Book Review

Booksreview

From Morocco to Malaysia: new publication traces the US artist Betye Saar’s journeys of discovery

Richly produced book documents how the nonagenarian artist’s work has been informed by her decades of travel

Booksreview

Stephen Shore's drone with a view delivers a different side of America

A book of the US photographer's aerial images, created during the Covid-19 pandemic, offers an original take on the US’s lived reality

Heinrich Campendonk, a little-known Blaue Reiter artist is brought to life in new book

New critical assessment of the vibrant works of the German artist who was exiled to the Netherlands in 1935

Booksreview

More than reclining women: how Henry Moore mined a rich seam with his drawings of working men

New book uses artist's wartime commission in a coalmine to show his melancholy side and mildly left political strain,

Booksreview

Origins of US photographer William Eggleston’s trailblazing images go on display in new book

Ninety previously unseen photographs from the early 1970s reveal the foundations of his practice

Booksreview

A medieval tale of the jester, the priory and the hospital: book uncovers church's history for 900th anniversary

As Saint Bartholomew the Great celebrates nine centuries, a new volume explores how the church has, against the odds, remained at London’s heart

Booksreview

An Englishman in New York: Richard Smith biography highlights the influence of the US city on his work

The artist returned from his trip to America in the 1960s “the personification of self-aware modernity”

Creative legacy of Nancy Holt, leading light of Land art, explored in new book

In her work, the artist strived to “find our place on the surface of our planet”

New book on Martine de Béhague shines light on a great collector who turned to art as solace for personal loss

The first scholarly study of a true dilettante of Old Masters, antiquities and new works, reveals an indomitable, questing soul

Hurvin Anderson's first major monograph reveals a bold colourist caught between Caribbean and British identities

The books spans his entire oeuvre, from swimming pool paintings made soon after leaving university to his recent Jamaican hotel series

New biography and seven-volume catalogue raisonné bring order to the spiritual fascination of Hilma af Klint

These volumes on the Swedish artist will help cement her rightful place as a pioneer of abstract art

Western arrogance on parade in new book about culture and conflict

Different methods of protecting heritage during times of war are explored with mixed success in this challenging read

Frank Auerbach’s drawings brought out of the shadows

A new book explores the artist’s scratchy, enigmatic drawings of people, long “crowded out” by his heavily textured paintings

Booksreview

From a solitary male retreat to a hive of collective talent: new book surveys how the artist's studio has evolved across the ages

This ambitious and approachable study charts the cultural significance of these spaces, from Ancient Greece to today

Booksreview

Listed works and unlawful removals: what owners can and cannot do with their art and heritage

A brisk but dense guide to the complex rules surrounding the removal of art from public and private spaces

Booksreview

A new way of understanding India’s Modern and contemporary art laid out in new book

An idiosyncratic Desert Island Discs of works, selected by 54 contributors, considers the role of “memory sites” in making sense of Indian output since 1900

Booksreview

Pioneering Parisian dealer Berthe Weill, who gave Modigliani his only show, is brought back to life in a new book

The first English translation of Weill’s 1933 memoir reveals a powerhouse of the Modern art world

Booksreview

The enigma of Philip Guston: two books unpack artist's fascination with dualities

Coinciding with opening of controversially postponed Guston show, these publications are vital to grasping the artist's contribution to post-war American art

Skulls and sequins: book celebrates the art of the Haitian streets 

Recently published catalogue of a touring show from 2018 shows the work of artists who draw inspiration from the urban landscape of the Caribbean nation

Booksreview

Book investigates why so many Irish country houses were subject to devastating arson attacks in the 1920s

While the early part of this publication is dry, once the fires start the narrative heats up

New book deep dives into the vast collection of W.A. Ismay—the UK’s most prolific collector of post-war British studio pottery

The "professional Yorkshireman" had more than 3,600 pieces including the likes of Lucie Rie and Bernard Leach

Booksreview

Magnificent two-volume book reveals the sumptuous, Rococo-infused life of Versailles courtier Madame de Pompadour

This comprehensive history of the lady’s obsessive relationship with Sèvres porcelain in the 18th century sheds light on little-known aspects of the industry

A portrait of power: photographer traces Angela Merkel’s ascent in new book and show

A new publication and forthcoming exhibition explore Herlinde Koelbl’s chronicle of the extraordinary 30-year political career of Germany’s first woman chancellor

Miss Clara, the Indian rhinoceros, and other fantastic beasts—a rich exhibition catalogue considers the cruel fashion for touring celebrity animals

This analysis, while celebrating the skill of artists and artisans, does not ignore the exploitative practices of previous centuries