Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom (Hardback) Phaidon Editors (author), Anna Pavord (author of introduction), Shane Connolly (author of contributions)

A comprehensive and sumptuous survey that celebrates the beauty and appeal of flowers throughout art, history, and culture

Take a journey across continents and cultures to discover the endless ways artists and image-makers have employed floral motifs throughout history. With 316 color illustrations showcasing the diversity of blooms from all over the world, Flower spans a wide range of styles and media – from art, botanical illustrations, and sculptures to floral arrangements, film stills, and textiles – and follows a visually stunning sequence with works, regardless of period, thoughtfully paired to allow interesting and revealing juxtapositions between them.

Featuring large-scale images and accessible texts, Flower offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject alongside surprising examples for specialists. Works by a diverse range of both lesser-known and iconic artists and image-makers are presented, including: Nobuyoshi Araki, Cecil Beaton, Georg Ehret, David Hockney, Horst P. Horst, Nick Knight, Yayoi Kusama, Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Mapplethorpe, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Cedric Morris, William Morris, Georgia O’Keeffe, Irving Penn, David Hockney, Pierre-Joseph Redoute, Rachel Ruysch, Constance Spry, and Flora Starkey.

The entries were selected by an international panel of art historians, museum curators, botanists, florists, horticulturalists, and more.

Flower is a wonderful gift and a sure bestseller alongside Explorer Series staple Plant: Exploring the Botanical World, which Martha Stewart Living described as “A breathtaking collection of botanical prints, photos, drawings, and even micrograph scans.”