The Bard Graduate Center has published a massive scholarly survey of decorative arts and design from 1400 to the present. The lavishly illustrated volume traces the evolution of styles, materials and techniques across five continents and six centuries, covering such diverse media as furniture, glass, metalwork, ceramics, fashion, textiles and industrial design. (Worldwide 78870)

For its inaugural exhibition, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago chose to feature some 60 objects from its own collection. More than 1,500 stained-glass windows, lamps, vases, furniture pieces and other decorative objects created by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) were acquired over the course of several decades by Chicago philanthropist Richard Driehaus and now make up one the largest collections of works by the celebrated American artist and designer. The pieces featured in the show were presented in period settings at the museum, which is located in a fully restored Gilded Age mansion. (Worldwide 78548)

Tinsel paintings are reverse paintings on glass that incorporate smooth or crumpled metallic foil, a technique that creates a shimmering effect when viewed in candlelight or gaslight. The technique was widely practiced in the second half of the 19th century in the United States, and a large number of these fragile works have survived. The American Folk Art Museum has many examples in its collections, which were featured in a comprehensive survey of this under-recognized decorative art. (Worldwide 78769)

At the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, a summer exhibition explored recent developments in South Korean industrial and graphic design. The show offered an impressively nuanced documentation of the unique aesthetic sensibility that has emerged in the country's design culture in the decades since the Korean War, as designers have increasingly blended traditional forms and motifs with cutting-edge styles and techniques. (Worldwide 35482)

Although he is now recognized as one of the most innovative draftsmen of the Italian Baroque, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664) remains relatively obscure, and has been the subject of very few monographs. Drawing on the unparalleled holdings of Castiglione's work in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, the Royal Collection Trust, in association with the Denver Art Museum, has organized an exhibition of some 90 drawings and monotype prints by the Genoese artist, a show that is currently on view at The Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Castle. (Worldwide 35543)

Imperial War Museums in London has undertaken one of the first of the initiatives to commemorate next year's centenary of the First World War, partnering with publisher Alfred A. Knopf, New York, to produce a sweeping photographic narrative of "the Great War." Drawing on the archives of the IWM, the substantial volume captures aspects of the conflict in stark detail, featuring hundreds of images produced by soldiers, civilians, military photographers and the press. (Worldwide 78663)