Hokusai (1760–1849) created sublime works during the last thirty years of his life, right up to his death at the age of almost ninety. This book presents fresh scholarship on the paintings and prints created by the artist during his final three decades, bringing together the finest examples to be found in Japan and around the world.

Hokusai's personal beliefs are studied here through major brush paintings, drawings, woodblock prints, and illustrated books. This publication gives due attention to the contribution of Hokusai's daughter Eijo (Oi), an accomplished artist in her own right. Hokusai continually explored the mutability and minutiae of natural phenomena in his art. His late subjects and styles were based on a mastery of eclectic Japanese, Chinese, and European techniques and an encyclopedic knowledge of nature, myth, and history. This collection of Hokusai's works is a uniquely valuable overview of the artist’s late career.

If you think you know Hokusai (1760–1849), think again. Long before The Great Wave, the great master turned his hand (and eye) to something altogether more intimate. From maidservants and wives to courtesans, lovers, and curious onlookers – and, yes, an infamous pair of frisky octopuses – Hokusai’s shunga (literally “spring pictures”) are bold, joyful, and often laugh-out-loud funny.

This comprehensive portfolio brings together eight complete books and print sets from 1786–1823, with many of their accompanying narratives penned by the artist himself. Blending the visual with the verbal, the pages brim with exaggerated anatomy, impish voyeurism, tender exchanges, and a surprisingly egalitarian attitude to enjoyment for both sexes.

In contrast to the prudery of 18th-century Europe, Edo-period (1603–1868) Japan accepted sexuality as a natural part of life. With shunga officially banned but tolerated in practice, many reputable artists navigated government censorship to embrace the genre with gusto, albeit under pseudonyms. These works were made to entertain, to arouse, and even used for good luck – samurai carried them as talismans when going into battle. Technical innovations in printing during Hokusai’s lifetime allowed for rich colours and exquisitely rendered textiles, but the content remained delightfully human: full of risky rendezvous, stolen moments, and scenes of marital (or extra-marital) bliss.

Realized with new photography of these rare works, and complemented by an in-depth introduction and explanatory essays, this retrospective offers gorgeous glimpses into a lesser-known but wildly imaginative thread in Hokusai’s over 70-year career: proof, perhaps, that great masters have their guilty pleasures too.

• "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" — Hokusai's greatest work, featuring unusual views of Japan's sacred mountain, including the iconic "Great Wave off Kanagawa"
• A Tour of Japan's Waterfalls" — Depicting Japan's scenic mountain waterfalls in dramatic compositions
• "Snow, Moon, and Flowers" — Sensual beauty and natural landscapes including
• "Kabuki Actors" — Leading actors of the day, depicting iconic characters from Japanese history
• Plus many more!

A look at three masters of Japanese landscape prints from one of the world’s best collections of the genre

In the 1830s, a new type of color woodblock print caused a sensation in the world of Japanese popular culture. The bestselling success of landscape series by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) and his younger colleague and rival Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) suddenly made landscape prints as important as figure prints, and numerous other artists started to emulate these two masters. Beginning in the 1860s, these works entered the European market and influenced artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet; at the same time, Japanese artists began to study and take inspiration from Western art. As a result, artists such as Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) produced color woodblock prints that captured the beauty of the Japanese landscape by traditional production methods but in a new, Westernized drawing style. This publication examines the historical development of the Japanese landscape print through a comparison of these three major artists: Hokusai, the innovator; Hiroshige, the developer; and Hasui, who reinvented the field in modern terms. Featuring lavish reproductions of more than 100 artworks, as well as commentary by curator Sarah E. Thompson, this visual triptych underscoring the enduring appeal of these artists will delight and inspire readers.

Horses have appeared in works of art throughout history and across the globe, frequently as depictions of the horse in battle, as a form of transportation or within the settings of racing, hunting or breeding. Culturally, the horse is significant across the world.

This book seeks to explore the long and rich trajectory of art focusing on horses and equestrian art from their historic use in battle or as tools in agricultural labour up to their representation as an allegory for wildness and power in modern art to the current fascination with horse racing and breeding.

Offering in-depth explorations of over fifty artworks from the last 260 years mostly in western art, it explores the changing and fascinating relationship we have had with horses, from the classical paintings of George Stubbs to the subversive feminist performances of Rose English.

• One-of-a-kind collectible: A 2-3/4 inch tall collectible of hot spring tub with an adorable capybara inside
• With relaxing sounds: Enjoy soothing hot spring sounds when the capybara is pushed down into its tub
• Mini book included: Learn more about this water loving rodent in the 32-page, 2-1/2 x 3 inch mini book
• A Unique Gift: A perfect humorous gift for those who love capybaras