PIN-UP ARTIST WHO REVIVED GLAMOUR

A reminder of the heyday of American pin-ups comes in this book devoted to Gil Elvgren's fantasy figures.

Elvgren's success came in the post-war years, from photographing models and then painting them into hyper-reality - with bigger, perkier busts, longer legs and cuter waists. He had studied at the American Academy of Art and is now recognised as one of the top glamour artists of the 20th century.

He was a prolific artist and enjoyed huge commercial success between the 1930s through to the 70s. Prints of his pictures still sell in their thousands .

This book is available in French and German as well as English. In a large, lavish format, it shows the pin-up pictures that brought new colour to a drab post-war America and which launched hundreds of other Elvgren beauties in following years. He died in 1980, at the age of 66.

'Gil Elvgren - The Pin Ups' is published by Taschen in hardback at the special price of £7.99 For more info go to http://www.taschen.com

FUNNY BOOK ABOUT A SERIOUS GAME

'Not Dark Yet' is a funny book about a serious subject - cricket. To the unitiated, this may seem an interminable game with obscure rules but its world-wide fans know it to be a cunning mixture of action and strategy. And for many of them, an abiding image is of a game of cricket being played on an English village green.

Alas, many English greens have been built upon yet the amateur game has managed to survive. This book is about a local Xl and its captaincy by the author, Mike Garfield, and the highs and lows of their activities over 30 years.

"For 30 years the Mike Harfield XI has withstood atrocious umpiring, dreadful hangovers, bad haircuts and a woeful lack of talent, only to encounter an even greater adversity - middle age," is an indication of what to expect in this book. It conveys an authentic picture of one team's endeavours, which cricketers and non cricketers can enjoy. Published by Loose Chippings at www.loosechippings.org price £7.99.

EXHIBITION ON THE FABRIC OF ART

Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott was weaving while she was locked in her tower, one example of many taken from literature and history for a forthcoming exhibition that explores links between textiles and art.

At the Compton Verney gallery , The Fabric of Myth will chart the influential part weaving and fabric have played on historial and contempory art. Artists to be featured include: Delaine Le Bas, Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, William Holman Hunt, Alice Kettle, Ray Materson, Henry Moore, Elaine Reichek, Bispo Do Rosário, Tilleke Schwarz, Judith Scott, Leonid Tishkov, Michele Walker, Shane Waltener and Annie Whiles.

Highlights will include Joseph Beuys’ Felt Suit, and Louise Bourgeois’ Spindle, which expresses ideas relating to personal restoration. Opening on June 21 through to September 7. See www.comptonverney.org.uk