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
Opera singer Peter Brathwaite tells us why he reinterpreted Black portraiture using household items
In his book inspired by the Getty Museum Challenge, Brathwaite recreated portraits by artists such as Georges Trubert and Sonia Boyce
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Book extracts
Features
‘A threat to the country’: Pablo Picasso’s police files scoured for new book about his life as a foreigner in France
A new publication looks at the Spanish artist’s alienating experiences as a young man in Paris, including police harassment and stigmatisation as an anarchist
Lucian Freud’s revealing letters—replete with illustrations and doodles— show a different side to his character
A new book brings together letters and postcards that the artist sent his lovers, friends and fellow artists
Four things you probably didn’t know about Tutankhamun’s mask
To mark 100 years since its discovery, Garry Shaw, the author of a new biography of the Egyptian Boy King, reveals some little-known facts about the world’s most famous death mask
In Pictures
May book bag: from a monograph for an underrated Pop artist to a book about Derek Jarman’s Blue movie
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Anna Atkins and the algae: how the first photobook was made in the mid-1800s
In an extract from an essay accompanying a newly published facsimile, Peter Walther tells the story of how this remarkable publication came about
An expert's guide to Keith Haring: four must-read books on the US Pop artist
All you ever wanted to know about Haring, from his personal journals to interviews with the likes of Roy Lichtenstein and Madonna—selected by the curator Sarah Loyer
The story behind Sol LeWitt’s rarely seen wall drawings in a medieval tower
An extract from an essay by the art historian Rye Dag Holmboe explains how the US artist’s works ended up in the Umbrian city of Spoleto
April book bag: from a book of contemporary collage to a lavish tome about Mecca
Our roundup of the latest art publications
An expert’s guide to Jean-Michel Basquiat: four must-read books on the American artist
All you ever wanted to know about Basquiat, from his best quotes to an “intimate insight” from his family—selected by the curator Dieter Buchhart
March book bag: from portraits of King Charles III to Marinella Senatore’s light installations
Our roundup of the latest art publications
From Hogarth to Hockney, artists struck by puppy love are celebrated in four recent canine-themed books
Ahead of a new show of dog portraits at London's Wallace Collection, we round-up some publishing treats for you to paw over
An expert’s guide to Hokusai: four must-read books on the Japanese artist
All you ever wanted to know about Hokusai, from a history of The Great Wave to a novel about the artist's daughter—selected by the curator Sarah E. Thompson
Extract | When the Picasso was almost knocked off the wall during a blockbuster show
A new memoir by Patrick Bringley details what it was like to work as a guard at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art
February book bag: from overlooked female Abstract Expressionists to a tome of new and old Black American portraits
Our roundup of the latest art publications
‘That’s not enough’: Willem de Kooning’s advice to a young Wayne Thiebaud
An excerpt from one of Thiebaud’s final interviews, which features in the catalogue of a survey at the Fondation Beyeler, reveals how the US artist arrived at his signature style
What will museums of the future be like? Three key takeaways from a new book
András Szántó spoke to 21 architects about how museum architecture is shaping up, here are some of his findings
Q&A: Jennifer Higgie on her new book about spiritualism and its importance to early Modernist women artists
The former editor of Frieze magazine says the idea that modernity had to be rational, cool and atheist was detrimental to art
An expert’s guide to Johannes Vermeer: five must-read books (and a website) on the Dutch Old Master
All you ever wanted to know about Vermeer, from a “legendary” show catalogue to an illustrated book for kids—selected by the curators Pieter Roelofs and Gregor J. M. Weber
January book bag: from Californian counterculture to intimate artist portraits by the likes of Tacita Dean
Our roundup of the latest art publications
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
Art books coming soon in 2023: the pick of the crop
The Art Newspaper’s books editor Jacqueline Riding selects spring and summer publications to look out for, from the Surrealism of Leonora Carrington to 100 years of Black figuration
‘I never run out of ideas’: an interview with Yayoi Kusama and highlights from her new catalogue
The artist, who is now in her 90s and voluntarily living in a psychiatric hospital, has a major retrospective under way in Hong Kong
The top art books of 2022—chosen by The Art Newspaper's books team
Struggling for Christmas gifts? Take a look at the publications we enjoyed over the past year—from an exploration of art and motherhood to an interrogation of the culture wars
December book bag: from the Tate’s latest series delving into its collection to a colourful biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Our roundup of the latest art publications
David Shrigley tells us about his new book and why he chose the ‘shit’ title
The British artist gives us an insight into the work behind his latest publication, which brings together more than 200 recent drawings
Fertile inspiration: how the humble egg has played an enduring role in women’s art
This except from Taschen's new book The Gourmand’s Egg: A Collection of Stories and Recipes shows how artists including Judy Chicago and Sarah Lucas have used egg imagery
An expert's guide to Henri Matisse: four must-read books on the Modern master
All you ever wanted to know about Matisse, from a definitive two-volume biography to the writings of the artist himself—selected by the curator Dorthe Aagesen
Q&A: Osei Bonsu on his book about artists shaping the contemporary African art scene
The curator has brought together the work of 50 artists from across the continent for his new book African Art Now
An expert's guide to Tutankhamun: five must-read books on the Egyptian pharaoh
All you ever wanted to know about King Tut, from CT scans and DNA studies to the perfect book for “any little pharaohs that you might know”—selected by the biographer and journalist Garry Shaw
Q&A | Hettie Judah on how galleries, museums and art schools treat artist mothers
A new publication unpicks how becoming a parent can detrimentally affect an artist’s career and suggests ways the art world can do better
October book bag: from the merry portraits and financial woes of Frans Hals to a graphic novel about Banksy
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Susan Sontag's influential 1977 book On Photography is reissued
New version published by The Folio Society includes new insights from curator Mia Fineman who has selected key accompanying images
September book bag: from Lucian Freud’s love letters to an Edie Sedgwick biography
Our roundup of the latest art publications