Books

Book Reviews

A new biography looks at how Michael Andrews shifted from slow burner to innovative creator

The School of London artist, equally at home in Soho society and rural Scotland, was also a noted painter of celebrities

Beth Williamson1 day ago

7 July 2026

Joseph Beuys was ambitious, ‘perhaps to the point of megalomania’, says a new book about the German artist

David D'Arcy

2 June 2026

Constable, an artist for all seasons: a rich study reveals how his art and life were shaped by the weather's yearly cycles

Anne Lyles

2 June 2026

Mystery, controversy and the butterfly’s sting: James McNeill Whistler book aims to dispel the fog around his legacy

Christoph Irmscher

27 May 2026

Book reveals how Chintz—India’s precious textile pattern—became a precolonial global export

Cyrus Naji

22 May 2026

A hated portrait and a forged masterpiece: two new thrillers with paintings at their centre

Georgina Adam

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

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Book Club

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

Chloë Ashby2 days ago

7 July 2026

July Book Bag: from a selection of US folk art to a closer look at the work of YBA Gary Hume

Gareth Harris

7 July 2026

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

Gareth Harris

7 July 2026

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

José da Silva

2 June 2026

June Book Bag: from the street art of JR to a behind-the-scenes look at the Venice Biennale

Gareth Harris

2 June 2026

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

Dan Schindel

Ultimate reading lists

Read all

7 July 2026

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

2 June 2026

An expert’s guide to Marina Abramović: five must-read books on the performance artist

5 May 2026

An expert's guide to Tracey Emin: five must-read books on the British artist

2 April 2026

An expert's guide to Alexander Calder: six must-read books on the US sculptor

3 March 2026

An expert's guide to John Constable: five must-read books on the British painter

6 January 2026

An expert’s guide to the Gothic: five must-read books on the topic

2 December 2025

An expert’s guide to late Pablo Picasso: five must-read books on the second half of his career

7 October 2025

An expert’s guide to Robert Rauschenberg: five must-read books on the US artist

1 September 2025

An expert’s guide to Indigenous Australian art: five must-read books on the subject

1 July 2025

An expert’s guide to Edvard Munch: five must-read books on the Norwegian Expressionist

Book Clubblog

1 day ago

July Book Bag: from a selection of US folk art to a closer look at the work of YBA Gary Hume

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Booksreview

1 day ago

A new biography looks at how Michael Andrews shifted from slow burner to innovative creator

The School of London artist, equally at home in Soho society and rural Scotland, was also a noted painter of celebrities

Beth Williamson

Booksreview

1 day ago

Joseph Beuys was ambitious, ‘perhaps to the point of megalomania’, says a new book about the German artist

A new reading of the life and work of Beuys is no hagiography, seeing Beuys as someone who was fiercely determined and created myths about himself

David D'Arcy

Booksblog

1 day ago

Our books editor dips into some recent art-historical fiction

Topics covered in the publications range from a Renaissance sculptress and Baroque Rome to 1930s Manchester and Frida Kahlo

Jacqueline Riding

Book Clubfeature

2 days ago

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

Chloë Ashby

Book Clubinterview

2 days ago

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

Gareth Harris

Book Clubblog

2 days ago

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

José da Silva

Booksnews

‘It's a work of art’: rare, cloth-bound first edition of Wuthering Heights to be auctioned at Christie’s

The book, estimated at up to £600,000, is the first original edition to appear at auction in more than a century

Maev Kennedy

Book Clubblog

June Book Bag: from the street art of JR to a behind-the-scenes look at the Venice Biennale

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Booksreview

Constable, an artist for all seasons: a rich study reveals how his art and life were shaped by the weather's yearly cycles

The 250th anniversary of John Constable’s birth has seen a flurry of publications about the great painter and his work

Anne Lyles

Booksreview

Mystery, controversy and the butterfly’s sting: James McNeill Whistler book aims to dispel the fog around his legacy

The unashamedly partisan book by Daniel E. Sutherland also looks at the science behind Whistler’s nocturnes

Christoph Irmscher

Book Clubfeature

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

Dan Schindel

Book Clubfeature

How Andy Warhol’s textile and fashion work influenced his art

Three key takeaways from a new book that looks at the artist's designs for shop awnings, advertising illustrations, screen-printed clothes and more

Gareth Harris

Book Clubblog

An expert’s guide to Marina Abramović: five must-read books on the performance artist

The best Abramović publications, from an intimate memoir to a collection of the artist’s aphorisms—selected by the curator Shai Baitel

José da Silva

Booksreview

Book reveals how Chintz—India’s precious textile pattern—became a precolonial global export

The little understood art form is explored in the collected essays of 12 leading scholars

Cyrus Naji

Booksreview

A hated portrait and a forged masterpiece: two new thrillers with paintings at their centre

Oscar de Muriel is inspired by a real Frida Kahlo painting, while Lynda la Plante invents a Jean-Michel Basquiat forgery

Georgina Adam

Booksreview

Shoot and branch: new photography book highlights the enduring majesty of trees

"Trees of Great Britain and Ireland" offers a handsome insight into early 20th-century botanical photography

Rowland Bagnall

Booksreview

The Egyptian Modernist Inji Efflatoun gains international exposure with new biographical collection

The book on the late artist, who was imprisoned for her feminist and socialist beliefs, includes several essays and rarely seen images

Melissa Gronlund

Booksreview

Pleasure, parody and propaganda: rethinking the art of illustration in a new history of the genre

From a ninth-century Chinese frontispiece to Marxist magazine covers, this rich tome explores the power of illustration and the ways in which we read such images

Christoph Irmscher

Book Clubblog

May Book Bag: from a guide on entering the art world to a publication about artists influenced by Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Book Clubfeature

‘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

Gareth Harris

Book Clubfeature

How the adoption of canvas in Venice changed the way artists painted

Four key takeaways from a new book about the innovative use of canvas in 16th-century Italy

J.S. Marcus

Book Clubblog

An expert's guide to Tracey Emin: five must-read books on the British artist

The best Emin publications, from her searingly honest autobiography to a collection of revealing snapshots—selected by the Tate’s assistant curator Jess Baxter

José da Silva

Booksreview

Book uncovers the life of Barnett Newman, an artist who ran for New York mayor

He is one of the last remaining figures of the “first generation” Abstract Expressionists to be honoured with a major biography

Matthew Holman

Booksreview

Final book in trilogy asks: What is the future of the art world?

Writer and researcher András Szántó speaks to art-world movers and shakers for predictions and insights

Georgina Adam

Booksreview

New biography of Chaïm Soutine pieces together illusive artist's life and works

With scant testimony from the man himself, the book relies on the views of others

David D'Arcy

Booksreview

New catalogues reveal Royal Collection's vast sculpture holdings—and Queen Victoria's acquisition spree

The four volumes offer insight into 1,800 works, including a “uniquely weird” purchase by Edward VII

Roger Bowdler

Art marketnews

Marc Restellini’s ‘atom bomb’ of a Modigliani catalogue raisonné is finally published

Six volumes include 100 newly authenticated works—but 15 previously attributed to the artist are removed

Anna Brady

Book Clubblog

April Book Bag: from a Matthew Wong catalogue to a history of dogs in art

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Book Clubfeature

Pressing issues: the vital role of printmaking in the history of art

We speak to the author of a new book that looks at how making prints has been vital for many famous artists

Gareth Harris

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