The Letters of Paul Cézanne book - Thames & Hudson

Cézanne is the exemplary artist-creator of modern times. Revered and misunderstood by his contemporaries, praised by later generations as the “father of modern art,” he has long been a subject of fascination for artists and art lovers, writers, poets, and philosophers. Cézanne, the only thinker and uncompromising seeker of artistic truth, directed a large part of his versatile intellect and sharp wit into his letters. Over 250 examples have been preserved for family, friends, and leading figures from the worlds of literature and art. The letters, interrupted by irritable philosophical and theoretical reflections, bursts of creative ecstasy, and melancholic confessions reveal both heroic and overly human traits of the greatest artist of modern times.

This new translation by renowned biographer Alex Danchev is based on a thorough reanalysis of the original manuscripts. It removes decades of dubious scholarship and includes over twenty previously unpublished letters. The correspondence is richly annotated and referenced to the current catalogue raisonné and other recent scholarly works. More than seventy illustrations—sketches, autographed letters, and key works discussed by Cézanne—bring the artist’s vibrant presence to every page.

One of Danchev’s major achievements is enabling English-speaking readers to hear Cézanne’s voice for the first time in his idiomatic, idiosyncratic style. And it sounds rather different from the Cézanne we thought we knew—richer, wittier, wiser, more philosophical, more irritable, and above all, more human. The letters offer a fresh perspective on his artistic vision, politics, friendships, psychology, philosophy, literary tastes, and classical references. They provide an intimate insight into the artist’s concerns and personality.

Thames & Hudson 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 and leading scholarly research accessible to a broad audience. To reflect their international outlook, the company’s name combined the rivers flowing through London and New York, represented in their 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 world’s leading publishers of illustrated books, with over 2,000 titles in print. It publishes high-quality collectible books across all areas of visual creativity: 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, a 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 production director at Adprint, a company founded by Viennese émigré Wolfgang Foges. Neurath and Foges developed an innovative concept now known as 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 reduce unit production costs. Neurath’s concept was the first of many innovations that Thames & Hudson brought to the publishing world.

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 established his own publishing house, with offices in London and New York, in the autumn of 1949. Eva Neurath, who arrived in London from Berlin in 1939, was a co-founder.

In 1958, Thames & Hudson launched one of its most renowned series, *World of Art*, which became the foundation for a highly diverse list. Characterized by pocket-sized format 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 significant series that added depth and prestige to the list include *Ancient People and Places*, edited by Glyn 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, featured contributions from esteemed scholars such as Alan Bullock, Asa Briggs, Hugh Trevor-Roper, A. J. P. Taylor, and John Julius Norwich.
After building 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 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, along with 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.

2016 marked the beginning of 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 collectible editions.