The Thames & Hudson book Introduction to Art - Thames & Hudson

Introduction to Art by Thames & Hudson is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of visual arts. Part 1 introduces the visual language of art, while Part 2 explains how art is created, from traditional media and processes such as stone sculpture, fresco, and oil painting, to contemporary approaches like digital and conceptual art, as well as installations. Part 3 provides an overview of art history from prehistoric times to the 21st century across all parts of the world, and Part 4 analyzes art through major themes that have inspired artists to create great works of art across different cultures and periods. Over 800 artworks are showcased and discussed in a clear and lively manner, offering a stimulating insight into visual arts. Additionally, the authors have selected eight iconic works representing the remarkable diversity of art created throughout history and across the globe. Since these masterpieces are examined from various perspectives in the four parts of the book, readers gain a deeper understanding of the skills involved in artistic creation and the endless expressive possibilities of art.

This beautifully illustrated book highlights the astonishing diversity of art in all its forms. Here, readers encounter timeless primal power in the Woman of Willendorf, created over 24,000 years before our era; dramatically different architectural masterpieces, from the temple at Great Plaza of Tikal in Guatemala, built between 300 and 900 BCE, to 20th-century innovations by Le Corbusier; the delicate detail of 15th-century portraits by Jan van Eyck alongside the double Elvis by Andy Warhol; and contemporary works, from traditionally crafted Japanese kimonos by Sonoko Sasaki to the dynamic and thought-provoking video art of Bill Viola. Thames & Hudson Introduction to Art is the most accessible and comprehensive guide to visual arts available, and an essential resource for students and art enthusiasts alike.

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 international perspectives, the company’s name combines 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 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. The company also develops a growing 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 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 company founded by Viennese émigré Wolfgang Foges. Neurath and Foges developed an innovative concept now known as book packaging (or co-publishing), where book ideas are developed, commissioned, produced, and sold to publishers operating in different markets and languages to produce large editions and reduce unit production costs. Neurath’s concept was the first of many innovations introduced into the publishing world through 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 established 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 the original Thames & Hudson list in 1950, *English Cathedrals*, with photographs by Martin Hürlimann, were the first and most successful. A testament to the brand’s strong conviction from the very beginning regarding the longevity of books, it 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—growing 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 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 in 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 television. Over 34 titles were 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 remarked 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 terms of production techniques.

2016 marked an extraordinary new chapter for the company, announcing a publishing partnership 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 stays true to its core principle: providing a “museum without walls.”
Today, Thames & Hudson is a recognizable international brand, a symbol of British publishing. Its catalogue includes thousands of incredible titles, many of which are prestigious collectible editions.

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