Ultimate reading list

An expert’s guide to Sophie Taeuber-Arp: five must-read books on the Swiss artist

All you ever wanted to know about Taeuber-Arp, from a children’s book full of inspiring projects to a publication exploring the dynamics of artist couples—selected by the Tate curator Natalia Sidlina

An expert’s guide to Nam June Paik: five must-read books on the Korean-American artist

All you ever wanted to know about Paik, from a “deep dive” into a single work to the best biography—selected by the curators Rudolf Frieling and Andrea Nitsche-Krupp

An expert’s guide to Barbara Hepworth: five must-read books on the British sculptor

All you ever wanted to know about Hepworth, from a pictorial autobiography to a collection of her poems, notes and transcripts—selected by the curator and biographer Eleanor Clayton

An expert’s guide to David Hockney: five must-read books on the British artist

All you ever wanted to know about Hockney, from the best biography to the artist's “radical” investigations into art history—selected by the critic (and longtime friend) Martin Gayford

An expert’s guide to Yayoi Kusama: six must-read books on the Japanese artist

All you ever wanted to know about Kusama, from a detailed study of her Infinity Mirror Room to illustrations for Alice in Wonderland—selected by the Gropius Bau director Stephanie Rosenthal

An expert's guide to Francis Bacon: five must-read books on the post-war painter

All you ever wanted to know about the artist, from a deep dive into his chaotic studio to accounts of his exploits in seedy Soho—selected by the art historian Michael Peppiatt

An expert’s guide to J.M.W. Turner: four must-read books on the British painter

All you ever wanted to know about Turner, from a “rollicking read” of a biography to a “picture book with a point”—selected by the Romantic period painting specialist David Blayney Brown

An expert’s guide to Artemisia Gentileschi: five must-read books on the Italian artist

All you ever wanted to know about Artemisia, from the best biographies to a book about her place in early modern feminism—selected by Italian painting specialist Letizia Treves

An expert’s guide to Vincent van Gogh: five must-read books on the Dutch artist

All you ever needed to know about the artist, from the story of the ear incident to the definitive biography and best picture book—selected by Van Gogh specialist Martin Bailey