Books About Artists and Art

Updated June 13, 2023
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Girl with a pearl earring
Chevalier, Tracy.
The New York Times bestselling novel by the author of A Single Thread and At the Edge of the Orchard Translated into thirty-nine languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film, starring Scarlett Johanson and Colin Firth Tracy Chevalier transports...
The birth of Venus : a novel
Dunant, Sarah.
Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is...
The art forger : a novel
Shapiro, Barbara A.
"[A] highly entertaining literary thriller about fine art and foolish choices." --Parade  "[A] nimble mystery." --The New York Times Book Review "Gripping." --O, The Oprah Magazine Almost twenty-five years after the...
The lonely city : adventures in the art of being alone
Laing, Olivia
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism #1 Book of the Year from Brain Pickings Named a best book of the year by NPR, Newsweek, Slate, Pop Sugar, Marie Claire, Elle, Publishers Weekly, and Lit Hub<...
Georgia : a novel of Georgia O'Keeffe
Tripp, Dawn Clifton
An Indie Next PickGeorgia O'Keeffe, her love affair with photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and her quest to become an independent artist come vividly to life in this sensual and exquisitely written novel, a dazzling departure into historical fiction by acclaimed novelist Dawn Tripp.
The god of endings
Holland, Jakki
"A new kind of vampire story, and the result is a surprising and spellbinding tale." --Laura Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chaperone "Great for fans of Interview with a Vampire and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue." -...
Super host : a novel
Russo, Kate
"Get ready to smile....[A] sweet story and the perfect antidote to the chaos that's been 2021." -the Skimm  A deeply funny and shrewdly observed debut novel about being lost in the very place you know by heart. Bennett Driscoll is a Turner...
How to be both A novel
Smith, Ali
MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST * A novel all about art's versatility, borrowing from painting's fresco technique to make an original literary double-take. "Cements Smith's reputation as one of the finest and most innovative of our contemporary writers. By some divine alchemy, she is...
The Age of Light: A Novel
Scharer, Whitney
One of the Best Books of the Year: Parade, Glamour, Real Simple, Refinery29, Yahoo! Lifestyle Journey back to 1930's Paris with this "startlingly modern love story and a mesmerizing portrait of a woman's self-transformation from muse to...
The color storm : a novel of Renaissance Venice
Dibben, Damian
*The Gold Crown Best Historical Novel of the Year* Enter the world of Renaissance Venice, where the competition for fame and fortune can mean life or death... Artists flock here, not just for wealth and fame, but for revolutionary color. Yet...
Loving Frank : a novel
Horan, Nancy.
I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903,...
The swan thieves : a novel
Kostova, Elizabeth.
Psychiatrist Andrew Marlow, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret...
All the beauty in the world : the Metropolitan Museum of Art and me
Bringley, Patrick
A best book of the year from New York Public Library, NPR, the Financial Times, Book Riot, and the Sunday Times (London). A fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent...
Your brain on art : how the arts transform us
Magsamen, Susan
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics, which offers proof for how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts--and how this knowledge can improve our health, enable us to flourish, and build stronger communities....
Leonardo da Vinci
Isaacson, Walter
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is "a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it...Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life" (The New...
The 12-hour art expert : everything you need to know about art in a dozen masterpieces
Charney, Noah
"Brimming with examples from across the artistic spectrum, this is the perfect primer to hook future art enthusiasts." Publishers Weekly Interested in art but feel under-informed? Curious but afraid you might not "get" it? Already a fan and wishing to immerse yourself in a fun, engaging,...
American comics : a history
Dauber, Jeremy Asher
Comics have conquered America. From our multiplexes, where Marvel and DC movies reign supreme, to our television screens, where comics-based shows like The Walking Dead have become among the most popular in cable history, to convention halls, best-seller lists, Pulitzer Prize-winning...
The History of Graphic Design. Vol. 2. 1960-Today
Müller, Jens
Through the turbulent passage of time, graphic design-with its vivid, neat synthesis of image and idea-has distilled the spirit of each age. Surrounding us every minute of every day, from minimalist packaging to colorful adverts, smart environmental graphics to sleek interfaces: graphic...
The art book
Bugler, Caroline
Learn about key movements like impressionism, cubism and symbolism in The Art Book. Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Art in this overview guide to the subject, great for...
Art 21 : art in the 21st century
Golden, Thelma.
This companion to a new public television series on the contemporary visual arts introduces some of the most interesting artists working in America today. In four sections -- on Identity, Place, Consumption, and Spirituality -- the authors explore such provocative issues as how artists address...
Sister Wendy's Impressionist masterpieces
Beckett, Wendy.
A beautiful anthology of Impressionist paintings by a dazzling roll-call of artists. One of the world's best-loved art historians, Sister Wendy Beckett combines her deep knowledge of art history with her unique powers of observation to create a personal anthology of over 50 Impressionist...
The Shock of the new
Hughes, Robert
A beautifully illustrated hundred-year history of modern art, from cubism to pop and avant-guard. More than 250 color photos.
Steal like an artist : 10 things nobody told you about being creative
Kleon, Austin.
Unlock your creativity. An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life.   Nothing is original, so embrace...
The secret lives of color
St. Clair, Kassia
One of USA Today's "100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis"  A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume. "Beautifully...
Ways of seeing
Berger, John.
"The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled" -- so opens John Berger's revolutionary million-copy bestseller on how to look at art John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language....
Luster
Leilani, Raven
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable Book of the Year WINNER of the NBCC John Leonard Prize, the Kirkus Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award...
The woman who stole Vermeer : the true story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House art heist
Amore, Anthony M.
The extraordinary life and crimes of heiress-turned-revolutionary Rose Dugdale, who in 1974 became the only woman to pull off a major art heist. In the world of crime, there exists an unusual commonality between those who steal art and those who repeatedly kill: they are almost...
The creative act : a way of being
Rubin, Rick
The #1 New York Times bestseller. "A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning...

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