Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic takes a break from exhibitions to recommend his top art books to read this Summer. Each one comes with a concise review to help you decide whether it’s for you.
Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood by Hettie Judah, published by Thames & Hudson
This is a fantastic look at how motherhood has been depicted throughout art history from ancient times to contemporary artists. It accompanies her excellent touring exhibition on art and motherhood, pictured above and reviewed on FAD Magazine here.
Rogues and Scholars by James Stourton, published by Bloomsbury
This book charts the London art market from post-Second World War to 2000. It’s full of fascinating stories and eccentric characters as we go from the wars between auction houses through to the YBAs. It’s all before my time so I learned a lot about London’s gallery scene from this book. (Available from 12 September).
An Opinionated Guide To Women Painters by Lucy Davies, published by Hoxton Mini Press
I’ve read a few of these opinionated guides and they are accessible and give us a bite-sized tour around the art world, and in this case women painters. Many I knew of but others that were new to me and it was great to learn about them and their practices.
A Little Art Education by Lynn Barber, published by Cheerio
Lynn Barber has met some of the top artists and this fun read charts her meetings and interactions with the likes of Salvador Dali, Maggi Hambling, The Chapman Brothers and Rachel Whiteread.
Elements of Art: Ten Ways to Decode the Masterpieces by Susie Hodge, published by Quarto
This is a great look at how to interpret varied artworks. I like how it gives us the usual artists such as Van Gogh and Michelangelo and includes more female artists and artists of colour than you’d usually find in most Western art books.
70 Self-Portraits: Art Every Day by George Bothamley
Artists throughout art history have painted themselves and this book gathers 70 from the greats for us to examine and draw our conclusions from them. It’s also a bonus download for paid subscribers of his excellent newsletter ‘Art Every Day’.
‘Opinionated guide’ image is a self-portrait by Tamara de Lempicka – © Fine Art Images / Bridgeman Images. Acts of Creation image: Tegen Kimbley.
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. learn more here
