Biography

Early Freud beachscape painted on holiday with artist John Craxton—former friend, possible lover and bitter enemy—to be auctioned for £3.5m

Christie's will offer Scillionian Beachscape alongside a late garden scene by Freud, both of which were once in the collection of renowned patron Simon Sainsbury

Book Clubfeature

A daring Sargent portrait and the millions that changed everything for Isabella Stewart Gardner

An extract from a biography of the US collector and museum founder looks at how her modest taste was transformed by her inheritance and why her husband was not pleased by a revealing painting

New biography and seven-volume catalogue raisonné bring order to the spiritual fascination of Hilma af Klint

These volumes on the Swedish artist will help cement her rightful place as a pioneer of abstract art

Booksreview

Van Gogh’s greatest marketing machine: new book uncovers how the artist’s sister-in-law managed his legacy

"Jo van Gogh-Bonger: The Woman Who Made Vincent Famous" is an altogether apt biography for the dutiful and determined woman

Jo Bonger: the woman who made Van Gogh famous as one of the greatest artists of all time

The definitive biography is now published in English—with a fresh explanation as to why the Sunflowers came to London

a blog by Martin Bailey
Booksreview

New biography of artist Florine Stettheimer looks beyond her seductively bright colours to the social commentary beneath

Thorough research into the American painter’s life and art reveals layers of meaning in her work that have been long overlooked

Booksreview

From bowler hats to bad forgeries: new biography offers a fresh look at René Magritte’s complex life—including his dodgier side hustles

The sympathetic book by Alex Danchev, acclaimed biographer of Braque and Cézanne, died before completing the final chapter of this publication

Booksreview

Pablo Picasso: personal and political collide in lively fourth volume of detailed biography

The Minotaur Years relays the artist's strife as he entered his 50s and one of the most turbulent decades of European history

Booksreview

Three books about Lucian Freud's life and work offer insights that do not always paint a pretty picture

Eccentricity and singled-mindedness were part of the great painter's character, but he had many unappealing traits

Booksreview

Lucian Freud the anti-hero: book relaying artist's philandering and impetuous behaviour is heavy on incident, light on insight

Second and last instalment of this two-part biography on the painter’s life fails to satisfy—but it does supply valuable first-hand records

Covid-19 delays long-planned documentary on Black Abstract Expressionist painter Beauford Delaney

The Tennessee-born artist, part of the Harlem Renaissance before settling in Paris, was largely neglected during his lifetime

Booksreview

Bryan Robertson: an engrossing book on a brilliant—but forgotten—maverick curator

This is the first publication about the man who put London's Whitechapel Gallery on the international map, but never gained the recognition he deserved

Book Clubfeature

Extract | Philip Guston’s fascination with the ‘funnies’ was key to developing his distinctive later style

An exclusive excerpt from a forthcoming biography by art historian Robert Storr looks at the influence of comics as well as caricatures that the American-Canadian artist made of his contemporaries

Book Clubfeature

Extract | The story of Ruth Asawa and the secret gift from her teacher Josef Albers

An excerpt and images from a new biography on the sculptor who studied at the famous Black Mountain College and was interned during the Second World War

The relationships of artists and their gardens are well illustrated in this book

Gardens have inspired artists in many ways, not least directly in the case of those who painted their own plots, as this new book shows

Booksreview

This was the most prolific year for Leonardo scholarship in history—here is a detailed guide to the best books

At least 250 volumes in European languages have been published in 2019, the year that saw the world commemorate 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci's death

From Rivera and Kahlo to Ulay and Abramović—this story book tells the tales of art world couples

Famous and not-so-famous pairs of artists from Picasso and Gilot to Idris Khan and Annie Morris are quoted about how relationships work

Booksarchive

Portrait of Prince Nicholas II Esterházy as an avid collector, a bankrupt, and a womaniser

The Prince's passions cost him his fortune but gave Hungary a fine collection of art

Booksarchive

Books: Raphael—all things to all ages

Three new monographs show the artist is still the equal of Leonardo and Michelangelo, if not so popular

"Painting the Absolute": Four volumes on Kazimir Malevich, the pioneering painter-priest of abstraction

Andréi Nakov, a leading expert on Malevich, has produced a large-scale study of the Russian avant-garde's art and life

A new film on Jean-Michel Basquiat ticks all the boxes

Archive interviews? Check. Cool soundtrack? Famous faces? Boost to the market? Check, check and check

Filmsarchive

Art on the big screen: When Dalí and Lorca were lovers—perhaps

"Little Ashes" tells one side of a very contentious story

Booksarchive

Nazi crime revelations raise questions about the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

The late collector Heini Thyssen forced himself to forget his family’s Nazi involvement, but so did the countries that vied for his and his father’s pictures in the 1980s. This well documented book gives the details

Booksarchive

The art world’s Christmas reading

Artists, collectors, critics, museum directors and auction house executives pick their holiday books