Celebrate the festive season with our picks of the best art and design books, worthy of a spot beneath your tree
Creating a New Home in Mallorca
Artists, like interior designers, treat their homes differently to regular Joes. Their eye is keener, their vision is deeper and they have an ability to look beyond simply ‘dressing’ a space. That is certainly the case for Malene Birger; the Danish artist and fashion designer’s Mallorcan retreat was an abandoned wreck when she first found it, and she had to push past decades of neglect to uncover the beauty she knew lay beneath the rubble. This book shows its transformation, such as the restored gilded staircase and impressive repurposed hexagonal floor, all wonderfully photographed by Jean Marie Del Moral, with before-and-afters that reveal the scale of the work.
Everybody Loves Stripes
I don’t know about everybody, but a cursory glance in my wardrobe, on my sofa and in my kitchen cupboards proves that I, for one, love stripes. This book eloquently explains their appeal, showing how they fit into a broad spectrum of schemes. Think coastal, rustic cottage, boho, or living room, kitchen, kids’ room: there’s a version of stripes that’ll work for the space. They give us confidence because they feel fun and less boring than a single-tone neutral, and they have well-founded optical qualities such as the ability to make a room seem taller. This sourcebook, from design powerhouse Schumacher, brings their beauty together in one handy tome.
Lives of the Great Makers
What’s so delightfully engaging about Rebecca Knott and James Robinson’s gem of an anthology is the sheer breadth of incredible artists they manage to cram into it. Both are V&A curators and specialists, and their passionate knowledge of their subject shines through. Forty pioneering makers spanning five centuries are featured here: textile artists, metalworkers, furniture-makers and ceramicists, some less well known than others but all with exceptional skill in their particular art. It’s an enlightening read that gives us a renewed appreciation for what has been achieved by some of the world’s most accomplished decorative artists.
Women Artists in Their Own Words
FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum) near Cannes in the South of France is dedicated entirely to women’s art, and you can now immerse yourself in some of the highlights of its wonderful collection via this new book. It includes works by 95 artists from the last 150 years, including big names like Barbara Hepworth, Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Lee Krasner (pictured), Frida Kahlo and Jenny Saville, accompanied by their own words. It’s an intimate route to understanding the motivations, inspiration and inner struggles of women painters, sculptors and photographers, and a beautiful homage to founder Christian Levett’s collection.
The American Art Book
Three centuries’ worth of American artists, makers and designers have their place is this updated and revised edition of The American Art Book. It’s a sturdy, comprehensive survey of 500 of the USA’s greatest artists, taking in every genre, from Impressionism to Modernism, Folk to Pop. An exceptional panel of specialist curators and historians has been responsible for deciding who’s in and who’s out. There will be names you recognise (Jackson Pollock, Carrie Mae Weems, Keith Haring, Edward Hopper and Andy Warhol, among others), and many, many more you’ll discover. The beautiful presentation of this book allows the art to comes to the fore.
The Art of Nature
Art historian Olivia Meehan’s latest book is a call to action, albeit a gentle one. In it, she examines the connections between art, literature, nature and gardens, showing us how by slowing down and taking time to really look, you’ll be able to discover new views, alternative links and a deeper appreciation of vistas that you perhaps took for granted or didn’t really see before. It’s split into three sections dealing with land, water and sky, but each has the same purpose: inviting you to actively view, take more time to consider and rediscover the benefits of nature and its impact on the human psyche. A blend of art and mindfulness, this is one to be present for, and its results might just enlighten you.
