Jeremy Lewison

Though little known outside her native country, Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946) is one of Finland's best-loved artists. Her career, which stretched from the late 1870s to the end of the Second World War, encompassed both Impressionism and Modernism. This book records an exhibition that marks the first time her works have been seen in the UK since she exhibited in London herself in 1890. It presents the full range of her exceptional paintings and drawings, with 70 works in all genres, including portrait, landscape and still-life. Schjerfbeck's technique, her social and cultural context and her legacy are all examined in depth by the authors. The book also explores the role of the masquerade in Schjerfbeck's work, and the impact of old-master paintings on her practice.

Paul Huxley RA (b.1938) has enjoyed a distinguished career both as a painter and a teacher. Huxley's fascinating artistic life, expertly surveyed by Jeremy Lewison, is at last given the attention that it deserves in this, the first monograph on the artist. Huxley's early interest in abstraction chimed with the dynamism that pulsed through London's art scene in the 1960s. Recognised as a new talent by pioneering curator Bryan Robertson, Huxley enjoyed early success in exhibitions including The New Generation, which opened at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1964. Building from this positive critical reception, and immersing himself in the vibrant artistic communities of London and New York, Huxley built a career characterised by an instinct to push boundaries and find new ways to advance the language of abstract painting. Constantly evolving, the artist's rich body of work, highlights of which are presented here, stands as testament to a life committed to tirelessly investigating and challenging form, space and colour.

Burst! Abstract Painting After 1945 looks at the close, but previously unexplored relationship between Abstract Expressionism and Art Informel. Through texts and close to 100 illustrations, the book describes a vital creative exchange across the Atlantic that would entirely redefine painting. Big, expansive, paint-splattered surfaces; spontaneous actions captured on canvas; new ideas of freedom. A story of post-war recovery and Transatlantic dialogue. On both sides of the ocean, society was reacting to the horrors of the Second World War, the Holocaust and the coming of the atom bomb. The book shows how artists searched for new ways to deal with these shattering events. With works by Jean Dubuffet, Natalia Dumitresco, Helen Frankenthaler, Asger Jorn, Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Barnett Newman, Georges Mathieu, Hedda Sterne and Clyfford Still, and more.

“...perhaps the definitive tome on her life and career." – Nena Hawke, BlackBook "...an important new monograph about Alice Neel, one of the greatest portrait painters of the 20th Century, whose work continually pushes the boundaries of social justice" – The Art Newspaper "This is the defining treatise on Alice Neel." —Booklaunch “I have always believed that women should resent and refuse to accept all the gratuitous insults that men impose upon them.” – Alice Neel, 1971 One of the greatest portrait artists of the 20th century, Alice Neel’s vibrant, expressionistic paintings revealed a breath-taking depth of emotion within her subjects. From works exploring loss and grief, to communist political art, Neel’s work pushed boundaries of social justice throughout the 1900s. Her dedication to capturing the truth of humanity is evident: she painted those rejected by society, the victims of social or gendered oppression. Latin American and Puerto Rican immigrants, African-American writers excluded from the intellectual elite, single mothers struggling to raise their children, homosexual couples – all were presented with equal candidness by Neel’s brush. Her unflinching approach to the female body took a ground-breaking step towards reclaiming the nude from the male gaze, and the activism inherent to her art resonates with viewers to this day. This book highlights Neel’s political and social commitment to her art, as a figurative painter at odds with the artistic styles of the avant-gardes of her time. Structured in two thematic parts – social injustice and gender inequality – this retrospective includes some 60 paintings and drawings as well as numerous documents. Following the artist from her first works in the 1920s to her final evocative self-portrait, made shortly before her death, this is the defining treatise on Alice Neel. '"Neel places us directly in front of her models to engage our look. She literally pushes her subjects into our personal space to make us confront individuals who are normally invisible..." Angela Lampe finishes up with the following: "With great pictorial power, Neel forces them upon us: look at them!"