly researched' TLS 'I am always gripped by the Philby story and James Hanning succeeds in putting new flesh on this fascinating period in his double life . . . I thoroughly recommend it' Marina Hyde 'If ever there was a cautionary tale about the true costs of male privilege in the higher echelons of the British establishment - this is it' Amanda Foreman

Cette monographie retrace l'évolution de la pratique de l'artiste libanaise Laure Ghorayeb, de l'écriture au dessin et à la peinture. Seconde publication dans la série de la Saradar Collection, l'ouvrage inclut des textes de Venetia Porter, Maha Azizé Sultan, un entretien avec l'artiste et une sélection de dessins, peintures et poèmes de l'artiste de 1960 à 2017. Reconnue pour ses dessins complexes et détaillés à l'encre, son œuvre représente des chroniques de sa vie, ainsi que des événements et des personnes qui ont eu un impact sur celle-ci, tels que les guerres civiles libanaises et les membres de sa famille.

Reflections: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa brings together an extraordinary collection of work from the British Museum for the first time. The contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa is rich and vibrant. Whether living in their countries of birth or in diaspora, the featured artists are part of the globalised world of art. Here we see artists responding to and making work about their present, histories, traditions and cultures, reflecting on a part of the world that has experienced extraordinary change in living memory.The British Museum has been acquiring the work of Middle Eastern and North African artists since the 1980s, and the collection - principally works on paper - is one of the most extensive in the public sphere. Collected within the context of a museum of history, the works offer insights into the nature of civil societies, the complex politics of the region, and cultural traditions in their broadest sense, from the relationship with Islamic art, to the deep engagement with literature.The introduction to the book by curator Venetia Porter explores the history of the collection and the works included. The essential framework for understanding the politics and context within which the artists are working is provided by Charles Tripp's essay. The works are grouped into seven chapters, each beginning with a short introduction. The authors explore the selection within themes such as faith, abstraction and the female gaze.