Book Club

The Art Newspaper’s Book Club shines a light on art books in their myriad forms and brings you exclusive extracts, interviews and recommendations from leading art world figures. Sign up to our monthly newsletter above

How novelists continue to be inspired by artists

Several books out this summer use art as a springboard—we speak to some of their authors

7 July 2026

The worst of us: a philosopher’s guide to the world’s most depraved art

The academic Daisy Dixon discusses her new book investigating the art that has provoked outrage over the centuries

7 July 2026

An expert’s guide to Gustave Courbet: five must-read books on the French painter

The best Courbet publications, from a comprehensive monograph to a look at how he was “a skilful media strategist”—selected by the curators Sonja Pizonka and Anna Brohm

Ultimate reading lists

Interviews with writers

Features

Mapplethorpe nudes, the NEA and the birth of America’s culture wars

We speak to the writer Isaac Butler about his book revisiting the battles over censorship and public funding in the US during the 1980s and 1990s

‘A remarkably tenacious motif’: the many faces of Marilyn Monroe revealed in new book and show

Different artists’ takes on the film star are explored ahead of an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London

New book digs into the little-known gallery that brought Modern art to America

The publication's author on how it has taken decades of research to tell the story of the New York gallery, which exhibited artists such Picasso and Mondrian

How Martin Parr’s defining photobook made a splash 40 years ago

‘The Last Resort’, which will be republished later this year, is the subject of a new show at the late photographer’s foundation

What is the art world reading?

Book extracts

In Pictures

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