Hannah Gluckstein (who called herself Gluck; 1895–1976) was a distinctive, original voice in the early evolution of modern art in Britain. This handsome book presents a major reassessment of Gluck's life and work, examining, among other things, the artist's numerous personal relationships and contemporary notions of gender and social history. Gluck's paintings comprise a full range of artistic genres—still life, landscape, portraiture—as well as images of popular entertainers. Financially independent and somewhat freed from social convention, Gluck highlighted her sexual identity, cutting her hair short and dressing as a man, and the artist is known for a powerful series of self-portraits that played with conventions of masculinity and femininity. Richly illustrated, this volume is a timely and significant contribution to gender studies and to the understanding of a complex and important modern painter.

Gluck: Art and Identity

Arts & Photography

De LA Haye, Amy

Pel, Martin

History & Criticism

Yale University Press

Biba: The Fashion Brand That Defined A Generation

Hulanicki, Barbara

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

A revealing look at the fashion revolution of the 1960s and ’70s through the groundbreaking, hip, and now-legendary London emporium Biba, this book looks at “the most beautiful store in the world.” Biba, founded in 1963 by designer Barbara Hulanicki, quickly gained cult status and outgrew several locations before the five-story “Big Biba” opened in 1973. More than a store, it was a haven of cool for artists, movie stars, and rock musicians. This book tells the story of the Biba decade, and how the label revolutionized retail and fashion culture. With a wealth of previously unpublished material, including full-color facsimiles of the six luxurious Biba catalogs and archival photographs, The Biba Decade looks at the first retailer to bring affordable fashion to young consumers. Stunning new photography documents the unique Biba look, and the designer and her contemporaries offer their personal insights.

The Biba Years: 1963-1975

Graphic Design

Victoria & Albert Museum

Few eras are so clearly associated with fashion as the Jazz Age. Clean, slim lines; elegance grounded in simplicity rather than ornament; and styles designed for the active lives of the men and women who wore them—nearly a century later, the styles of the era still thrill us. This book, accompanying an exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, both celebrates Jazz Age fashion and helps us understand its context. While presenting beautiful images of classic works by such designers as Chanel, Patou, Lucile, Lanvin, Vionnet, Hartnell, and Molynuex, worn by stars and stunners like Clara Bow and Louise Brooks, it also shows us how the era’s fashion developed. Martin Pel traces the effects of the end of World War I, the rise of America, rapid changes in the lives and expectations of women, and technological breakthroughs like the introduction of Rayon and zippers. All played a part in the creation of an aesthetic that couldn’t have been farther from the buttoned-down, bustled-up clothing of the preceding generation. A testament to an era that marked the birth of the modern, and whose influence is still felt today, Jazz Age Fashion is an unforgettable document of an unforgettable age.

1920s Jazz Age Fashion

Unicorn Publishing Group

1920s Jazz Age Fashion and Photographs celebrates haute couture, ready-to-wear, and mass market fashion in America, Britain, and France from 1919 to 1929, with an in-depth focus on women’s clothing. Illustrated with specially commissioned photography, including one hundred and fifty color images, the book brings together leading experts to examine fashion’s role in the social, political, and cultural influences of the period.   Characterized by exuberance and optimism, the Jazz Age was a symptom of the end of the First World War and the birth of America as a new world power. It was a period of unprecedented social change for women who were, for the first time in history, given the vote on a par with men. A new “boyish” silhouette, la garçonne, became the look for women of the twenties. This decade also saw innovations in textile technology, with the introduction of the artificial silk Rayon and the zipper contributing to an easier approach to fashionable dress.

1920s Jazz Age Fashion and Photographs

Pepper, Terence

Nothdruft, Dennis

Hallmann, Tessa

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