Book Club
What is the life of a muse like? Not as amusing as you may think
The subjects of great works of art have not always led the romanticised life we imagine, as examples from a new book show
Ultimate reading lists
Book extracts
In Pictures
Features
‘Don’t smudge’: Paula Rego gives a unique insight into her work as she is interviewed by leading artists
The artist's peers, including Tracey Emin and Marlene Dumas, asked the veteran Portuguese artist about different aspects of her artistic practice for a new book
What now? Lessons for the art world in the BLM and #MeToo era
In a new book Farah Nayeri says that “cancel culture” is nothing new, politics and art have always been intertwined—but now it is citizens, not kings and popes, who call the shots
‘Caravaggio was a major-league asshole’: the long tradition of scandal in art
According to Noah Charney’s new book, infamy in the art world—be it contrived drama to drum up publicity or genuine artistic rivalry—is as old as art itself
Sackler family: three takeaways from a new book about the dynasty’s rise and fall
The publication claims Nan Goldin may have been tailed by investigators and reveals how the Met lost out to the Smithsonian thanks to a lack of flattery from its director
What is the art world reading?
Interviews with writers
May Book Bag: from the Hirshhorn Museum’s collection catalogue to Tom of Finland’s sketches of bulging, er, muscles
Our roundup of the latest art publications
An expert's guide to Louise Bourgeois: five must-read books on the French-American artist
All you ever wanted to know about Bourgeois, from the artist in her own words to an illustrated book for children—selected by the Hayward Gallery’s Ralph Rugoff and Katie Guggenheim
In Pictures | Ukraine before the 2022 Russian invasion, from holidaymakers in Odesa to the frontlines of Mariupol
Mark Neville’s new photobook—of images taken over the past six years—is a call to action that has been sent to hundreds of politicians and other influential people around the world
Take a fresh look: a new little history of art offers a global perspective
In her forthcoming book, Charlotte Mullins aims to challenge the “myopic prioritisation of male Western art” in earlier art history publications
April Book Bag: from the first Dennis Creffield monograph to a book of ‘rising stars in contemporary art’
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Five of the best recently published art-inspired novels
Our pick of new fiction with an art theme, from seasoned writers to exciting newcomers
March Book Bag: from a history of protest art to a limited edition book about Picasso in exile
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Q&A | Osman Yousefzada on wrapping a department store and having early works destroyed by his family
The artist and designer tells us about his new memoir, which details growing up in Birmingham and taking his mum to a museum for the first time to see his installation of her bedroom
Extract | Surrealism’s tricky global transformation
The art historian Partha Mitter looks at Surrealism’s uneasy relationship with colonialism and primitivism in this extract from a catalogue accompanying a new Tate show about the movement’s worldwide impact
February Book Bag: from Bernini ‘cementing his position as Baroque Rome’s dominant artist’ to a compendium of what makes artists tick
Our roundup of the latest art publications
An expert's guide to Picasso's Blue Period: five must-read books on the Spanish painter's early career
All you ever wanted to know about Picasso’s Blue Period, from the definitive early biography to the journals of his “first great love”—selected by the curator Susan Behrends Frank
Extract | Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing and painting tips
The Old Master’s advice is among the fascinating facts and illuminating anecdotes gathered in a new compendium called Artifacts
Extract | What should we do about paintings with racist titles?
In a new book of cultural essays, the Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan ponders whether we should change offensive names given to art—and what that might say about us
January Book Bag: from Marina Abramović’s instructions for rebooting your life to Paul Nash’s little-known design work
Our roundup of the latest art publications
An expert’s guide to Georgia O’Keeffe: five must-read books on the American painter
All you ever wanted to know about O’Keeffe, including a comprehensive biography, the artist’s “perfect” novice recipe book, and her letters to photographer Alfred Stieglitz—selected by the curator Theodora Vischer
In Pictures | Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s
The book, coinciding with a retrospective exhibition at the Menil Collection, explores the “shooting paintings” Saint Phalle made between 1961 and 1963, called Tirs, and other areas of her practice
Q&A | New children’s book delves behind the scenes of the art world
Doro Globus, the managing director of David Zwirner Books, tells us why she decided to write a book highlighting the many jobs that make a great exhibition
Who read what in 2021? The art world shares its top tips
Leading directors, curators and artists reveal their favourite books of the past year
December Book Bag: Ai Weiwei spills the beans, a short history of Black British art and all of Leon Kossoff’s paintings
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Marcel Duchamp monograph released more than 60 years after it first appeared in print
Historic texts by critic Robert Lebel in facsimile edition explore how the conceptual art pioneer adopted his female alter ego and cemented his reputation in America
Highs and lows of humanity reflected in new book that began on Facebook
The Book of Change includes almost 300 works, highlighting environmental challenges but giving glimpses of a better world
An expert's guide to Land Art: five must-read books on art and the environment
Books that make connections between art and the current climate crisis, chosen by the curator and author Ben Tufnell
November Book Bag: from Bridget Riley's insightful drawings and a Light and Space trailblazer to critic Robert Storr's latest musings
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Last photograph of Lucian Freud’s stolen Francis Bacon portrait published for first time
Image taken at Neue Nationalgalerie moments before the 1988 theft features in a new book of the artist’s copper paintings
October Book Bag: from a history of colour to how portraits of ‘murderous autocrats’ have shaped art
Our roundup of the latest art publications
How the Beano encouraged generations of artists to break the rules
We asked eight artists about the comic's influence ahead of a new exhibition exploring the publication's history and featuring contemporary art with that "Beano sensibility"
An expert’s guide to Albrecht Dürer: five must-read books on the Renaissance artist
All you ever wanted to know about Dürer, from the Old Master’s own accounts of his achievements and mishaps, to a recent creative take on his travels—selected by the art historian Susan Foister
In Pictures | How Gianfranco Gorgoni captured the mysticism of the Land Art movement
More than 150 rarely-seen photographs chronicle the history of seminal earthworks in the landscape
In Pictures | Behind the scenes of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work wrapping the Arc de Triomphe
A new book looks at the detailed preparations and 60 years of planning behind the work being unveiled in Paris
Extract | How the colours in ancient Pompeian frescoes ‘spoke’ to Mark Rothko
A new book by the art historian Ben Street attempts to demystify how we look at art and argues for reacting instinctively to what we see