Books
Book Reviews
Publication reveals there was more to photographer Weegee than his grim crime scene images
A comprehensive overview explores the “paradox” of Weegee’s work and how he went from taking tabloid photos of murder to making distorted celebrity portraits
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
The trials and tribulations of putting together Lucian Freud’s catalogue raisonné
The forensically researched volume on the British artist's oil paintings offers a depth of scrutiny that he himself was famous for
Ultimate reading lists
May Book Bag: from a comic compendium inspired by MoMA to a turning point in the history of photography
Our round-up of the latest art publications
The Voynich Manuscript revealed: five things you probably didn't know about the Medieval masterpiece
Scholars have speculated for centuries about the meaning behind the 15th-century codex and its peculiar illustrations
East meets West in Venice: the unlikely love affair between a Hermitage curator and a Cambridge don
A new volumes details a chance meeting that liberated art scholars Francis Haskell and Larissa Salmina in very different ways
A new ‘anti-biography’ rips apart the myth of Leonardo as a solitary genius
The new study of the Da Vinci brand uses historical context to debunk the artist’s cult status and present him as a man of his time
Sex, beauty and the body: how Helen Chadwick shaped British contemporary art
The “provocative, punky, perverse” artist died far too young but her work’s influence endures, argues a new biography
An expert's guide to artists' books: four must-read publications on the genre
All you ever wanted to know about artists' books on the eve of a major exhibition at London’s Warburg Institute—selected by the show's co-curator Arnaud Desjardin
Edward Gorey’s surreal back-of-the-envelope illustrations tell a moving story
The writer and artist’s delightful illustrated correspondence chronicle a long friendship
Former Sotheby's chairman recounts the birth of the London art market as we know it
James Stourton's new book explores changes from the power shift to the auction houses in the mid-20th century to the excesses of the 1980s and 90s
New book explores the complex history of Jewish country houses
A large-scale study of the stories behind these buildings, their architecture and collections
New book tells the story of a century of Middle Eastern art
Arab art expert Saeb Eigner explores the work of more than 250 Modern and contemporary artists spanning diverse art movements across 22 countries in the Middle East
The life story of Francesca Alexander—the American artist in tune with Italy—is told in new book
New biography of Boston-born Alexander, who made her name in Florence with her delicate illustrations of Italian folk ballads, brings her out of the shadow of her friendship with John Ruskin
April Book Bag: from a new angle on Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to the re-issuing of bell hooks’s art essays
Our round-up of the latest art publications
New book looks at the shaping of Modern art in the Middle East beyond politics and war
The Arab art specialist Saeb Eigner talks about his comprehensive new biography spanning from 1900 to today
An expert’s guide to Ruth Asawa: five must-read books on the Japanese American artist
All you ever wanted to know about Asawa, from a graphic novel biography to tales from her time at the celebrated Black Mountain College—selected by the curator Janet Bishop
Japan is opening its eyes to women photographers—and to the female gaze
Denied recognition and even credit for their work until recent times, Japan’s women photographers are challenging and subverting traditional assumptions about the female body
On a San Francisco roof, an artist’s work is birthed by the night sky
Ala Ebtekar’s new cyanotypes for Arion Press were exposed using moon and starlight during a partial lunar eclipse
Biography of Peter Gregory reveals a modest ‘businessman’ who was a driving force in art publishing
Through his dedicated printing and patronage, Gregory was a champion of contemporary art and design
Review | ‘An utterly positive and dangerously irrelevant’ book written by the chief executive of Arts Council England
This journey through the UK’s publicly funded arts carefully averts its eyes from the many signs of crisis
A new monograph places the writing, painting and archive photographs of Aubrey Williams in thrilling conversation
The publication about the Guyanese-born artist includes diary entries and several works that have been photographed for the first time
March Book Bag: from a compilation of artist love stories to a polemic questioning morality in art
Our round-up of the latest art publications
Tacita Dean on why she has made a book about her night in a museum with Cy Twombly’s art
The British artist has published a new book of detailed photographs of her hero’s work
‘He could be grotesquely, wildly intemperate’: biographer Blake Gopnik tells us about the great collector Albert C. Barnes
A new biography on the renowned businessman, who amassed one of the most important collections of Modern art in the US, looks at what made him tick
An expert’s guide to Vanessa Bell: five must-read books on the Bloomsbury Group artist
All you ever wanted to know about Bell, from a comprehensive biography to a controversial memoir by her daughter—selected by Charleston’s head of collections Darren Clarke
New book celebrates William Butterfield, a master of High Victorian Gothic architecture
Nicholas Olsberg’s publication offers a learned analysis of the architect’s work, which includes Oxford’s Keble College and central London’s All Saints church
This new volume reveals the under-explored art of 18th-century cut and paste
Author David Pullins challenges the hierarchical distinctions between fine art and decorative art in French painting of the 1700s
Why newly appointed museum directors fail, and how to avoid it: Kaywin Feldman’s new book on leadership
The director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, offers sage advice on how non-profits can best manage personnel changes at the top
‘I thought I would be trampled to death’: travelling with Gilbert & George to put on a show in 1990s Beijing
An exclusive extract from a new book by James Birch who helped organise exhibitions for the artist duo in Communist Russia and China
February Book Bag: from a history of Māori art to T.J. Clark’s essays on politics and art
Our round-up of the latest art publications
Don McCullin on swapping war zones for museums and why his ‘printing days are over’
The revered photojournalist has turned his focus to ancient statues for a new photography book
Mary Beale’s art of intimacy revealed in exhibition catalogue brimming with detail
A new study explores the portrait practice of Beale, the most famous of the early female professional painters in Britain