In the Gardens of Impressionism - Thames & Hudson

From Manet's earliest depictions in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris to Monet's late water lilies painted in Giverny – the Impressionists' romance with gardens has left an exciting legacy. Indeed, as places of rest, relaxation, beauty, and leisure, they were the Impressionist subject par excellence, offering all the fleeting beauty of color and light that these artists adored. But what significance might lie beneath the surface of their works? This book explores the Impressionists' fascination with gardens, parks, and flowers in the context of the “great gardening movement” and the changing political and cultural landscape in France. Drawing on sources such as gardening magazines, well-known novels by Zola and Flaubert, Baudelaire's poetry, and personal letters from the artists, it describes how gardens were key to the Impressionists' discovery through their characteristic outdoor scenes (en plein air), style, and their influence on artists as spaces that were simultaneously “modern” and filled with nostalgia. It also brings to life the charming tradition of floral symbolism in 19th-century France and examines – for the first time in history – how this permeated the work of key Impressionists like Monet. The final chapter covers the spread of Impressionist garden painting beyond France, exploring exciting developments in the UK, Germany, North America, and Japan.

New discoveries regarding the works of Manet, Renoir, Degas, Monet, and Pissarro, extensive discussion of lesser-known Impressionists such as Bazille, Caillebotte, and Guillaumin, as well as spectacular illustrations, including period photographs, magazine engravings, cartoons, as well as paintings and sketches, make this book appealing to scholars, students, art lovers, and gardening enthusiasts alike.

The Thames & Hudson manufactory was founded in 1949 by Walter and Eva Neurath. Their greatest passion and mission was to create a “museum without walls” and to make the world of art accessible to a broad audience, as well as to the research of leading scientists. To reflect international perspectives, the company's name combined the rivers flowing through London and New York, represented in its logo by two dolphins symbolizing friendship and intelligence, one facing east, the other west, suggesting a connection between the Old World and the New.

Today, still an independent, family-owned publisher, Thames & Hudson is one of the leading publishers of illustrated books worldwide, with over 2,000 titles in print. It publishes high-quality collectible books across all areas of visual creativity: fine arts (fine arts, applied arts, decorative arts, performing arts), architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and music, as well as archaeology, history, and popular culture. The list of children’s books is also expanding. Headquartered in London with a sister company in New York and branches in Melbourne, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In Paris, another subsidiary, Interart, distributes English-language books in France.

History of the Thames & Hudson brand

Walter Neurath was born in Vienna in 1903. In 1938, he left his hometown – where he ran an art gallery and published illustrated books – for London. Initially, he worked as a production director at Adprint, a brand founded by Viennese émigré Wolfgang Foges. Neurath and Foges developed an innovative concept of what is now called book packaging (or co-publishing), where ideas for books are developed, ordered, produced, and sold to publishers operating in different markets and languages, to create large editions and thus reduce unit production costs. Neurath’s concept was the first of many innovations introduced into the publishing world by Thames & Hudson.

Seeking to continue the packaging of collectible books in a second edition and recognizing the need to amortize the high costs of producing illustrated books, Neurath founded his own publishing house, with offices in London and New York, in the fall of 1949. Eva Neurath, who arrived in London from Berlin in 1939, was a co-founder.

Of the ten titles published on the first list by Thames & Hudson in 1950, *English Cathedrals*, with photographs by Martin Hürlimann, was the first and achieved the greatest success. The strong conviction of the brand from the very beginning regarding the longevity of books remained in print until 1971. In the first year of publication, Albert Einstein's *Out of My Later Years* also appeared, an early indicator of the program's breadth. As the list gradually expanded—from ten titles in 1950 to 144 in 1955—the company moved its offices to High Holborn and in 1956 relocated to a Georgian townhouse at 30 Bloomsbury Street, near Bedford Square, becoming the epicenter of book publishing in London. The manufacturing remained at this address, eventually expanding to five houses by 1999, when it returned to High Holborn. In 1958, Thames & Hudson launched one of its most renowned series, *World of Art*, which became the foundation of a highly diverse list. Characterized by pocket-sized editions and black spines, the series expanded in just seven years to include 49 titles. Nearly 60 years later, the series boasts over 300 titles, which, according to Christopher Frayling, are “stained with paint copies” in every art school across the country.

Other important series that added depth and prestige to the list include *Ancient People and Places*, edited by Glynn Daniel, who since the 1950s contributed to pioneering interest in archaeology, both in book form and television. Over 34 titles have been published in this series over 34 years. The large-format *Great Civilizations* series, published in 1961, included contributions from esteemed scholars such as Alan Bullock, Asa Briggs, Hugh Trevor-Roper, A. J. P. Taylor, and John Julius Norwich.
After establishing one of the most important publishing houses in Europe in less than two decades, Walter Neurath died in 1967 at the age of 63. Sculptor Henry Moore wrote that “his death was a loss to our cultural life.” Sir Herbert Read noted that Neurath “more than anyone else was responsible for the revolution in art publishing” and was “one of those rare entrepreneurs who successfully combine business acumen with idealism.” Eva Neurath became chairwoman. Walter’s son, Thomas, who joined the company in 1961 along with his sister Constance, became managing director; Constance later served as artistic director for several decades. Both Thomas and Constance remain on the Thames & Hudson board, as do Thomas’s daughters, Johanna and Susanna.
From producing the first commercial edition of *The Book of Kells* to the triumphant publication of the six-volume *Vincent van Gogh - Letters*, from technical innovations like “French folds” to the controversial documentation of graffiti art in *Subway Art*, Thames & Hudson has always been at the forefront, both culturally and in production techniques.

The year 2016 marked an extraordinary new chapter for the company, announcing publishing partnerships with two of the world’s most important museums: the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The world of art and scholarship remains at the heart of Thames & Hudson’s publishing program, which remains true to its core principle: providing a “museum without walls.”
Today, Thames & Hudson is a recognizable international brand, a symbol of British publishing. Its catalog includes thousands of engaging titles, many of which are luxurious collectible editions.

Manufacturer information