Book Club

The Art Newspaper’s Book Club shines a light on art books in their myriad forms and brings you exclusive extracts, interviews and recommendations from leading art world figures. Sign up to our monthly newsletter

Book Clubfeature

What it's like modelling naked for Lucian Freud when he's your father

Rose Boyt’s memoir explores the highs, lows and contradictions of sitting for the artist

Book Clubfeature

Why Anthony van Dyck was summoned to paint a recently deceased noblewoman

This extract from a new book about works in the Dulwich Picture Gallery by Helen Hillyard and Jennifer Scott reveals the story behind the artist's 1663 portrait of Lady Digby

Helen Hillyard and Jennifer Scott. With an introduction by José da Silva
Book Clubfeature

Paper, politics and poetry: why artists’ books from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia deserve a closer look

British Museum show and book by Venetia Porter tap into rich seam of works by non-Western artists

An expert’s guide to Paula Rego: six must-read books on the Portuguese-British artist

All you ever wanted to know about Rego, from the best catalogues to a behind-the-scenes dive into her studio—selected by her son Nick Willing

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

Book Clubfeature

Opera singer Peter Brathwaite tells us why he reinterpreted Black portraiture using household items

In his book inspired by the Getty Museum Challenge, Brathwaite recreated portraits by artists such as Georges Trubert and Sonia Boyce

An expert's guide to Keith Haring: four must-read books on the popular US artist

All you ever wanted to know about Haring, from his personal journals to interviews with the likes of Roy Lichtenstein and Madonna—selected by the curator Sarah Loyer

Book Clubfeature

The story behind Sol LeWitt’s rarely seen wall drawings in a medieval tower

An extract from an essay by the art historian Rye Dag Holmboe explains how the US artist’s works ended up in the Umbrian city of Spoleto

An expert’s guide to Jean-Michel Basquiat: four must-read books on the American artist

All you ever wanted to know about Basquiat, from his best quotes to an “intimate insight” from his family—selected by the curator Dieter Buchhart

Book Clubfeature

From Hogarth to Hockney, artists struck by puppy love are celebrated in four recent canine-themed books

Ahead of a new show of dog portraits at London's Wallace Collection, we round-up some publishing treats for you to paw over

An expert’s guide to Hokusai: four must-read books on the Japanese artist

All you ever wanted to know about Hokusai, from a history of The Great Wave to a novel about the artist's daughter—selected by the curator Sarah E. Thompson

Book Clubfeature

Extract | When the Picasso was almost knocked off the wall during a blockbuster show

A new memoir by Patrick Bringley details what it was like to work as a guard at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Book Clubfeature

‘That’s not enough’: Willem de Kooning’s advice to a young Wayne Thiebaud

An excerpt from one of Thiebaud’s final interviews, which features in the catalogue of a survey at the Fondation Beyeler, reveals how the US artist arrived at his signature style

Book Clubinterview

Q&A: Jennifer Higgie on her new book about spiritualism and its importance to early Modernist women artists

The former editor of Frieze magazine says the idea that modernity had to be rational, cool and atheist was detrimental to art

Yayoi Kusamainterview

‘I never run out of ideas’: an interview with Yayoi Kusama and highlights from her new catalogue

The artist, who is now in her 90s and voluntarily living in a psychiatric hospital, has a major retrospective under way in Hong Kong

Book Clubinterview

David Shrigley tells us about his new book and why he chose the ‘shit’ title

The British artist gives us an insight into the work behind his latest publication, which brings together more than 200 recent drawings

Booksfeature

Fertile inspiration: how the humble egg has played an enduring role in women’s art

This except from Taschen's new book The Gourmand’s Egg: A Collection of Stories and Recipes shows how artists including Judy Chicago and Sarah Lucas have used egg imagery

An expert's guide to Henri Matisse: four must-read books on the Modern master

All you ever wanted to know about Matisse, from a definitive two-volume biography to the writings of the artist himself—selected by the curator Dorthe Aagesen

Book Clubinterview

Q&A: Osei Bonsu on his book about artists shaping the contemporary African art scene

The curator has brought together the work of 50 artists from across the continent for his new book African Art Now

An expert's guide to Tutankhamun: five must-read books on the Egyptian pharaoh

All you ever wanted to know about King Tut, from CT scans and DNA studies to the perfect book for “any little pharaohs that you might know”—selected by the biographer and journalist Garry Shaw

Book Clubinterview

Q&A | Hettie Judah on how galleries, museums and art schools treat artist mothers

A new publication unpicks how becoming a parent can detrimentally affect an artist’s career and suggests ways the art world can do better

Book Clubfeature

Susan Sontag's influential 1977 book On Photography is reissued

New version published by The Folio Society includes new insights from curator Mia Fineman who has selected key accompanying images

Who is Octavia Butler and why is the art world obsessed with her writing?

The late author’s sci-fi stories have inspired artists such as Alberta Whittle, Candice Breitz, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Precious Okoyomon