Landscape Painting Now From Pop Abstraction to New Romanticism - Thames & Hudson

Although it may be surprising to some, landscape painting is thriving in the 21st century – this genre has probably never been more important than it is today. Landscape painting is the first book of its kind with a global perspective on the subject, featuring over eighty outstanding contemporary artists – both well-known and emerging – ranging in age from seven decades and hailing from twenty-five different countries.

Through thematic organization into six chapters – Realism and Beyond, Pop-pop Landscapes, New Romanticism, Constructed Realities, Abstract Topographies, and Complex Views – the book offers a generous window into the best contemporary landscape art, from the sensuous, lush landscapes of Cecily Brown to Trinidad Peter Doig’s magical realism, Maureen Gallace’s serene seaside cottages and foaming ocean, David Hockney’s radiant seasonal changes in the English countryside, Julie Mehretu’s dynamic cartographic abstractions, and far beyond in post-apocalyptic dioramas by Alexis Rockman.

Landscape painting includes an extensive essay by art critic Barry Schwabsky. His text weaves throughout the entire book, tracing the history of landscape painting from its beginnings in Eastern and Western art, through its transformation in the 20th century, to its contemporary development. With over 400 color reproductions, including many details, this ambitious survey makes a compelling case for the ongoing significance of landscape painting in our times.

The Thames & Hudson company 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, as well as the research of leading scientists, accessible to a broad public. 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 company, Thames & Hudson is one of the leading publishers of illustrated books worldwide, with over 2000 titles in print. It publishes high-quality books across all areas of visual creativity: arts (fine arts, applied arts, decorative arts, performing arts), architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and music, as well as archaeology, history, and popular culture. It is also expanding its list of children’s books. 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 Thames & Hudson

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 company founded by Viennese émigré Wolfgang Foges. Neurath and Foges developed a pioneering concept of what is now called book packaging (or co-publishing), where ideas for books are developed, commissioned, 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 that Thames & Hudson introduced to the publishing world.

Desiring to continue book packaging in a second edition and recognizing the need to amortize the high costs of producing illustrated books, Neurath founded his own publishing company, 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 Thames & Hudson's first list in 1950, *English Cathedrals*, with photographs by Martin Hürlimann, were the first and most successful. The company's strong conviction 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 buildings 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 with 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 significant series that added depth and prestige to the list include *Ancient People and Places*, edited by Glyn Daniel, who from the 1950s contributed to pioneering interest in archaeology, both in book form and on television. Over 34 titles have been published in this series over 34 years. The large-format *Great Civilizations* series, published in 1961, featured 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 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 technically.

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 extensive catalog includes thousands of incredible titles, many of which are luxurious collector’s editions.

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