Dimensions
225 x 190 x 16mm
Explore the fascinating world of the courtroom artist, with an intimate view of many of the most bizarre and outrageous cases of the last 40 years. Features the key courtroom artists from the US and UK, and accounts of their experiences of these infamous cases.
From the 17th-century Salem witch trials right up until the present day, artists have been present in courtrooms to record proceedings. It remains illegal to take photographs in court in many countries - including the US and UK - so artists' sketches remain the only visual record of these key events. Curiously, in the UK, the sketches can only be made outside court, so if you want to be a courtroom artist, you need an amazing visual memory.
The modern rise in celebrity culture has seen a huge boom in courtroom art - TV news programmes and newspapers commission artists to provide images of the latest celebrity court case, sketched hastily to catch the evening news or morning editions. From Charles Manson to Marilyn Manson, Michael Jackson to Princess Anne, Jeffrey Archer to Lindsay Lohan, all have been depicted trying to clear their names - not always successfully.
Courtroom Art is the first survey of courtroom artists' work, which, with upcoming changes in the rules about photography in court, may not be with us for much longer. It contains over 100 images from the world's key courtroom artists, depicting celebrities as diverse as Mohammed Al Fayed and Tom Cruise, and capturing some unforgettable moments: Winona Ryder's demure new courtroom image in 2002, Heather Mills McCartney throwing water over her estranged husband's lawyer in 2008, and Nigella Lawson confessing to cocaine use in 2013. Accompanied by exclusive insight from the artists, and descriptions of the court cases they illustrated, this book is a fascinating record of this unique art form.
