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recommended by art historians
Last updated: February 22, 2026
Looking for books about art history? Browse through our expert recommendations to find the best books on art history to give as a gift to an art lover—or for your own library. For a survey of the entire field, we recommend A World History of Art by Hugh Honour and John Fleming, which "holds the field as the most comprehensive as well as the most intelligent survey of the whole of the world’s history of art," according to art historian John Harrison.
Also often recommended is The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari, first published in 1550 but very readable. Vasari, whose house you can still visit in the Italian town of Arezzo, wrote about Leonardo and Michelangelo (amongst others) and to some extent "invented art history as we know it," according to Renaissance scholar Kenneth Bartlett.
Our archive covers a vast array of subjects, extending well beyond the bestseller lists. In contrast to other online reviews, Five Books content is timeless and our contributors authoritative – these truly are the best books on everything.
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The Artist's Studio: A Cultural History by James Hall
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Studio Lives: Architect, Art and Artist in 20th-Century Britain by Louise Campbell
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In the Studio: Lee Lozano by Lee Lozano & Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti
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The Artist at Home: Studios, Practices and Identities by Imogen Racz & Jill Journeaux
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Notes from the Woodshed by Jack Whitten
The best books on Artist Studios, recommended by Debbie Hillyerd
Whatever space an artist occupies, their ability to communicate to us a vision that emerges from that space takes us well beyond their practice and the space in which their art is made. As Debbie Hillyerd, Hauser & Wirth Partner and Senior Director of Learning, makes clear, we learn about the issues, political or cultural issues or technological issues of the day through their vision.
The best books on Artist Studios, recommended by Debbie Hillyerd
Whatever space an artist occupies, their ability to communicate to us a vision that emerges from that space takes us well beyond their practice and the space in which their art is made. As Debbie Hillyerd, Hauser & Wirth Partner and Senior Director of Learning, makes clear, we learn about the issues, political or cultural issues or technological issues of the day through their vision.
The best books on Artist Studios, recommended by Debbie Hillyerd- Read
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Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
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Blake: A Biography by Peter Ackroyd
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English Blake by Bernard Blackstone
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Golgonooza, City of Imagination by Kathleen Raine
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This Ever Diverse Pair by Owen Barfield
The best books on William Blake, recommended by Mark Vernon
Visionary, mystic, poet, etcher: the English artist William Blake (1757-1827) developed his own, highly distinct, style—but he was also in conversation with the artistic currents of his day, explains Mark Vernon, the author of a new philosophical exploration of Blake's work. Here he highlights five books that will help you gain an understanding of William Blake's life, work, and spiritual life.
The best books on William Blake, recommended by Mark Vernon
Visionary, mystic, poet, etcher: the English artist William Blake (1757-1827) developed his own, highly distinct, style—but he was also in conversation with the artistic currents of his day, explains Mark Vernon, the author of a new philosophical exploration of Blake’s work. Here he highlights five books that will help you gain an understanding of William Blake’s life, work, and spiritual life.
The best books on William Blake, recommended by Mark Vernon- Read
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This is Tomorrow: Twentieth-century Britain and its Artists by Michael Bird
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Ninth Street Women: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel
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A History of Art History by Christopher S. Wood
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Women, Art, and Society by Whitney Chadwick
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Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now by Alex Farquharson & David A. Bailey
The best books on Art History, recommended by Charlotte Mullins
The critic Charlotte Mullins, author of A Little History of Art, recommends five books that have altered her understanding of art history. Too often, she argues, we have forgotten that our concept of the past is deeply influenced by the views of those who wrote about it first; these readable, well-researched books offer readers a fresh perspective.
The best books on Art History, recommended by Charlotte Mullins
The critic Charlotte Mullins, author of A Little History of Art, recommends five books that have altered her understanding of art history. Too often, she argues, we have forgotten that our concept of the past is deeply influenced by the views of those who wrote about it first; these readable, well-researched books offer readers a fresh perspective.
The best books on Art History, recommended by Charlotte Mullins- Read
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A World History of Art Hugh Honour and John Fleming
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Ways of Seeing by John Berger
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A History of Western Architecture by David Watkin
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Women, Art, And Power And Other Essays by Linda Nochlin
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The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century by Svetlana Alpers
The Best Art History Books for Teenagers, recommended by John Harrison
Which are the best books to get a teenager excited about art history? We turned to veteran art history teacher John Harrison, formerly head of the art history department at Eton College, for his top five picks of the most illuminating and accessible books for getting a broad overview of the history of art.
The Best Art History Books for Teenagers, recommended by John Harrison
Which are the best books to get a teenager excited about art history? We turned to veteran art history teacher John Harrison, formerly head of the art history department at Eton College, for his top five picks of the most illuminating and accessible books for getting a broad overview of the history of art.
The Best Art History Books for Teenagers, recommended by John Harrison- Read
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Rembrandt: The Painter at Work by Ernst van de Wetering
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Rembrandt's Universe: His Art, His Life, His World by Gary Schwartz
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Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama
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The Painter and the Girl by Margriet de Moor
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Rembrandt: the Complete Drawings & Etchings by Peter Schatborn
The best books on Rembrandt, recommended by Onno Blom
Though he left more self-portraits to posterity than practically any Old Master, there remains an air of mystery around Rembrandt the man—even on the 350th anniversary of his death. Piecing together the very few personal letters and documents left behind, Onno Blom has now reconstructed Rembrandt's formative years in Young Rembrandt. Here he guides us through five of the most authoritative—and imaginative—accounts of the artist.
The best books on Rembrandt, recommended by Onno Blom
Though he left more self-portraits to posterity than practically any Old Master, there remains an air of mystery around Rembrandt the man—even on the 350th anniversary of his death. Piecing together the very few personal letters and documents left behind, Onno Blom has now reconstructed Rembrandt’s formative years in Young Rembrandt. Here he guides us through five of the most authoritative—and imaginative—accounts of the artist.
The best books on Rembrandt, recommended by Onno Blom- Read
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Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon
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Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words by Boel Westin
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Young Rembrandt by Onno Blom
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Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead
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Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence by Martin Bailey
Five Biographies of Artists, recommended by Sue Prideaux
From the Baroque painter who killed a man in Rome during the Counter-Reformation to the surrealist artist who left Britain and died in Mexico City in 2011, award-winning biographer Sue Prideaux talks to us about her favorite biographies of artists. Her new biography of Paul Gauguin, Wild Thing, is out this week and has been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
Five Biographies of Artists, recommended by Sue Prideaux
From the Baroque painter who killed a man in Rome during the Counter-Reformation to the surrealist artist who left Britain and died in Mexico City in 2011, award-winning biographer Sue Prideaux talks to us about her favorite biographies of artists. Her new biography of Paul Gauguin, Wild Thing, is out this week and has been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
Five Biographies of Artists, recommended by Sue Prideaux- Read
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The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
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Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation by E.H. Gombrich
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Leonardo da Vinci: i documenti e le testimonianze contemporanee by Edoardo Villata
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The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci by Jean Paul Richter
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Leonardo da Vinci by Kenneth Clark
The best books on Leonardo da Vinci, recommended by Martin Kemp
Every generation has its own Leonardo, and for many he remains a man of mystery. Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor in Art History at Oxford and the author of Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting, helps us identify the non-mythical Leonardo. What might Leonardo be doing were he alive today, in our own digital age?
The best books on Leonardo da Vinci, recommended by Martin Kemp
Every generation has its own Leonardo, and for many he remains a man of mystery. Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor in Art History at Oxford and the author of Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting, helps us identify the non-mythical Leonardo. What might Leonardo be doing were he alive today, in our own digital age?
The best books on Leonardo da Vinci, recommended by Martin Kemp- Read
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The Four Books on Architecture (I quattro libri dell'architettura) by Andrea Palladio
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Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism by Rudolf Wittkower
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Architect and Engineer by Andrew Saint
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Modern Architecture Since 1900 by William Curtis
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Life in the English Country House by Mark Girouard
The best books on Architectural History, recommended by Dan Cruickshank
Art historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank explains the beauty of Palladian proportions, takes us on a tour of some key English country houses and describes the poetry of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles. He recommends the best books on 'architectural history'
The best books on Architectural History, recommended by Dan Cruickshank
Art historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank explains the beauty of Palladian proportions, takes us on a tour of some key English country houses and describes the poetry of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles. He recommends the best books on ‘architectural history’
The best books on Architectural History, recommended by Dan Cruickshank- Read
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The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
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Ricordi by Francesco Guicciardini
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The Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione
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The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari
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The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini by Benvenuto Cellini
The Best Italian Renaissance Books, recommended by Kenneth Bartlett
If you’re going to look at the past, you have to understand the people who were living there and see the world through their eyes, says historian and Renaissance specialist Kenneth Bartlett. He picks the best books written during the Italian Renaissance.
The Best Italian Renaissance Books, recommended by Kenneth Bartlett
If you’re going to look at the past, you have to understand the people who were living there and see the world through their eyes, says historian and Renaissance specialist Kenneth Bartlett. He picks the best books written during the Italian Renaissance.
The Best Italian Renaissance Books, recommended by Kenneth Bartlett- Read
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Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy by Michael Baxandall
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Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
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Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance by Lisa Jardine
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The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Elizabeth L Eisenstein
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The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
A century-and-a-half ago the Swiss art historian, Jacob Burckhardt, popularized the idea of a 'Renaissance' in 14th century Italy. For most people, the term still conjures up works of art by the likes of Michelangelo or Leonardo. But there is much, much more to it than that. Professor of Renaissance studies, Jerry Brotton, picks the best books to read for a more complete understanding of the Renaissance.
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
A century-and-a-half ago the Swiss art historian, Jacob Burckhardt, popularized the idea of a ‘Renaissance’ in 14th century Italy. For most people, the term still conjures up works of art by the likes of Michelangelo or Leonardo. But there is much, much more to it than that. Professor of Renaissance studies, Jerry Brotton, picks the best books to read for a more complete understanding of the Renaissance.
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton Page 2 →About
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