With countless movements, styles, artists and mediums, art history can seem overwhelming. I know Google can answer pretty much any question but there’s still something so beautiful about lifting an art book off your shelf. Whether you’re an artist after inspiration, a budding art historian or simply curious, here are the best art history books for beginners.
I’ve included the books which I always come back to, as well as those I keep on my coffee table.
1. The Art Book (£7.95)
This is where it all started for me, and I still go back to this brilliant little book. It’s an A to Z guide of 500 great painters and sculptors from medieval to modern times. My very battered copy shows that its one of my most loved art books.
2. H. Gombrich, The Story of Art (£17.70)
Considered the Bible of Western art history, this is required reading for anyone starting out. Jargon-free, it’s an accessible introduction to the names and movements you’ve probably heard of but can’t carry a decent conversation about yet. It’s a classic on my bookshelf.
3. John Berger, Ways of Seeing (£4)
This is one of my favourite (and most influential) art history books of all time. Writing in an engaging and witty manner, John Berger concentrates on how we look at art. What do we see? How are we seen? Might we see differently? He asks searching questions about how images – from European oil painting to photography and advertising – inform everyday life. Introducing the concept of ‘the male gaze’ and the objectification of women, it’s more relevant than ever today.
4. B. Chipp, Theories of Modern Art (£20.79)
At university, this was the one book which I used weekly. It’s filled with letters, manifestoes, reviews, interviews, and other texts related to modern art. My copy is filled with highlighted passages, including letters by Van Gogh, Gauguin’s theories on Symbolism and Surrealist manifestoes.
5. Isms: Understanding Art (£9.99)
Beautifully illustrated, I recommend this book as an excellent starter for art students. Follow time lines, art movements, and summaries of the major players in western European art history. It’s also colour coded – yes! Great for anyone taking GCSE or A Level Art. I still have my copy and refer to it when art history continues to confuse me.
6. Simon Schama, The Power of Art (£17.54)
You either love Schama or you hate him. Given my inclusion of him here, it’s pretty clear where I stand. In this book, he takes you under the canvas of 10 masters from Caravaggio to Rothko. Expect sexy art dramas, adultery and murder intrigue. One for the coffee table, which you can dip in and out of.
7. Eric Fernie (ed.), Art History and Its Methods (£16.95)
This book is one of the best introductions to the theories which can be applied to art history: feminism, formalism, semiotics and more. I bought a copy before I started my Masters and it saved me during a good number of seminars. Eric Fernie brings together 27 art historians’ essays, accompanied by a commentary that places them in context and discusses the issues they raise. A glossary of terms and a select bibliography make this book an invaluable resource for any art history student. Especially good for postgraduate study.
8. Grayson Perry, Playing to the Gallery (£7.74)
Who decides what art is worth? Curators? Dealers? Museums? In this brilliant book famous and award-winning artist Grayson Perry takes a look inside the art establishment. He takes questions which you might be embarrassed to ask, such as ‘Is this really art’ and answers them with wit and insight.
9. Edward Said, Orientalism (£7.85)
How do cultural appropriation and art history intersect? If you’re interested in this relevant topic, then you need this post-colonial classic in your life. Edward W. Said discusses Orientalism, defined as the West’s patronizing representations of and attitudes towards “The East” (Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East) through specific artworks, literature and history. It’s beautifully argued, persuasive and conclusive.
10. Linda Nochlin, Women, Art and Power (£20)
Linda Nochlin is famous for addressing “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” in 1970, and in the process launching feminist art history. This collection of 7 essays on women artists brings together 20 years of her scholarship. She looks at the relationships between women, art and power from the 18th century until the 20th. It’s the best starting point for feminism in art history.
11. Sue Rowe, The Private Lives of the Impressionists (£10)
Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. In this really enjoyable book Sue Rowe takes you back to the incredible period in art history, in Paris, when Impressionism was launched. You learn about the painters, their lives, loves, money problems, and their dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, whose faith in this small group was—eventually—realised. The perfect gift for an art lover. I read it over the Christmas holidays last year.
12. Taschen, Sculpture. From Antiquity to the Present Day (£95)
This is a magnificent coffee table book. It’s informative, academically detailed, and includes illustrations on every page. From devotional and spiritual iconography to 20th-century abstraction, it evokes the power of sculptural practice across art history.
13. Will Gompertz, What Are You Looking At?. 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye (£8.20)
This was my most recent art book buy, recommended by an artist friend, and I love it! From Monet’s waterlilies to Damien Hirst’s stuffed shark, Will Gompertz explores basic questions about modern art that most of us are too scared to ask. Easy to read and very funny whilst being insightful. Your next gallery trip will seem a lot less intimidating.
14. Black Art: A Cultural History (from £5)
This important book explores the visual representations of black culture throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. From blues to rap, from the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner to the video pieces of Keith Piper and Steve McQueen, it draws on the work of hundreds of artists, including Wifredo Lam, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martin Puryear, Spike Lee, Adrian Piper, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Chris Ofili and Yinka Shonibare. This new edition provides expanded coverage of film and video, and an additional chapter on the work of artists who have risen to prominence in recent years.
Ruth x
