The author draws on Celtic wisdom and his philosophical imagination to explore the role of beauty in human life, contending that people facing an unprecedented level of anxiety can turn to fine works of music and art in order to rediscover hope, creativity, and serenity.

An exploration of how ugliness has been portrayed in visual culture and the arts throughout history, discussing society's voyeuristic attraction to the grotesque and horrible, fear of death, illness, and imperfection, and common views of what is ugly.

Explores the role of female beauty in the history of world art through a chronological examination of twenty-two iconic works, looking at each in the context of its culture, time, aesthetic appeal, and artistic influence, and including discussion of related themes.

The naturalist author of Refuge and An Unspoken Hunger reflects on what it means to be human, the interconnection between the natural and human worlds, and how they combine to produce both tumult and peace, ugliness and beauty.

The Invisible Dragon made a lot of noise for a little book When it was originally published in 1993 it was championed by artists for its forceful call for a reconsideration of beauty-and savaged by more theoretically oriented critics who dismissed the very concept of beauty as naive, igniting a debate that has shown no sign of flagging. With this revised and expanded edition, Hickey is back to fan the flames. More manifesto than polite discussion,...

"Have you ever gotten chills while listening to a particularly gorgeous piece of music? Or felt a sense of calm while gazing at a painting of a serene landscape? We have experiences like those every day, but rarely stop to consider what's happening internally to cause them. In Your Brain on Art, founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Susan Magsamen and Google designer Ivy Ross explain how, by understanding...