Art & Photography, Best Books, Education, History, Nonfiction

The Best Art History Books

“What are the best Art History books?” We looked at 17 lists and came away with over 280 unique titles.

Art is great. Unfortunately (fortunately) it has been around for hundreds of thousands of years and spans the entire earth in every city and location where humans and that dancing bird from Planet Earth live. Because there is so much art and it has been around from so long, it is impossible to see it all. Luckily there are individuals who dedicate their lives to documenting and recording the techniques, styles, and history of artists and cultures around the world.

Below you will find the top 18 non-fiction and fiction art history books with images, summaries, and links. At the bottom of the page the additional 268 books as well as the 17 sources we consulted can be found.

Happy Scrolling!



The 18 Top Art History Books Of All-Time



18 .) Art in Theory 1900 – 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas by Charles Harrison & Paul J. Wood

art-in-theory-1900-2000-an-anthology-of-changing-ideas-by-charles-harrison-paul-wood
Lists It Appears On:

  • Best liberal Arts Colleges
  • Widewalls

This popular anthology of twentieth-century art theoretical texts has now been expanded to take account of new research, and to include significant contributions to art theory from the 1990s.

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17 .) Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King

brunelleschis-dome-how-a-renaissance-genius-reinvented-architecture-by-ross-king
Lists It Appears On:

  • Best liberal Arts Colleges
  • Millsaps College

Brunelleschi’s Dome is the story of how a Renaissance genius bent men, materials, and the very forces of nature to build an architectural wonder we continue to marvel at today. Denounced at first as a madman, Brunelleschi was celebrated at the end as a genius. He engineered the perfect placement of brick and stone, built ingenious hoists and cranes (among some of the most renowned machines of the Renaissance) to carry an estimated 70 million pounds hundreds of feet into the air, and designed the workers’ platforms and routines so carefully that only one man died during the decades of construction–all the while defying those who said the dome would surely collapse and his own personal obstacles that at times threatened to overwhelm him. This drama was played out amid plagues, wars, political feuds, and the intellectual ferments of Renaissance Florence– events Ross King weaves into the story to great effect, from Brunelleschi’s bitter, ongoing rivalry with the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti to the near catpure of Florence by the Duke of Milan. King also offers a wealth of fascinating detail that opens windows onto fifteenth-century life: the celebrated traditions of the brickmaker’s art, the daily routine of the artisans laboring hundreds of feet above the ground as the dome grew ever higher, the problems of transportation, the power of the guilds.

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16 .) Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell

claude-camille-a-novel-of-monet-by-stephanie-cowell
Lists It Appears On:

  • Millsaps College
  • The Week

“In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Claude Monet decided that he would rather endure a difficult life painting landscapes than take over his father’s nautical supplies business in a French seaside town. Against his father’s will, and with nothing but a dream and an insatiable urge to create a new style of art that repudiated the Classical Realism of the time, he set off for Paris.

But once there he is confronted with obstacles: an art world that refused to validate his style, extreme poverty, and a war that led him away from his home and friends. But there were bright spots as well: his deep, enduring friendships with men named Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, Manet – a group that together would come to be known as the Impressionists, and that supported each other through the difficult years. But even more illuminating was his lifelong love, Camille Doncieux, a beautiful, upper-class Parisian girl who threw away her privileged life to be by the side of the defiant painter and embrace the lively Bohemian life of their time. “

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15 .) Gardner’s Art Through the Ages by Fred S. Kleiner; Christin J. Mamiya; Helen Gardner

gardners-art-through-the-ages-a-global-history-volume-ii-with-artstudy-printed-access-card-and-timeline-by-fred-s-kleiner-christin-j-mamiya
Lists It Appears On:

  • Best liberal Arts Colleges
  • Concordia University

The market-leading text for the art history survey course, GARDNER’S ART THROUGH THE AGES has served as a comprehensive and thoughtfully crafted guide to the defining phases of the world’s artistic tradition. With this book in hand, thousands of students have watched the story of art unfold in its full historical, social, religious, economic, and cultural context, and thus deepened their understanding of art, architecture, painting, and sculpture. By virtue of its comprehensive coverage, strong emphasis on context, and rich, accurate art reproductions, GARDNER’S ART THROUGH THE AGES has earned and sustained a reputation of excellence and authority.

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14 .) History of Modern Art by Elizabeth C. Mansfield and H.H. Arnason

history-of-modern-art-by-h-harvard-arnason-elizabeth-c-mansfield
Lists It Appears On:

  • Art Books
  • Best liberal Arts Colleges

History of Modern Art is a visual comprehensive overview of the modern art field. It traces the trends and influences in painting, sculpture, photography and architecture from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. The seventh edition deepens its discussions on social conditions that have affected the production and reception of modern and contemporary art.

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13 .) Show Time: The 50 Most Influential Exhibitions of Contemporary Art by Jens Hoffmann

show-time-the-50-most-influential-exhibitions-of-contemporary-art-by-jens-hoffmann
Lists It Appears On:

  • Art news
  • Widewalls

This monumental new book explores the recent history of exhibition-making, looking at the radical shifts that have taken place in the practice of curating contemporary art over the last 20 years. Tracing a history of curating through its most innovative shows, renowned curator Jens Hoffmann selects the 50 key exhibitions that have most significantly shaped the practice of both artists and curators. Chosen from the plethora of exhibitions, biennials and art events that have sprung up across the world since the 1990s, each exhibition reviewed here has triggered profound changes in curatorial practice, and reanimated the potential of contemporary art. The book includes an international roster of curators, and exhibition venues that span the globe, from the USA, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey and Spain.

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12 .) Strapless by Deborah Davis

strapless-by-deborah-davis
Lists It Appears On:

  • Bustle
  • Millsaps College

The subject of John Singer Sargent’s most famous painting was twenty-three-year-old New Orleans Creole Virginie Gautreau, who moved to Paris and quickly became the “it girl” of her day. A relative unknown at the time, Sargent won the commission to paint her; the two must have recognized in each other a like-minded hunger for fame.

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11 .) The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone

the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-by-irving-stone
Lists It Appears On:

  • Bustle
  • Millsaps College

A masterpiece in its own right, this novel offers a compelling portrait of Michelangelo’s dangerous, impassioned loves, and the God-driven fury from which he wrested the greatest art the world has ever known.

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10 .) The Duchamp Dictionary by Thomas Girst

the-duchamp-dictionary-by-thomas-girst
Lists It Appears On:

  • Art news
  • Widewalls

From alchemy and anatomy to Warhol and windows, The Duchamp Dictionary offers a pithy and readable text that draws on in-depth scholarship and the very latest research. Thomas Girst includes close to 200 entries on the most interesting and important artworks, relationships, people, and ideas in Duchamp’s life—from The Bicycle Wheel and Fountain to Walter and Louise Arensberg, Peggy Guggenheim, Katherine Dreier, and Arturo Schwarz. Delightful, newly commissioned illustrations introduce each letter of the alphabet and accompany select entries, capturing the irreverent spirit of the artist himself. 59 color illustrations

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9 .) The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe

the-painted-word-by-tom-wolfe
Lists It Appears On:

  • Millsaps College
  • The Guardian

Wolfe’s style has never been more dazzling, his wit never more keen. He addresses the scope of Modern Art, from its founding days as Abstract Expressionism through its transformations to Pop, Op, Minimal, and Conceptual. The Painted Word is Tom Wolfe “at his most clever, amusing, and irreverent”

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8 .) An Outline of European Architecture by N. Pevsner

an-outline-of-european-architecture-by-nikolaus-pevsner
Lists It Appears On:

  • King’s College
  • Readings

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902–1983) was one of the twentieth century’s most learned and stimulating writers on art and architecture. He established his reputation with Pioneers of Modern Design, though he is probably best known for his celebrated series of guides, The Buildings of England, acknowledged as one of the great achievements of twentieth-century scholarship. He was also founding editor of The Pelican History of Art, the most comprehensive and scholarly history of art ever published in English.

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7 .) Art and Illusion by E.H. Gombrich

art-and-illusion-a-study-in-the-psychology-of-pictorial-representation-by-e-h-gombrich
Lists It Appears On:

  • King’s College
  • Readings

Considered a great classic by all who seek for a meeting ground between science and the humanities, Art and Illusion examines the history and psychology of pictorial representation in light of present-day theories of visual perception information and learning. Searching for a rational explanation of the changing styles of art, Gombrich reexamines many ideas on the imitation of nature and the function of tradition. In testing his arguments he ranges over the history of art, noticing particularly the accomplishments of the ancient Greeks, and the visual discoveries of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, as well as the impressionists and the cubists. Gombrich’s triumph in Art and Illusion arises from the fact that his main concern is less with the artists than with ourselves, the beholders.

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6 .) Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy by M. Baxandall

painting-and-experience-in-fifteenth-century-italy-a-primer-in-the-social-history-of-pictorial-style-by-michael-baxandall
Lists It Appears On:

  • King’s College
  • Readings

Serving as both an introduction to fifteenth-century Italian painting and as a text on how to interpret social history from the style of pictures in a given historical period, this new edition to Baxandall’s pre-eminent scholarly volume examines early Renaissance painting, and explains how the style of painting in any society reflects the visual skills and habits that evolve out of daily life. Renaissance painting, for example, mirrors the experience of such activities as preaching, dancing, and gauging barrels. The volume includes discussions of a wide variety of painters, including Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Stefano di Giovanni, Sandro Botticelli, Masaccio, Luca Signorelli, Boccaccio, and countless others. Baxandall also defines and illustrates sixteen concepts used by a contemporary critic of painting, thereby assembling the basic equipment needed to explore fifteenth-century art.

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5 .) The Books that Shaped Art History: From Gombrich and Greenberg to Alpers and Krauss by Richard Shone & John-Paul Stonard

the-books-that-shaped-art-history-from-gombrich-and-greenberg-to-alpers-and-krauss-by-richard-shone-john-paul-stonard
Lists It Appears On:

  • Readings
  • Widewalls

Written by some of today’s leading art historians and curators, this new collection provides an invaluable road map of the field by comparing and reexamining canonical works of art history. From Émile Mâle’s magisterial study of thirteenth-century French art, first published in 1898, to Hans Belting’s provocative Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before the Era of Art, the book provides a concise and insightful overview of the history of art, told through its most enduring literature. Each of the essays looks at the impact of a single major book of art history, mapping the intellectual development of the writer under review, setting out the premises and argument of the book, considering its position within the broader field of art history, and analyzing its significance in the context of both its initial reception and its afterlife. An introduction by John-Paul Stonard explores how art history has been forged by outstanding contributions to scholarship, and by the dialogues and ruptures between them.

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4 .) Ways of Seeing by John Berger

ways-of-seeing-by-john-berger
Lists It Appears On:

  • Readings
  • Widewalls

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language.

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3 .) Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

girl-with-a-pearl-earring-by-tracy-chevalier
Lists It Appears On:

  • Bustle
  • Millsaps College
  • The Week

History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of sixteen-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius . . . even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.

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2 .) The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari

the-lives-of-the-artists-by-giorgio-vasari-julia-conway-bondanella-translator-peter-bondanella
Lists It Appears On:

  • King’s College
  • Questia
  • The Wall Street Journal

These biographies of the great quattrocento artists have long been considered among the most important of contemporary sources on Italian Renaissance art. Vasari, who invented the term “Renaissance,” was the first to outline the influential theory of Renaissance art that traces a progression through Giotto, Brunelleschi, and finally the titanic figures of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Raphael.

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1 .) The Story of Art by Ernest H. Gombrich

the-story-of-art-by-e-h-gombrich
Lists It Appears On:

  • Art A GoGo
  • King’s College
  • Lavinia Goes
  • Readings
  • The Guardian
  • The Wall Street Journal

The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of all ages and backgrounds have found in Professor Gombrich a true master, and one who combines knowledge and wisdom with a unique gift for communicating his deep love of the subject.

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268 Additional Art History Books
(Appear on a single list each)



 

100 Artists’ ManifestoReadings
100 Painters of TomorrowCountry & Town House
A Brush with the Real: Figurative Painting TodayMargherita Dessanay and Marc ValliArt news
A Child’s Book of Art: Great Pictures First WordsLucy MicklethwaitArt A GoGo
A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian RenaissanceJ.R. HaleKing’s College
A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to CézanneMichael LeveyQuestia
A HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE: SETTING AND RITUALSSPIRO KOSTOF, GREGORY CASTILLO, RICHARD TOBIASBest liberal Arts Colleges
A History of Western ArchitectureD. WatkinKing’s College
A History of Western ArtLaurie Schneider AdamsArt Books
A Life of Picasso Volume I: 1881-1906John RichardsonThe Wall Street Journal
A Paradise Lost: The Neo-Romantic Imagination in Britain, 1938-1955David MellorThe Guardian
A SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT ARTSYLVAN BARNETBest liberal Arts Colleges
A WORLD HISTORY OF ARCHITECTUREMICHAEL FAZIO, MARIAN MOFFETT, LAWRENCE WODEHOUSEBest liberal Arts Colleges
A World History of ArtH. Honour & J. FlemingKing’s College
AFRICAN COSMOS: STELLAR ARTSNY Times
After ArtReadings
AfterimageHelen HumphreysMillsaps College
Agatha’s BreastVan AdlerMillsaps College
Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth (novel about the New Kingdom Egyptian pharaoh by the Nobel Laureate Egyptian author)Naguib MahfouzMillsaps College
ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES: NEW YORK ART SPACES 1960 TO 2010Lauren Rosati and Mary Anne StaniszewskiNY Times
American Visions: The Epic History of Art in AmericaRobert HughesArt A GoGo
An Empathetic LensCountry & Town House
Annotated Art (DK Annotated Guides)Robert CummingArt A GoGo
ARCHAIC AND CLASSICAL GREEK ART (OXFORD HISTORY OF ART)ROBIN OSBORNEBest liberal Arts Colleges
Architecture in Britain, 1530-1830J. SummersonKing’s College
ART & TODAYELEANOR HEARTNEYBest liberal Arts Colleges
Art for DummiesThomas HovingArt A GoGo
Art HistoryMarilyn Stokstad and Bradford R. CollinsArt A GoGo
Art History and Its Institutions: Foundations of a DisciplineElizabeth MansfieldQuestia
ART HISTORY PORTABLE, BOOK 4: 14TH – 17TH CENTURY ARTMARILYN STOKSTAD, MICHAEL W. COTHRENBest liberal Arts Colleges
ART HISTORY, COMBINED VOLUMEMARILYN STOKSTAD, MICHAEL W. COTHRENBest liberal Arts Colleges
Art History: An Anthology of Modern CriticismWylie SypherQuestia
Art in America 1945-1970: Writings from the Age of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and MinimalismJed PerlThe Wall Street Journal
Art KaneCountry & Town House
Art of the Postmodern Era: From the Late 1960s to the Early 1990sIrving SandlerQuestia
Art PowerReadings
Art: The Whole StoryReadings
ArtemisiaAlexandra LapierreMillsaps College
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHIMARY D. GARRARDBest liberal Arts Colleges
As AboveRudy RuckerMillsaps College
ASIAN AMERICAN ART: A HISTORY, 1850- 1970GORDON CHANG, MARK JOHNSON, PAUL KARLSTROMBest liberal Arts Colleges
ASIAN ART NOWCHUI MELISSA, GENOCCHIO BENJAMINBest liberal Arts Colleges
ASMARA: AFRICA’S SECRET MODERNIST CITYEDWARD DENISON, GUANG YU REN, NAIGZY GEBREMEDHINBest liberal Arts Colleges
BAROQUE: THEATRUM MUNDI. THE WORLD AS A WORK OF ARTBARBARA BORNGASSER, ROLF TOMAN, ACHIM BEDNORZBest liberal Arts Colleges
BECOMING VAN GOGHTimothy J. StandringNY Times
Bernard Berenson: Formation and HeritageJoseph Connors and Louis A. WaldmanArt news
Bets and Scams: A Novel of the Art WorldGary SchwartzMillsaps College
Billy Name – The Silver AgeCountry & Town House
Borrower of the Night: The First Vicky Bliss MysteryElizabeth PetersMillsaps College
BUILDING STORIESChris Ware’NY Times
Burning BrightTracy ChevalierMillsaps College
Camera Lucida: Reflections on PhotographyRoland BarthesWidewalls
CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICHJohannes GraveNY Times
Cézanne: a Study of his Development, London 1927R. Fry,King’s College
Chasing CezannePeter MayleMillsaps College
Child’s Book of Art: Discover Great PaintingsLucy MicklethwaitArt A GoGo
CHINESE SILKSJames C. Y. WattNY Times
Clara and MrSusan VreelandMillsaps College
CLASSICAL ART: FROM GREECE TO ROME (OXFORD HISTORY OF ART)MARY BEARD, JOHN HENDERSONBest liberal Arts Colleges
Collected WordsRichard HamiltonThe Guardian
Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity toAbstraction, London 1993J. GageKing’s College
Concise History of Modern Sculpture (World of Art S.)Herbert ReadArt Books
CONSTRUCTING THE ANCIENT WORLD: ARCHITECTURAL TECHNIQUES OF THE GREEKS AND ROMANSCARMELO MALACRINOBest liberal Arts Colleges
CONTEMPORARY ART: WORLD CURRENTSTERRY SMITHBest liberal Arts Colleges
Cupid and the Silent GoddessAlan FiskMillsaps College
Dancing for DegasKathryn WagnerMillsaps College
Deadly Illumination: A Gilded Age MysterySerena StierMillsaps College
Death and RestorationIain PearsMillsaps College
Depths of GloryIrving StoneThe Week
Design as Art (Penguin Modern Classics)Bruno MunariWidewalls
Dialogues with Marcel DuchampPierre CabanneThe Guardian
Dictionary of Art & ArtistsPeter & Linda MurrayKing’s College
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in ArtJames HallKing’s College
Discourses on Art, ed. R. Wark (several eds.)J. ReynoldsKing’s College
DRAWING SURREALISMNY Times
Edie: An American BiographyJean Stein and George PlimptonThe Guardian
Edmund de WaalEdmund de Waal and Emma Crichton-MillerArt news
Essential Art: The History of Western ArtArt Books
False ImpressionJeffrey ArcherMillsaps College
Feint of ArtHailey LindMillsaps College
Frida’s BedSlavenka DrakulicMillsaps College
Fundraising the DeadSheila ConnollyMillsaps College
Girl in Hyacinth BlueMillsaps College
Girl ReadingKatie WardBustle
Gould’s Book of FishRichard FlanaganMillsaps College
Great Artists (DK Annotated Guides)Robert CummingArt A GoGo
HAJJ: JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF ISLAMNY Times
HeadlongMichael FraynMillsaps College
HERCULANEUM: ART OF A BURIED CITYMARIA PAOLA GUIDOBALDI, DOMENICO ESPOSITO, LUCIANO PEDICINIBest liberal Arts Colleges
HIROSHIGE: ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDOMELANIE TREADE, LORENZ BICHLERBest liberal Arts Colleges
History of ArtH.W. Janson and Anthony F. JansonArt A GoGo
History of BeautyUmberto EcoWidewalls
History of Classic PaintingMarc Logé; André Leclerc; M. De Gesne; Frederick Moss; S. Béguin; RosamundQuestia
HISTORY OF FAR ASIAN ARTSHERMAN LEEBest liberal Arts Colleges
HISTORY OF JAPANESE ARTPENELOPE MASONBest liberal Arts Colleges
Horst – Photographer of StyleCountry & Town House
I Always Loved YouRobin OliveiraThe Week
I am Madame XGioia DilibertoMillsaps College
I, Juan de ParejaElizabeth Borton de TreviñoBustle
IMPRESSIONISM: ART, LEISURE, AND PARISIAN SOCIETYROBERT L. HERBERTBest liberal Arts Colleges
IN EXTREMIS: DEATH AND LIFE IN 21ST-CENTURY HAITIAN ARTNY Times
In the Shadow of Velázquez: A Life in Art HistoryJonathan BrownArt news
including Deceptive Clarity (1987)Millsaps College
including Old Bones (1995)Millsaps College
INDIAN ART (WORLD ART)ROY C. CRAVENBest liberal Arts Colleges
INK ART: PAST AS PRESENT IN CONTEMPORARY CHINAMAXWELL K. HEARN, WU HUNGBest liberal Arts Colleges
Innocent EyePhilip HookMillsaps College
Instant Art History: From Cave Art to Pop ArtWalter RobinsonArt A GoGo
ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTUREROBERT HILLENBRANDBest liberal Arts Colleges
Italian Painters: Critical Studies of their Works, London 1892G. Morelli,King’s College
JESS: O! TRICKY CAD & OTHER JESSOTERICANY Times
Journal of Eugène DelacroixEugène DelacroixThe Wall Street Journal
Just KidsPatti SmithMillsaps College
KEN PRICE SCULPTURE: A RETROSPECTIVEStephanie BarronNY Times
Key Writers on Art: The Twentieth CenturyChris MurrayQuestia
Landscape of LiesPeter WatsonMillsaps College
Landscape with Fragmented FiguresJeff Van de ZandeMillsaps College
LazarusNicholas KilmerMillsaps College
LecturesF. SaxlKing’s College
Leonardo’s SwansKaren EssexMillsaps College
Life StudiesMillsaps College
LIFE WITH PICASSOFRANCOISE GILOTBest liberal Arts Colleges
Likeness and PresenceReadings
LootAaron ElkinsMillsaps College
LUCIAN FREUD PORTRAITSSarah Howgate, with Michael Auping and John RichardsonNY Times
Luncheon of the Boating PartyMillsaps College
Lust for LifeIrving StoneThe Week
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning PaperHarriet Scott ChessmanMillsaps College
M: The Man Who Became CaravaggioPeter RobbMillsaps College
Madame PicassoAnne GirardBustle
Mademoiselle VictorineDebra FinermanMillsaps College
Mapping It Out: An Alternative Atlas of Contemporary CartographiesHans Ulrich Obrist; Introduction by Tom McCarthyArt news
Marlene Dumas: The Image as BurdenCountry & Town House
Masterpiece of DeceptionJudy LesterMillsaps College
MATERIALIZING “SIX YEARS”: LUCY R. LIPPARD AND THE EMERGENCE OF CONCEPTUAL ARTNY Times
Medieval ArtMarilyn StokstadQuestia
Michelangelo and the Pope’s CeilingMillsaps College
Miss Garnet’s AngelSally VickersMillsaps College
MODERN ARCHITECTURE SINCE 1900WILLIAM J. R. CURTISBest liberal Arts Colleges
MODERN ARCHITECTURE: A CRITICAL HISTORYKENNETH FRAMPTONBest liberal Arts Colleges
MODERN ART 1851 – 1929: CAPITALISM AND REPRESENTATION (OXFORD HISTORY OF ART)RICHARD R. BRETTELLBest liberal Arts Colleges
Mona LisaJeanne KalogridisMillsaps College
Murder at the National GalleryMillsaps College
Murder in the SmithsonianMargaret TrumanMillsaps College
New Zealand Painting: A Concise HistoryMichael DunnArt Books
NOA NOA: THE TAHITIAN JOURNALPAUL GAUGUINBest liberal Arts Colleges
On PhotographyReadings
One Man ShowMichael InnesMillsaps College
OVERLAY: CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE ART OF PREHISTORYLUCY LIPPARDBest liberal Arts Colleges
Perspectives on Western ArtLinnea H. WrenQuestia
Picasso and the Model: Sylvette, Sylvette, SylvetteChristoph Grunenberg and Astrid BeckerArt news
Pictures at an ExhibitionSara HoughtelingMillsaps College
Pop Art and the Origins of Post-ModernismSylvia HarrisonQuestia
Principles of Art History (several eds.)H. WölfflinKing’s College
QuattrocentoJames McKeanMillsaps College
Rembrandt’s GhostPaul ChristopherMillsaps College
Rembrandt’s WhoreSylvia MattonMillsaps College
Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art, Stockholm 1960E. PanofskyKing’s College
Rodin’s LoverHeather WebbBustle
ROMAN ART: ROMULUS TO CONSTANTINENANCY H. RAMAGE, ANDREW RAMAGEBest liberal Arts Colleges
Sacre BleuChristopher MooreMillsaps College
SALON TO BIENNIAL: EXHIBITIONS THAT MADE ART HISTORY, VOLUME 1: 1863-1959BRUCE ALTSHULERBest liberal Arts Colleges
Shamrock TeaCiaran CarsonMillsaps College
Simpson’s HomerJohn MalcolmMillsaps College
Sister Wendy’s Story of PaintingSister Wendy BeckettArt A GoGo
SKYSCRAPERS: A HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY BUILDINGS – REVISED AND UPDATEDJUDITH DUPRE, ADRIAN SMITHBest liberal Arts Colleges
Stealing AthenaKaren EssexMillsaps College
Studies in Iconology, (several eds.)E. PanofskyKing’s College
Styles, Schools and MovementsAmy DempseyLavinia Goes
Sunflowers: A Novel of Vincent Van GoghSheramy D BundrickMillsaps College
Taste and the Antique, New Haven & London, 1981F. Haskell & N. Penny,King’s College
TEMPLES OF CAMBODIA: THE HEART OF ANGKORHELEN IBBITSON JESSUP, BARRY BRUKOFFBest liberal Arts Colleges
THE $12 MILLION STUFFED SHARK: THE CURIOUS ECONOMICS OF CONTEMPORARY ARTDON THOMPSONBest liberal Arts Colleges
The Art ForgerShapiroMillsaps College
The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology (Oxford History of Art S.)Donald PreziosiArt Books
The Art of Describing: Dutch art in the Seventeenth CenturyReadings
THE ART OF TIBETROBERT E. FISHERBest liberal Arts Colleges
The Bellini MadonnaElizabeth LowryMillsaps College
The Birth and Rebirth of Pictorial Space (several eds.)J. WhiteKing’s College
The Birth of VenusSarah DunantMillsaps College
The Bone VaultLinda FairsteinMillsaps College
The Botticelli SecretMarina FioratoMillsaps College
The Bowl is Already BrokenMary Kay ZuravleffMillsaps College
The Cheese MonkeysChip KiddMillsaps College
The Civilisation of the Renaissance in ItalyJ. BurckhardtKing’s College
The Classical Language of Architecture (several eds.)John SummersonKing’s College
THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF JOE BRAINARDRon PadgettNY Times
The Colors of the New World: Artists, Materials, and the Creation of the Florentine CodexDiana Magaloni KerpelArt news
The Creation of EveLynn CullenMillsaps College
The Critical Historians of Art (several eds.)M. PodroKing’s College
The Curatorial Avant-Garde: Surrealism and Exhibition Practice in France, 1925–1941Adam JollesArt news
The Da Vinci CodeDan BrownMillsaps College
The Dark ClueJames WilsonMillsaps College
The Death Artist: A Novel of SuspenseJonathan SantloferMillsaps College
The Deftness of Da VinciCountry & Town House
The Enchantress of FlorenceSalman RushdieMillsaps College
The Eye’s Mind: Bridget Riley – Collected Writings, 1965-2009The Guardian
THE FERTILE CRESCENT: GENDER, ART, AND SOCIETYJudith K. Brodsky and Ferris OlinNY Times
The Final Faberge: A Novel of SuspenseThomas SwanMillsaps College
The Flanders PanelArturo Perez-ReverteMillsaps College
The ForgerPaul WatkinsMillsaps College
The Fountain of StSena Jeter NaslundMillsaps College
The Girl in the Green Glass Mirror (about an art evaluator and a painting by the Victorian painter Richard Dadd)Elizabeth McGregorMillsaps College
The Global Contemporary and the Rise of New Art WorldsReadings
The Gothic Image, London 1961E. MâleKing’s College
The History of Art for Young PeopleH.W. Janson and Anthony F. JansonArt A GoGo
The History of Art HistoryUdo KultermannQuestia
The Horse’s MouthJoyce CaryMillsaps College
The House GirlTara ConklinMillsaps College
THE IMAGE OF THE BLACK IN WESTERN ARTNY Times
The Immaculate DeceptionIain PearsMillsaps College
THE ISLANDS OF BENOÎT MANDELBROT: FRACTALS, CHAOS, AND THE MATERIALITY OF THINKINGNina SamuelNY Times
The Italian Painters of the RenaissanceB. BerensonKing’s College
THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS: THE REVOLUTIONARY DECADE THAT GAVE THE WORLD IMPRESSIONISMROSS KINGBest liberal Arts Colleges
The Killing ArtMillsaps College
The Lady and the UnicornTracy ChevalierMillsaps College
The Last NudeEllis AveryBustle
THE LETTERS OF VINCENT VAN GOGHVINCENT VAN GOGH, ARNOLD J. POMERANS (TRANSLATOR)Best liberal Arts Colleges
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVID WOJNAROWICZ: FIRE IN THE BELLYCynthia CarrNY Times
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio MasterpieceJonathan HarrMillsaps College
The Madonnas of LeningradDebra DeanThe Week
The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa (mystery about the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre)Martin PageMillsaps College
The Matisse StoriesA ByattMillsaps College
The Moon and SixpenceW. Somerset MaughamBustle
The New Art History: A Critical IntroductionJonathan HarrisQuestia
The Originality of the Avantgarde and Other Modernist MythsReadings
The Painted KissElizabeth HickeyMillsaps College
The PainterWill DavenportMillsaps College
The Painter From ShanghaiJennifer Cody EpsteinBustle
The Painter of Modern Life & other EssaysC. BaudelaireKing’s College
The Passion of ArtemisiaMillsaps College
The Penguin Dictionary ofArchitectureJohn Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolaus PevsnerKing’s College
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back AgainThe Guardian
The Pillars of the EarthKen FollettMillsaps College
The Pound EraHugh KennerThe Guardian
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF THE IMPRESSIONISTSSUE ROEBest liberal Arts Colleges
The Rembrandt PanelOliver BanksMillsaps College
The Renaissance PortraitReadings
The Rich and the ProfaneJonathan GashMillsaps College
The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art fromBrunelleschi to Seurat, New Haven & London, (several eds.)M. KempKing’s College
The Secret SupperJavier SierraMillsaps College
The Social Lives of Artistic PropertyPablo Helguera, Michael Mandiberg, William Powhida, Amy Whitaker, and Caroline WoolardArt news
The Swan ThievesElizabeth KostovaBustle
The Unknown MasterpieceHonoré de BalzacThe Guardian
The Voyages of Alfred WallisPeter EverettMillsaps College
The Way to ParadiseMario Vargas LlosaMillsaps College
The Wayward MuseMillsaps College
The WomenT BoyleMillsaps College
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical ReproductionWalter BenjaminWidewalls
TheftPeter CareyMillsaps College
Theories of Modern Art: A Source BookHerschel B. ChippLavinia Goes
Tulip FeverDeborah MoggachMillsaps College
Turner’s SketchbooksCountry & Town House
Twentieth-Century American Art (Oxford History of Art)Widewalls
Undermining: A Wild Ride Through Land Use, Politics, and Art in the Changing WestLucy LippardArt news
Vision and difference: femininity, feminism and the histories of art, London, 1988Griselda PollockKing’s College
Voodoo SalonCountry & Town House
Waking RaphaelLeslie ForbesMillsaps College
WARI: LORDS OF THE ANCIENT ANDESNY Times
WarpaintStephanie SmithMillsaps College
What’s Bred in the Bone? 1985 (about fictional artist and collector in Toronto)Robertson DaviesMillsaps College
WHY BUILDINGS FALL DOWN: WHY STRUCTURES FAILMATTHYS LEVY, MARIO SALVADORI, KEVIN WOESTBest liberal Arts Colleges
With VioletsElizabeth RobardsMillsaps College
Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the SixtiesTeresa A. Carbone and Kellie Jones; Contributions by Connie Choi, Dalila Scruggs, and Cynthia YoungArt news
WoodstockCountry & Town House
Word and Image, Leyden 1972M. SchapiroKing’s College
WORLD ARCHITECTURE: A CROSS-CULTURAL HISTORYRICHARD INGERSOLL, SPIRO KOSTOFBest liberal Arts Colleges
World Without End (centered on the life of a fictional 14th-century English architect)Millsaps College
Wycliffe and the Guild of NineW BurleyMillsaps College


Fiction and Non-Fiction Art History Book Sources



SourceArticle
Art A GoGo How to Learn More About Art Part One: Books
Art Books Art History Books
Art news 14 NEW ART-HISTORY BOOKS TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
Best liberal Arts Colleges 50 INSPIRING BOOKS ABOUT ART HISTORY
Bustle 11 Novels Every Art History-Lover Should Pick Up
Concordia University Selected Art History Books in the Concordia Library Collection
Country & Town House Ten best art books of all time
King’s College History of Art reading list
Lavinia Goes 3 ESSENTIAL ART HISTORY BOOKS THAT I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU TO READ
Millsaps College Art History Novels and Films
NY Times Between Two Covers, Wide Worlds of Art
Questia Art History: Selected full-text books and articles
The Guardian Michael Bracewell’s top 10 art books
The Wall Street Journal Five Essential Books on Art History
The Week Susan Vreeland’s 6 favorite books that blend fiction and art history
Widewalls ART HISTORY BOOKS YOU MUST READ
Readings The Books That Shaped Art History