Burning Bright: Celebrating David Bindman's Extraordinary Career
UCL Press was delighted to be involved in publishing Burning Bright: Essays in Honour of David Bindman , published to mark David Bindman’s 75th birthday. A reception was held in the magnificent Prints and Drawings Student’s room of the British Museum, where friends, colleagues and former students gathered to celebrate, to David’s complete surprise.
The book, masterminded by Diana Dethloff, Caroline Elam, Tessa Murdoch and Kim Sloan, has been many months in preparation and has been kept completely secret from David. The 25 essays cover sculpture, drawings, watercolours and prints and are mostly written by former students of David’s. The volume reflects the extraordinary range of his knowledge of works of art and his impact through teaching and research on the understanding of British and European artistic developments from the 18th to the 20th century.
It is a great tribute that so many people agreed to contribute. The essays cast light on questions of technique and stylistic change, collecting and iconography, and engage with issues such as the representation of race, gender, sexuality, and political violence and propaganda. The artists discussed include Hogarth, Blake, Roubiliac, Thorvaldsen and Canova, all subjects of books by David Bindman, as well as Morland, Rowlandson, Gillray, Millais, Munch, Nevinson, and Heartfield. Over 130 images are included in the book and the owners all granted use for Open Access publication with just one exception.
In just four days since first publication, the book has been downloaded more than 400 times in 19 countries and has received much attention on Twitter.
A liited number of copies are available to purchase at £40.00 each. To purchase a copy, email alison.major@ucl.ac.uk.