Books

Book Reviews

Books

New book tells the tale of David's ‘Death of Marat’ through the eyes of a lifelong admirer

Art historian’s dissection of famous work is as much about the painting as his decades-long obsession with it

Tobias Carroll1 day ago

6 January 2026

Holbein biography interrogates the artist's life and work from a different angle

Franny Moyle

5 January 2026

The dark side of collecting: book reveals ugly history of art’s great coveters

Tobias Grey

27 December 2025

How taboo-breaker Robert Crumb’s surreal cartoons mock an absurd world—and himself

David D'Arcy

2 December 2025

French novel explores Van Gogh and Goya—through the eyes of a young girl

Christoph Irmscher

28 November 2025

Comrades in art: meet the artists who fought against fascism

David Trigg

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 an artist and a writer forged a frank friendship—and a book

The author Olivia Laing and the painter Chantal Joffe tell us about collaborating on a new book detailing their creative exchanges

Gareth Harris1 day ago

6 January 2026

January Book Bag: from a book about Constable and the weather to a controversial Russian artist’s manifesto

Gareth Harris

6 January 2026

A taster of the British Museum's Hawaii show in three objects

Alice Christophe. With an introduction by Gareth Harris

6 January 2026

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

José da Silva

3 December 2025

December Book Bag: from a photographic record of a lost nightclub to the tale of an accidental art heist

Gareth Harris

2 December 2025

The best art books of 2025, as picked by The Art Newspaper’s editors

Jacqueline Riding, Gareth Harris and José da Silva

Ultimate reading lists

Read all

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

3 June 2025

An expert’s guide to Postmodernism: five must-read books on the movement

4 May 2025

An expert's guide to artists' books: four must-read publications on the genre

1 April 2025

An expert’s guide to Ruth Asawa: five must-read books on the Japanese American artist

11 March 2025

An expert’s guide to Vanessa Bell: five must-read books on the Bloomsbury Group artist

4 February 2025

An expert’s guide to Anselm Kiefer: five must-read books on the German artist

Booksreview

1 day ago

Holbein biography interrogates the artist's life and work from a different angle

The publication draws on inventories, correspondence and rediscovered works to reveal new theories

Franny Moyle

Book Clubblog

1 day ago

January Book Bag: from a book about Constable and the weather to a controversial Russian artist’s manifesto

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Book Clubfeature

1 day ago

A taster of the British Museum's Hawaii show in three objects

The curator Alice Christophe delves into the catalogue and picks out some key objects ahead of the exhibition in London

Alice Christophe. With an introduction by Gareth Harris

Bookspreview

1 day ago

Five new art books to look out for this spring, including key artist biographies and the tale of an artistic rivalry

Our books editor picks out some of the highlights of the months ahead

Jacqueline Riding

Booksreview

1 day ago

New book tells the tale of David's ‘Death of Marat’ through the eyes of a lifelong admirer

Art historian’s dissection of famous work is as much about the painting as his decades-long obsession with it

Tobias Carroll

Book Clubfeature

1 day ago

How an artist and a writer forged a frank friendship—and a book

The author Olivia Laing and the painter Chantal Joffe tell us about collaborating on a new book detailing their creative exchanges

Gareth Harris

Book Clubblog

1 day ago

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

The best recent publications about the subject, from a book following the rebuilding of Notre-Dame cathedral to a Batman comic set in Barcelona—selected by the museum director and curator Annabelle Ténèze

José da Silva

Booksreview

The dark side of collecting: book reveals ugly history of art’s great coveters

The civilised lustre of the great collectors could camouflage a lust that had more to do with greed than beauty

Tobias Grey

Booksreview

How taboo-breaker Robert Crumb’s surreal cartoons mock an absurd world—and himself

The father of the underground comic book is still an active artist, satirising the “inner hell that is part of American culture”

David D'Arcy

Adventures with Van Goghblog

‘Lust for Life’: The Van Gogh book designed to fit in pockets of US soldiers during the Second World War

The Armed Forces Edition novel is now rare, since it was "not to be made available for civilians"—we show you a copy

Martin Bailey

Adventures with Van Goghblog

Driving in Van Gogh’s footsteps: the 1907 book that imagined a dream art pilgrimage

Writer Octave Mirbeau, an early owner of a Sunflowers painting, titled his fictional travelogue "628-E8"—after his car’s own licence plate

Martin Bailey

Book Clubblog

December Book Bag: from a photographic record of a lost nightclub to the tale of an accidental art heist

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Booksreview

French novel explores Van Gogh and Goya—through the eyes of a young girl

The book provides a fresh perspective on famous works, cruising through the last few centuries of Western art

Christoph Irmscher

Booksblog

The best art books of 2025, as picked by The Art Newspaper’s editors

The publications that delighted our literary team this year, from important exhibition catalogues and overdue surveys to personal reflections and playful illustrations

Jacqueline Riding, Gareth Harris and José da Silva

Book Clubfeature

The Rembrandt robber: five takeaways from an insider’s book on a notorious art thief

The security expert Anthony Amore provides insights into the curious case of Myles Connor, who stole Rembrandt’s Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn

Anthony Amore. With an introduction by Gareth Harris

Book Clubfeature

When Masha met Ragnar: Pussy Riot member’s life-changing encounter

In this extract from her new book, Maria "Masha" Alyokhina Alyokhina recalls her first meeting with the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson

Gareth Harris

Book Clubblog

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

The best publications about the Spanish artist's twilight years chosen by the curators of Late Picasso

José da Silva

Book Reviewreview

Comrades in art: meet the artists who fought against fascism

This study of the first decade of the Artists International Association, set up in the years before the Second World War, focusses the group’s impact as well as its lesser-known figures

David Trigg

Booksreview

Pakistani artist Shahzia Sikander navigates her country’s complex past—a new monograph tells her story

An art historian’s book on the Lahore-born artist does justice to both her beautiful paintings and the history that informs them

Cyrus Naji

Book Clubblog

November Book Bag: from a tome of Japanese printmakers to the first Nina Chanel Abney monograph

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Booksreview

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun made simple: a lively and informed book for the sound-bite generation

The French portraitist has been repositioned for an entry-level audience

Franny Moyle

Book Clubfeature

‘Make a lot of bad work for as long as possible’: new book brings you top tips from artists

In Lydia Figes’s publication more than 50 successful artists share their wisdom on everything from defining success to dealing with galleries

Gareth Harris

Insta’ gratificationblog

How art social media accounts are being turned into books

Having lots of followers on Instagram does not guarantee a publishing deal but it helps

Aimee Dawson

Booksreview

The story of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s brief but dazzling life, as told by an art-world insider

A former Christie’s president examines the meteoric rise of the “radiant child”, and his legacy following his untimely death

Georgina Adam

Book Reviewreview

Inside Albert Barnes’ extraordinary collection—born from a tough-talking business brain and an egalitarian ethos

A new book delve's in to collection of the physician and chemist, who paid for medical school by winning boxing matches

David D'Arcy

Book Clubblog

October Book Bag: from a myth-busting Chaïm Soutine biography to an anthology of Palestinian artists and writers

Our round-up of the latest art publications

Gareth Harris

Booksreview

A new publication explores how Renaissance Europe viewed and thought about skin

The detailed survey seeks to rethink how people understood, and gave meaning to, the body and its portrayal in the period

Sarah McBryde

Booksreview

Martin Parr steps out from behind the camera lens in informal autobiography

An intimate and chatty biography gives the artist space to reflect on his career in photography and the practice’s evolution

Rowland Bagnall

Book Clubblog

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

The best publications to learn all about Rauschenberg, from his own “humorous and profound” writings to a book about his fruitful relationships with other artists—selected by the curator Michelle White

José da Silva

Book Clubinterview

‘Ideas move through migration’: Charlotte Mullins tells us why she has taken a fresh look at art from the British Isles

The author's new publication charts the history of the UK and Ireland from the last Ice Age to today

Gareth Harris

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