Books

Book Club

The Art Newspaper’s Book Club shines a light on art books in their myriad forms and brings you exclusive extracts, interviews, picture galleries and recommendations from leading art world figures. Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media using #TANbookclub

An expert's guide to Constantin Brâncuși: five must-read books on the Romanian sculptor

All you ever wanted to know about Brâncuși, from a landmark catalogue to a comic retelling of his run-in with US Customs—selected by the Centre Pompidou curator Ariane Coulondre

Book Reviews

Coenties Slip, the New York street that nurtured artists in the 1950s and 60s, is brought to life in new book

This corner of Manhattan played a pivotal role in the development of artists such as Robert Indiana, Agnes Martin and Ellsworth Kelly

Ultimate reading lists

Booksreview

An explosive cocktail of desire and betrayal in a novel set in the 1990s London art world

This entertaining satire combines liberal quantities of sex, violence, money and drugs with the Britart scene

Booksreview

A women’s art history that goes beyond the brush and is a call to action

A new publication offers a more inclusive approach that also honours the “unexceptional”

Book Clubfeature

‘Have you ever been sat on before?’ What it's like taking part in a (surprisingly) private view

An exclusive extract from a new book by Bianca Bosker that lifts the lid on the secret life of the art world

Bianca Bosker. With an introduction by Gareth Harris
Booksreview

New Keith Haring biography explores collective memory of New York's gay artistic past

Book on the US artist charts a life “propelled by unremitting determination”

Booksreview

New book explores work of underrepresented abstract artist who married portrait with place

Miyoko Ito’s intriguing merger of internal and external space gets proper recognition and a fresh look in this visual feast

Booksreview

Graphic memoir charts an ominous journey from Fidel Castro’s Cuba to Donald Trump’s America

Cuban American artist Edel Rodriguez, labelled a “worm” for fleeing Cold War Cuba in 1980, tells story of his progress from impoverished boyhood to creating alarming covers for Time magazine

Booksfeature

Missing Mona Lisa: the story behind the 1911 theft of Leonardo’s masterpiece

The author of a new book tells us why it was stolen and how Picasso got embroiled in the scandal

Booksreview

Cities are the heroes in an 'easy-going and unpreachy' publication that takes us on whirlwind tour of art history

Fifteen art capitals are captured at their brilliant apogee in Caroline Campbell's book

Booksreview

New book sees ‘outsider artists’ as part of a creative spectrum rather than a world apart

The publication also explores how artists on the periphery might interact with the art market

Book Clubfeature

Why Anthony van Dyck was summoned to paint a recently deceased noblewoman

This extract from a new book about works in the Dulwich Picture Gallery by Helen Hillyard and Jennifer Scott reveals the story behind the artist's 1663 portrait of Lady Digby

Helen Hillyard and Jennifer Scott. With an introduction by José da Silva

An expert's guide to Frans Hals: five must-read books on the Dutch Old Master

All you ever wanted to know about Hals, from an 18th-century biography to a 1994 novel of the artist's “lost diaries”—selected by the Rijksmuseum curator Friso Lammertse

Booksreview

The presence of death: new book highlights the existential anxieties of William Gillies

A taster ahead of a later publication explores the Scottish painter’s focus on mental frailty, family and war

Van Gogh 2024 highlights: London’s National Gallery takes the lead

There will be other exhibitions in Italy, France, the Netherlands and Taiwan—plus a topical book and a plethora of immersive experiences

Booksreview

Unpacking America’s psychology: a deep dive into the career of Arthur Tress

A new book, which accompanies a Getty Center retrospective, explores the photographer’s documentation of the nation’s more sinister side

Booksblog

Top picks for spring 2024: new art books out soon

Some of the tempting art titles scheduled for publication in the coming months

An expert's guide to Sandro Botticelli: four must-read books on the Florentine painter

All you ever wanted to know about Botticelli, from a monumental monograph of 1908 to a dynamic account of the artist’s workshop practices—selected by the curator Furio Rinaldi

Book Clubinterview

Caroline Campbell on the ways in which cities have shaped art history

The director of the National Gallery of Ireland provides an alternative view of the history of art in her new book

Booksreview

Behind the curtain: new book sparks debate about how women gallerists promoted avant-garde art

This important study analyses how female dealers from 1940 to 1990 worked to advance artists but questions on gender go unanswered

Book Clubfeature

Tackling misconceptions around Pauline Boty—new publication evaluates late artist's contribution to British Pop art

A tragic figure whose 'promise went mostly unfulfilled', her legacy is now being revisited afresh

Booksreview

A new book explores the life of a pioneering Irish stained-glass artist through his glorious creations

Michael Healy’s reclusiveness belied his trailblazing role in Ireland's most prestigious studio of its kind

Booksreview

An acerbic but highly readable view of the British art world

The critic and former curator Julian Spalding holds forth on his dislike of conceptual art and his love for Beryl Cook

Booksreview

From ferns to meteorites: new book explores the beautiful mysteries of nature printing

A rare collection of images created by the impressions of natural objects

The top art books of 2023—chosen by The Art Newspaper’s book team

There is something for every art lover among our pick of the publications—from a forgotten 17th-century painter to a lively history of dyes

Booksreview

Catalogue raisonné of Jean Fautrier paintings reveals a prolific subverter of genres

The long overdue tome on the French artist includes an essay by Georg Baselitz

An expert’s guide to Mark Rothko: five must-read books on the Abstract Expressionist

All you ever wanted to know about Rothko, from the artist's own writings to the most complete study of his famous Seagram Murals

As Saudi Arabia wins bid for 2030 World Expo, a new book lifts the lid on the Kingdom’s push to be a key art world player

Publication examines how the conservative Middle Eastern state is pouring resources into its culture sector