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
Extract | How Mayor Rudy Giuliani went from ‘patting on the back’ to trying to pull the plug on Sensation show
Two decades after one of the most controversial exhibitions of recent times, Arnold Lehman, the former director of the Brooklyn Museum, reveals all in a new book
The best art books for summer—as recommended by curators, directors and dealers
As we enter the final weeks of the season, check out these riveting reads, from “the best novel about painting” to a book with no words at all
August’s book bag: from Polaroids and chats with trailblazing women artists to new insights into Indigenous Australian treasures
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Extract | A rare pamphlet from a historic Black art exhibition by the Spiral collective
The text accompanied the group's only show and is now one of several texts about Black art brought together in a new book The Soul of Nation Reader
An expert’s guide to Sophie Taeuber-Arp: five must-read books on the Swiss artist
All you ever wanted to know about Taeuber-Arp, from a children’s book full of inspiring projects to a publication exploring the dynamics of artist couples—selected by the Tate curator Natalia Sidlina
July’s book bag: from paranormal American art to a history of Stuart architecture
A roundup of the latest art publications
The best art books to dive into this summer—as recommended by artists
Whether you are lying on a beach or next to a paddling pool, sit back and let your mind soak up these inspiring reads
Extract | William Blake’s famous flop of an exhibition and the critic who described him as ‘an unfortunate lunatic’
A new book by John Higgs paints a picture of the mixed reviews that the 18th-century artist received and touches upon the “Holy Grail of his lost works”
The birth of auto-destructive art and how Gustav Metzger’s early works lay hidden in his auntie’s attic for decades
Three takeaways from a new book about the early career of the radical artist
An expert’s guide to Nam June Paik: five must-read books on the Korean-American artist
All you ever wanted to know about Paik, from a “deep dive” into a single work to the best biography—selected by the curators Rudolf Frieling and Andrea Nitsche-Krupp
In Pictures | Barkley L. Hendricks unseen photographs gathered in new publication
The US artist’s images are joined by an extract from the book looking at how aspects of his painting and photography overlapped
June’s book bag: from Peter Blake’s collages to artists’ solutions to the climate emergency
A roundup of the latest art publications
Q&A | What artists wear and why it matters
A new book by the fashion critic Charlie Porter explores how what artists choose to wear can tell us about the multiple roles of clothing in society
In Pictures | Kara Walker's private archive of works on paper published in new book
The publication is released ahead of an exhibition of the US artist's works at the Kunstmuseum Basel this summer
In Pictures | Gio Ponti’s greatest designs, from chairs to churches
A new book looks at the life and work of the Italian architect and designer, famed for his Pirelli Tower and Superleggera chairs
May’s book bag: how Napoleon's plunder ended up at the Louvre, Edmund de Waal's latest book, and a 9kg tome of Chinese art
A roundup of the latest art publications
An expert’s guide to Barbara Hepworth: five must-read books on the British sculptor
All you ever wanted to know about Hepworth, from a pictorial autobiography to a collection of her poems, notes and transcripts—selected by the curator and biographer Eleanor Clayton
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
Q&A | How a new John Craxton biography began its life in a Soho bar following a funeral
The writer Ian Collins says that after his chance meeting with the British artist his “life changed forever”
The American who brought Modern masterpieces to Iran
A new memoir by curator Donna Stein reveals the story behind the creation of a Western art collection for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in the 1970s
Will the real Isabel Rawsthorne please stand up?
A new biography by Carol Jacobi explores the artist’s role in bringing the Paris scene to London and considers how frequent name changes and reinventions muddied her legacy
April’s book bag: how four lesbians shaped Modernism, why we love to hate biennials, and a photographic history of African women
A roundup of the latest art publications
Q&A | Guy Kennaway on how his comic novel was inspired by the art world taking itself too seriously
The Accidental Collector features a wealthy heiress, jet-setting dealers and a Swiss-owned mega gallery in Somerset… sound familiar?
An expert’s guide to David Hockney: five must-read books on the British artist
All you ever wanted to know about Hockney, from the best biography to the artist's “radical” investigations into art history—selected by the critic (and longtime friend) Martin Gayford
Extract | The day Anthony van Dyck received ‘wise advice from the words of a blind woman’—the 17th-century artist Sofonisba Anguissola
New book by Jennifer Higgie gives astute insights into brilliant women artists shut out of art history
Extract | How Sandro Botticelli brought Dante’s Divine Comedy to life
New book by Martin Kemp considers the impact of poet’s vision of divine light on artists such as Michelangelo and Titian
Q&A | Why Alice Neel’s work has ‘extraordinary currency’ today
As a biography on the US painter is republished, its author Phoebe Hoban tells us why Neel’s work is more relevant than ever
March’s book bag: from a guide to decoding photographs to a survey of the world’s most celebrated museums
A roundup of the latest art publications
Lyrical Helen Frankenthaler biography and Joan Mitchell catalogue make a splash
New publications cast a light on two formidable women artists and place them at the heart of Abstract Expressionism
An expert’s guide to Yayoi Kusama: six must-read books on the Japanese artist
All you ever wanted to know about Kusama, from a detailed study of her Infinity Mirror Room to illustrations for Alice in Wonderland—selected by the Gropius Bau director Stephanie Rosenthal