Samuel Gragg’s trade card, circa 1808, enthusiastically promotes his newly patented elastic chairs but also states that he manufactures other types of chairs popular in that period, including bamboo Windsors.

CHICAGO, ILL. – In conjunction with the landmark exhibition “Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure,” on view through August 17, The Art Institute of Chicago, in association with the University of California Press, is publishing a catalog of the same title. This new volume will celebrate the first comprehensive exhibition to include works from the entire region of the Himalaya Mountains.

Presenting nearly 200 of the finest works of art created between the Fifth and Nineteenth Centuries in Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bhutan, the catalog explores the particular beauty that evolved from a spiritual tradition unique to the Himalayas.

This book surveys the artistic achievements of various Himalayan cultures – primarily within the framework of Hinduism and Buddhism, the two great Asian religions that prevail in most of the region to this day – and provides visual evidence of the spiritual aspirations of those who have defied the physical hardships of an arduous mountain terrain to express their soaring creative spirit.

All 200 works featured in the exhibition, about 70 percent of which have never been published or publicly exhibited, are illustrated in full color. These works include temple sculptures of stone, wood and terra-cotta; cast bronzes with inlaid semiprecious stones, gilding and pigment; colorful paintings on cloth, palm leaf, paper and wood; and ritual objects in various media.

Numbering 308 pages with 235 color illustrations, it is available in hardcover for $65 and in softcover for $39.95. For information, 312-443-3583.