Book Description

This roll-call of British artists confirms the dominance and excellence of British art across five centuries, from Blake to Banksy , Turner to Tracey Emin. This highly readable and informative collection of the best of British art showcases magnificent portraits by Thomas Gainsborough and Stanley Spencer; landscapes by J. M. W. Turner and David Hockney; satire by William Hogarth and Gilbert & George; sculpture by Henry Moore and Rachel Whiteread; and the latest works by Grayson Perry and Damien Hirst. Each artist is presented in a double-page spread that features a major work, details from the work, a brief biography and fascinating insights into the artist's life and times. Lucinda Hawksley's engaging survey compares the skill of the Elizabethan miniaturists and the magnificence of the High Victorians with the grit of post-war British modernists and the best of the Young British Artists, whose fearless approach to controversial themes make them worthy inheritors of the great traditions of British art. AUTHOR: Lucinda Hawksley is the author of numerous books on art, literature and British history, including 'Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel', 'Katey: The Life and Loves of Dickens's Artist Daughter' and 'The Secret History of Art'. She lectures frequently at the National Portrait Gallery in London, is a patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, and is an award-winning travel writer. 140 illustrations