The chapel of St John the Baptist is a unique masterpiece of European art, with enormous historical, cultural and artistic importance. It was constructed in its entirety in Rome in the 1740s for a commission by the Portuguese monarch King John V, partially shown at the pontifical city (in 1747 and 1749) and then reassembled in the Church of São Roque in Lisbon. This is a complete and comprehensive study of the chapel, encompassing its design and construction, as well as the extraordinary collections within.

Magnificently illustrated with a stunning selection of photographs, this beautiful volume brings together the studies of a number of experts on the chapel’s architecture, sculpture, mosaics, metalwork and outstanding collections of silver, textiles, furniture and books. Specialist and non-specialist alike will not fail to be captivated by the extraordinary beauty of this unparalleled architectural and artistic creation.

With contributions by António Filipe Pimentel, Carlo Stefano Salerno, Magda Tassinari, Marialuisa Rizzini, Cristina Pinton Basto and Fatima Rezende Gomes.

A cathedral is the mother church of a diocese, the seat of a bishop. Together, the 42 English cathedrals of the Church of England constitute one of the world’s great achievements in architecture. They are an artistic embodiment of the spiritual sublime as well as a unique record of the history of England.

They include the great medieval cathedrals of Canterbury, Winchester, Durham and Ely, which were supported by monastic communities, and the medieval secular glories of Lincoln, Salisbury, Exeter and York Minster. Later, in the wake of the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII was inspired to create several new cathedrals including those at Peterborough, Oxford and Gloucester. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the demands of population growth led to the enlargement and upgrading to cathedral status of a number of fine churches such as Manchester, Birmingham and Southwark, and the building of innovative new cathedrals including Liverpool and Guildford. The destruction of war caused a new cathedral to be built at Coventry.

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England is responsible for national policy on this extraordinary collective heritage. Its Director, Janet Gough, provides pen portraits of all 42 cathedrals, each illustrated with eye-catching photographs, in this new title in Scala’s Director’s Choice series.

This beautifully illustrated volume tells the stories behind 50 artefacts from the cathedrals of England and Wales.

The cathedrals of England and Wales are remarkable buildings. From the centuries leading up to the Norman Conquest to the tumults of the Reformation to the devastating wars of the 20th century, they carry traces of our nations’ darkest moments and most brilliant endeavours.

This beautifully illustrated new volume tells the stories behind 50 remarkable artefacts – one for each cathedral – that have been preserved by the cathedrals of the Church of England and the Church in Wales.

Featuring the Magna Carta of Salisbury Cathedral as well as the oldest book of English literature in the world, an Anglo-Saxon portable sundial, and Pre-Raphaelite glass, painting and embroidery, these local and national treasures are a vital part of our heritage, testifying to the powerful and enduring links between cathedrals and the wider communities of which they are part.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the world’s first museum solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human rights. It is Canada’s first national museum to be built in nearly half a century, and the first outside the National Capital Region. This Director’s Tour is the perfect companion to the immersive, interactive experience the Museum offers its visitors – Director John Young provides an engaging, personal guide to the structure, themes and philosophy of this unique institution.

The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian’s houses one of the world’s most important private art collections, comprising artworks assembled by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian and ranging from Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Mesopotamian art to painting, sculpture and the decorative arts. In this addition to the successful Director’s Choice series, António Filipe Pimentel, who has been the Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum since January 2021, showcases a range of spectacular pieces, summarising the Museum’s treasures in a beautifully illustrated guide.

For six decades, sculptor Bruce Beasley has worked in a range of media to build complex, resonant sculptures that communicate the primacy of form and express the emotional language of shape. Bruce Beasley: Sixty Year Retrospective is an elegant survey of his illustrious career: from early experiments in scrap iron during the 1960s; aluminum works of the 1970s; cast acrylic sculptures of the 1970s and 80s; and stone, stainless steel and bronze works of the 1990s to the present day. The catalog also features Beasley’s latest venture into two-dimensional media.

This richly illustrated book includes Beasley’s reflections on his career. In a conversation, Beasley and Lawrence Weschler discuss art and activism. Essays discussing his processes and appraising his impact are written by curator Tom Moran and Marlena Doktorczyk-Donohue, Director of the Bruce Beasley Foundation and Professor of Art History at Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles.

The Brontës of Haworth were a prodigiously imaginative literary family. From the earliest manuscripts of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne – written with a quill pen in a minuscule hand designed to mimic the printed page – to explosive novels, such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, written in adulthood by Emily and Charlotte, the family’s writings continue to fascinate. This elegantly designed, fully illustrated publication provides an intimate portrait of a singular family of writers through the manuscripts, rare printed books, personal documents, and private letters preserved in the Brontë collection of the Morgan Library & Museum, one of the world’s finest. It accompanies a major exhibition at the Morgan from 9 September 2016 to 2 January 2017.

The Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust cares for five venues in Brighton and Hove, including the spectacular Royal Pavilion.

The Royal Pavilion was created by George IV as his sumptuous summer retreat, John Nash designed its final form in a Moghul Indian style. The Trust’s other venues are Brighton Museum and Art Gallery that holds important local history and archaeology, world art, and decorative art collections; Preston Manor a large house preserved in the Edwardian style with a beautiful walled garden; The Booth Museum of Natural History; and Hove Museum and Art Gallery.

The Trust cares for around one million objects, many of international importance and covering a wide range of subjects and types. In this enjoyable and richly illustrated guide, Hedley Swain, the Trust’s CEO, shares highlights from The Trust’s vast collections.

In reaction to the widespread pursuit of Abstract Expressionism in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Paul Wonner and William “Theophilus” Brown were among the artists in the San Francisco Bay Area who began to re-engage with the visible world, applying the gestural style of action painting to depictions of people, landscapes, and still lifes. Together, the couple aligned themselves with this new direction and became leading practitioners of the style known today as Bay Area Figuration. Over time, both artists’ works became less gestural and more overtly representational. Brown became known for his psychologically evocative landscapes with classic bathers, as well as for his lonely urban scenes. Wonner received greatest acclaim for his “baroque” still lifes laden with everyday objects, animals, and flowers.

Published to accompany the most comprehensive exhibition of the artists’ work ever mounted, this exquisite publication offers an in-depth study of these trailblazing artists. Exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA (30 April-27 August 2023) travels to the Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA (14 October 2023-7 Jan 2024); and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, TN (28 January-30 March 2024).