Books

Collector David Walsh's subterranean Mona museum expanding to house 'dream library'

The new space at the Tasmanian institution will also include other “treasures” according to Walsh's wife, curator and artist Kirsha Kaechele

Bookspreview

Our picks for the autumn: new art books out soon

Jacqueline Riding, our books editor, selects some of the tempting titles scheduled for publication in the coming months

Booksreview

Charting the transformation of British studio ceramics

This comprehensive catalogue of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection from 1900 to now is a joy to behold

Book Clubfeature

‘We never even bid one dollar’: Sheikha Al-Mayassa discusses Salvator Mundi and controversy around Damien Hirst’s foetus works in new book

An extract from a new publication about collectors by Dani Levinas features rare insights from the chair of Qatar Museums

Book Clubinterview

The Redstone Press founder Julian Rothenstein explains the benefits of being a small publisher and why he has cut back on fonts

The designer and editor also reveals the famous writers he will be collaborating with for the next editions of his popular diary series

Booksreview

Book explores how museums can deal with colonial acquisitions and other problematic issues

A level-headed survey of the rise and fall of anthropological and ethnographic collections and what their futures may hold

Booksreview

Lively biography of Jim Ede puts visionary creator of Kettle’s Yard in the frame

The publication explores the collector’s gift for friendship, but is oddly reticent about the man himself

Booksreview

Shades of meaning: a new publication looks at how Britain moved into the age of technicolour

A thoughtfully researched book ranges from chromatic imperialism to race and the BBC’s “colour problem”

Booksreview

New book details how Alfredo Boulton’s photography helped define an artistic history of Venezuela

The photographer and historian documented the country’s art back to the pre-Hispanic period

Book Clubinterview

The co-founder of luxury art publisher Assouline on why its books ‘are really haute couture’ and how they will ‘never’ go digital

Prosper Assouline also tells us about doing everything in-house and how 80% of a book is what is on the outside

Nine artists recommend their favourite books for summer

From dystopian biography and intelligent plants to “monstrous mothers” and the underwater world, avid readers share their top tips

Compiled by Gareth Harris and José da Silva
Book Clubinterview

From self-portraits and smiles to screams: creating a compendium of art ‘firsts’

The writer and art historian Nick Trend tells us how he chose the art for his new book and why such choices can often be subjective

Booksreview

The invented histories of the Isle of Avalon

An entertaining study of the seductive legends of England’s past, from the eighth century to the present day

From the archive: exploring a London's borough's pixies-to- princesses public statuary

Kensington and Chelsea is home to celebrated statues and hidden pieces

Seminal one-metre-tall prints of US birds fly to Compton Verney—but what of their controversial author?

Show of John James Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ will also examine the man behind the works, whose name has been dropped from the exhibition title

Booksreview

New book on the Surrealist Leonora Carrington emphasises the influence of place in her art

An illustrated biography of the British-born Mexico-based artist is illuminated by the spaces she occupied

Booksreview

Paul Goesch, the Gläserne Kette member murdered by the Nazis, reappraised in new book

The visionary but misunderstood German architect was a proto post-Modernist

Booksreview

How Danish design helped shape 1950s American design culture and taste

A new book outlines how cultural affinity helped Danish carpentry’s ‘craftsmanship is king’ ideal conquer the US during the Cold War

Booksreview

Mina Loy, the mysterious figure who depicted wartime New York’s underbelly

A new publication tells the story of the London-born poet and artist, many of whose works are lost

Book Clubfeature

Purple-nosed dogs, a haemorrhoid ‘cure’ and a sunken fleet: a history of dyes as colourful as its subject

Four excerpts from a book by Lauren MacDonald exploring the myths and origins of familiar colours

Lauren MacDonald. With an introduction by José da Silva
Book Clubreview

Q&A: Jeremy Deller tells us about demystifying his work and why he had to ‘interfere’ with his new book at the last minute

The UK artist explains the thought process behind the publication and the joy of “putting in crazy chapter headings”

The art of fiction: how Salvador Dalí’s Toreador inspired my crime novel

A story set in Barcelona plays with the "mirror image" aspects of the Spanish artist's work

Booksreview

Watteau’s little-known teacher has his moment in the spotlight

A welcome introduction to the 18th-century French satirist Claude Gillot

Book Clubfeature

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

Booksreview

From Morocco to Malaysia: new publication traces the US artist Betye Saar’s journeys of discovery

Richly produced book documents how the nonagenarian artist’s work has been informed by her decades of travel