Books

Book Clubfeature

Reviewed: Warhol, A Life as Art by Blake Gopnik

Three Andy Warhol devotees give their take on the near-1000 page biography

The story of an Irish family’s history and its porcelain service are woven together in this fascinating book

The recovery of a Worcester soft-paste collection sheds light on 18th-century Anglo-Irish culture

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Extract | Tribal identity, Tories and Tracey Emin: Grayson Perry reveals (even more) in updated book

Excerpts from the expanded monograph include how he was inspired by outsider art and the stresses of building a “Taj Mahal on the River Stour”

What has the Wallace Collection director Xavier Bray been reading during lockdown?

The art historian has been engrossed by a spy biography featuring art world personalities, and is taking his first steps with a book on ancient walking routes

What has the Whitechapel Gallery chief Iwona Blazwick been reading during lockdown?

The London-based curator has been perusing publications on science fiction, avant-garde cabarets and all things witchy

Booksreview

Donald Judd’s work measured in time and place

Three publications explore the artist’s life through his writings, interviews and places of work

A catalogue demonstrates Boucher’s mastery of the 'Chinese' taste

The essays in this book investigate the many facets of this extraordinary 18th-century fashion

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Extract | The story of Ruth Asawa and the secret gift from her teacher Josef Albers

An excerpt and images from a new biography on the sculptor who studied at the famous Black Mountain College and was interned during the Second World War

The relationships of artists and their gardens are well illustrated in this book

Gardens have inspired artists in many ways, not least directly in the case of those who painted their own plots, as this new book shows

What has the art world been reading during the coronavirus lockdown? Part two

Curators, directors and art historians tell us about the books they have been reading and revisiting

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Extract | The late Peter Beard on being the only photographer to capture Francis Bacon’s work in progress

An excerpt, photographs and collages from the photographer’s re-released book

Digital technologies allow us to create precise copies of artefacts—but what does this mean for the idea of 'authenticity'?

Online book demonstrates the groundbreaking work by Factum Foundation to create high-resolution facsimiles but also raises questions of value

What is the curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist reading during lockdown?

The artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries has been inspired by his daily walks and ‘animal interviews’ to revisit one of his favourite books about trees

What is the collector Eugenio Re Rebaudengo reading during lockdown?

The Turin-based art patron enjoys learning about artist rivalries and delving into the Francis Bacon catalogue raisonné, among other things

What is the curator Chrissie Iles reading during lockdown?

The Whitney Museum of American Art curator delights in learning about the global culture of the Middle Ages and finds lessons for the future in a Cauleen Smith monograph

What is the art world reading during the coronavirus lockdown?

Curators and directors tell us about their new favourite books as The Art Newspaper launches its Book Club

Booksfeature

In an ever-mediated world, artists’ books offer an intimate encounter

Where print runs for trade art books have seen steady declines since the 90s, sales of artists’ books have stayed steady or risen—we look at why

Things that... provoke some thought: book of drawings philosophically questions the relationship of 'things'

Groups of pictures are assembled on the basis of word association—but not everything in this graphic novel makes good sense

Artist Katie Paterson raises money for domestic abuse victims at risk during coronavirus outbreak

For a charitable donation, the Scottish visual artist is selling 1,000 digital copies of one of her books based on the universe

This small book tackles for the first time a very large subject: how relics were displayed in the Middle Ages

The way in which relics were presented determined what and how people thought of them, according to this publication of lectures

The art of ceilings and domes—a book on where to see them

Almost a travel guide, this publication illustrates the great art to be found around the world, so long as you look up

This book makes an arresting argument for the foundations of modern art

The Hamburger Kunsthalle’s exhibition catalogue groups Tiepolo, Fragonard and Goya as forerunners of Modernism

Booksreview

Of fossils, prisms and volcanoes: the scientific and imaginative investigations of the polymath Goethe

This extensive volume explores the relationship between the German writer's visual imagination and his fascination with natural science

Celebrating a generous donation to the Frick, this booklet pays tribute to the donor and his gift

The Arnhold family began collecting Meissen porcelain in the 1920s and the heir has given more than 100 examples to the New York museum

When nothing is sacred, nothing can be subversive: photographs of London’s Soho captured in catalogue

The area’s heyday in the mid 20th century has been obliterated by commercial exploitation

LA Art Book Fair cancelled over fear of spread of coronavirus

Decision on MOCA event affects over 350 exhibitors from around two dozen countries

Booksreview

The image debate: new book looks at age-old question of figural representation in Islam

This collection of essays examines the Islamic treatment of figuration around the world, from pre-modern decoration to contemporary snowmen

Booksreview

Book offers broadest and deepest study of Nazi culture yet

This is the first publication to fully examine the cultural output of the Third Reich, which, unsurprisingly, failed to produce great art

A beautiful compendium of Early Modern scientific instruments

This exhibition catalogue shows European technological discoveries from the 16th to the 19th century