Lives of the Great Makers (Victoria & Albert Museum)

A series of fascinating, well-illustrated biographies that offer insights into the women and men whose work in the applied arts represents the very pinnacle of their craft.

This fascinating, richly illustrated anthology of the lives and careers of some of the most accomplished craftspeople represented in the V&A’s collection celebrates the pinnacle of creative accomplishment. Their pioneering designs, technique and aesthetic flair resulted in masterpieces that changed the nature and direction of the decorative arts forever. Arranged chronologically from the Renaissance to now, the makers’ biographies are contextualized by thematic introductions to the history of the decorative arts.

The book features forty illustrated biographies, ranging from furniture makers such as Thomas Chippendale to woodcarvers such as Grinling Gibbons, textile artists including Gunta Stölzl and ceramicists such as Lucie Rie, alongside goldsmiths, enamellists and many more. It also explores less familiar names who made a significant contribution to their field, brought together by their extraordinary skill and innovative use of technology and materials. While maintaining a focus on makers in Europe and North America, the book surveys a range of international influences in the biographies and thematic introductions. These thematic introductions also explore important moments in the history of the decorative arts, ranging from early modern craft and industrialization through to the Arts and Crafts Movement, modernism and the post-war craft revival.

This beautiful, expertly written book will appeal to anyone interested in visual culture.

Rebecca Knott is Curator of Metalwork 1900–Now at the V&A and was formerly Lead Curator of the V&A East Storehouse. James Robinson is Keeper of Decorative Art and Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He was formerly Director of Renaissance Collections at the Burrell Collection, Glasgow, Senior Curator of Late Medieval Collections at the British Museum and Keeper of Art and Design at the National Museum of Scotland.

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