A study of the personal and professional history of van Gogh and Gauguin takes a close-up look at their brief collaboration in Arles in 1888 and discusses the role of each artist in promoting the other's search for a personal style that incorporated the latest artistic developments but remained true to each artist's vision. BOMC.

Studio of the South tells the fascinating story of Van Gogh's time in Arles and the Yellow House.

DIVAn ethnography of the recording of Mbaqanga music, that examines its relation to issues of identity, South African politics, and global political economy./div

"Martin Bailey has written some of the most interesting books on Vincent’s life in France, where he produced his greatest work” - Johan van Gogh, grandson of Theo, the artist’s brother Studio of the South tells the story of Van Gogh’s stay in Arles, when his powers were at their height. For Van Gogh, the south of France was an exciting new land, bursting with life. He walked into the hills inspired by the landscapes, and painted harvest scenes in the heat of summer. He visited a fishing village where he saw the Mediterranean for the first time, energetically capturing it in paint. He painted portraits of friends and locals, and flower still life paintings, culminating in the now iconic Sunflowers. He rented the Yellow House, and gradually did it up, calling it ‘an artist’s house’, inviting Paul Gauguin to join him there. This encounter was to have a profound impact on both of the artists. They painted side by side, their collaboration coming to a dramatic end a few months later. The difficulties Van Gogh faced led to his eventual decision to retreat to the asylum at Saint-Remy. Based on extensive original research, the book reveals discoveries that throw new light on the legendary artist and give a definitive account of his fifteen months in Provence, including his time at the Yellow House, his collaboration with Gauguin and its tragic and shocking ending.

“Bailey goes through the most emblematic places that the artist went through in life. Which, served as inspiration to translate into his paintings.” —Fahrenheit Magazine Vincent van Gogh was a restless soul. He spent his twenties searching for a vocation and once he had determined to become an artist, he remained a traveler, always seeking fresh places for the inspiration and opportunities he needed to create his work. Living with Vincent van Gogh tells the story of the great artist’s life through the lens of the places where he lived and worked, including Amsterdam, London, Paris and Provence, and examines the impact of these cityscapes and landscapes on his creative output. Featuring artworks, unpublished archival documents and contemporary landscape photography, this book provides unique insight into one of the most important artists in history.

This morning I am contemplating how we humans, awkwardly tangled in dreams of salvation, struggle to lend meaning to a physical world that is most often brutally indifferent. It may be that the one thing of substantial power left to us is our own imagination. Thus begins the story of a road trip up the West Coast of North America; a journey which comes to a dramatic conclusion months later in Mexico. A unique look at the nature of prayer, the power of dreams, and the risks and rewards we all face imagining ourselves into the world, 'about art' is the memoir of one artist's quest to understand the life he has lived.