Artist Lives Books

Irving Stone's "Lust for Life" offers a captivating fictional account of the extraordinary existence of Vincent Van Gogh. This masterpiece paints a vivid portrait of the artist's undying legacy, asserting that Van Gogh's passion, brilliance, and artistic contributions shall forever enrich our world. As...

WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A long overdue, revisionist history of art by the brilliant Katy Hessel . . . Never stuffy or supercilious, Hessel's book is a revelation and an important first step towards redressing...

A new selection of post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gough's letters, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh put a human face on one of the most haunting figures in modern Western culture. In this Penguin Classics edition, the letters are selected and edited by Ronald...

WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A long overdue, revisionist history of art by the brilliant Katy Hessel . . . Never stuffy or supercilious, Hessel's book is a revelation and an important first step towards redressing...

First published by Lund Humphries in 2008, The St Ives Artists: A Biography of Place and Time has become the classic account of the St Ives group of artists. Our beautifully produced new edition, published in 2016, is now available in an accessible paperback...

Vincent van Gogh's story is one of the most tragic in art history. Today, he is celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, feted museums, and record prices of tens of millions of...

Fascinating' The Times'Blakeian in its singularity' New Statesman'A wonderful adventure' Irish Times'Rich, complex and original' Tom Holland'A crisp, ambitious and thoroughly contemporary introduction' Times Literary SupplementPoet, artist, visionary and author of the unofficial English national anthem 'Jerusalem', William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius....

The reigning Queen of Classics' Spectator'Mary Beard is the best in the business' Dan Snow'Excellent' Guardian'Enthralling' Sunday TimesBritain's most famous classicist asks: what are civilisations?Central to this huge question are the ways in which we have depicted the human and the divine from prehistory...

An illustrated selection of Van Gogh's letters, forming an extraordinary window into the life and creative thinking of one of the world's most iconic artists. Vincent van Gogh's letters have long been prized as some of the most valuable documents in the world of...

Follow the journey of David Hockney's exceptional life in a unique graphic novel�format. From his childhood in Bradford and�early years making it as an artist, to his sun-drenched�Los Angeles period, his triumphal return to the UK and his recent�iPad drawings that proudly exclaim that...

Christopher Neve�_Ts classic book is a journey into the imagination through the English landscape. How is it that artists, by thinking in paint, have come to regard the landscape as representing states of mind? �_~Painting�_T, says Neve, �_~is a process of finding out, and...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A burst of springtime joy' Daily Telegraph 'A springboard for ideas about art, space, time and light' The Times 'Lavishly illustrated' Guardian David Hockney reflects upon life and art as he experiences lockdown in rural Normandy On turning eighty, David...

I know for sure that I have an instinct for colour, and painting is in the very marrow of my bones' The life of Van Gogh has gone down in legend as the archetypal artist's existence. He was irascible and short-tempered, hugely passionate and...

A Guardian Top 50 Summer Read'I ended up reading it in one sitting, well into the early hours of the following day.' - Observer'I can't think of an art book with an opening page like it. Lines land like detonation . . . The...

A joyful and celebratory gift book devoted to the work of the much-loved English artist Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) and the influence of natural forms and themes in his work. Eric Ravilious was a designer, painter, printmaker and illustrator best known for his depictions of...

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024A vital re-examination of the trailblazing and controversial artist Paul Gauguin - and the first full biography in over thirty years - written by the award-winning author of I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Nietzsche. *Gorgeously...

"Probing, jargon-free and written with the pace of a detective story... [Procter] dissects western museum culture with such forensic fury that it might be difficult for the reader ever to view those institutions in the same way again. " Financial Times 'A smart, accessible...

Every page made me wish I was a potter' Nigel SlaterFlorian Gadsby has devoted his life to pottery, refining his technique towards the point of perfection - and as his skill has grown, so has his social media following, which today numbers in the...

* 'Great art has dreadful manners...' Simon Schama observes at the start of his epic exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. 'The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things, visions that soothe, charm and...

Pop artist, painter of modern life, landscape painter, master of color, explorer of image and perception-for six decades, David Hockney has been known as an artist who always finds new ways of exploring the world and its representational possibilities. He has consistently created unforgettable...