Balinese art : paintings and drawings of Bali 1800-2010 by Adrian Vickers

Tuttle Publishing, 2012

Tuttle Publishing, 2012

Balinese art over the last 200 years draws on a rich tradition of local village-based artistic styles as well as a mix of outside influences, from older Indian traditions to more recent Western developments. Even a quick glance through this beautifully illustrated book shows remarkably clear links between Bali’s traditional and contemporary arts, and demonstrates that these external influences have not managed to blunt the astonishing uniqueness of this vibrant visual culture.

Lloyd Rees : paintings, drawings and prints: Hendrik Kolenberg

Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013

Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2013

To open this book at almost any page is to fall in love with the work of Lloyd Rees all over again. Based on the holdings of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, it is easy to understand the esteem in which he continues to be held since his death in 1988, and to agree with the notion that he one of Australia’s “old-masters”. Has anybody ever drawn with a pencil in quite so luminous a fashion?

Always looking : essays on art by John Updike: edited by Christopher Carduff

Alfred A. Knopf, 2012

Alfred A. Knopf, 2012

One of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century, John Updike was also a great lover of the visual arts. This selection of his essays and reviews is so full of insight and charm that it reads more like observations enclosed in personal correspondence than the more typical art-speak of the cognoscenti; and none the worse for that.

“I say, I say … son!” : a tribute to legendary animators Bob, Chuck, and Tom McKimson by Robert McKimson Jr.

 

Santa Monica Press, 2012

Santa Monica Press, 2012

Art of course comes in all shapes and sizes, and this loving tribute by Robert McKimson Jnr. to the work of his father Bob and uncles Tom and Chuck reads like a potted history of the famous Warner Brothers cartoon studio. As the creator of Foghorn Leghorn (sheer genius!), not to mention the Tasmanian Devil and Speedy Gonzales, we are clearly in the presence of greatness.

The real thing from our Picture Collection

Tasmanian Devil, 1905

Tasmanian Devil, 1905

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