The Best Books About Art and Artists to Read Now

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of this debut, which made the best fiction books of 2023 list.

Explore a captivating journey through the intricacies of artistic expression in this campus novel against the backdrop of the 2011 recession. 

Angress crafts the lives of a student crafting art from memes, a professor confronting compromises of artistic integrity, and roommates entangled in competition and romance at an art college.

Listen to our Antonia Angress interview on Book Gang in today's embedded player as she discusses her creative process for this book and the unexpected connection that readers have found through her storytelling. 

In this new book, an aspiring journalist delves into the fascinating lives of Picasso's muses.

Determined to reveal the hidden truths beneath the canvas, Alana immerses herself in a home filled with memories, unraveling a past filled with secrets.

As Alana navigates a male-dominated art journalism world, she discovers unsettling parallels between the past and her life.

Publishing March 1st, this novel was selected as the Winner of the AWP Prize for the Novel. 

Kapur, a longtime literary critic, centers her story on twin sisters who aspire to become artists.

This novel explores female creativity and identity-making in a society remaking its own identity in the devastating aftermath of colonial rule.

Set in 1950s Bombay, readers will be fascinated by this moving historical fiction exploration of artistic desire.

Related- The Best Debut Novels of 2023

I count this steamy romance among my favorites and am excited for the upcoming adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.

Solène, a recently divorced art gallery owner, attends a meet-and-greet with her tween daughter at the concert of her daughter's favorite boy band.

Unexpectedly, she catches the eye of one of the members, leading to a secret affair that complicates her life in unexpected ways.

This story takes fascinating twists from mortifying her daughter to facing paparazzi scrutiny. 

As their love deepens, Solène finds herself navigating challenges within her relationships and work, all while determined to keep the affair alive. 

The Idea of You movie adaptation comes to Amazon Prime Video on May 2, 2024.

Readers seeking a midlife Emily in Paris escapade will delight in this backlist selection. 

Barr invites readers to the dinner table where a disastrous celebration for Sophie's forty-second birthday unfolds.

The revelation of the Ashley Madison client list, exposed during a dramatic table reading, uncovers Sophie's high school sweetheart as the site's most engaged customer.

Adding emotional complexity, she learns about a secret affair involving one of her friends. 

Fueled by humiliation and betrayal, Sophie escapes to France for a transformative journey of self-discovery, including returning to her artistic love for sculpting. 

Part sexual awakening, part creative self-expression, this spicy novel offers a soapy spin on what it means to discover yourself in the midlife years. 

This debut romance novel offers a political twist as a woman's husband, on the brink of a White House bid, inadvertently sends a compromising text to her phone. 

After Rachel discovers this affair, her husband offers a life-changing sum to stand by him during his campaign. It appears his interracial marriage is excellent for voter optics, especially with her past as a struggling single mother.

Amid the news of this affair, she encounters a younger man named Nathan, who has immediate chemistry with her. 

As she becomes involved in a charitable art gala, Nathan's art is chosen, and the discovery is that he, too, may have a complicated family story.

Without giving too much away, the art show at the end might be one of my favorite ideas for a fictional art exhibit- you'll find it moving.

Read this before diving into The Art of Scandal TV Adaption which was really announced on Deadline.

Chloe navigates daily challenges with her fibromyalgia but decides to create a "get a life" bucket list to push her out of her predictable life.  

To accomplish her goals, she enlists the help of Redford 'Red' Morgan, the obnoxious handyman in her apartment building who, she discovers, is an incredibly talented artist. 

This romance has lots of steam and brings a refreshing perspective as it entangles relatable health challenges with romance.

Related- The Best Tools for Cozy Reading With Chronic Pain (GUIDE)

Antonia Angress brought this haunting backlist book to our show that I also fell in love with when it came out. 

Lyon's novel unfolds in 1990s gentrifying Brooklyn, where struggling photographer Lou Riley accidentally captures her neighbor's child falling to his death in a self-portrait. 

As she grapples with the moral dilemma of exploiting this accidental masterpiece for her career, the novel explores sacrifice in art and the profound moral costs of ambition. 

I highly recommend this selection on audiobook. 

Related- The Best Psychological Thriller Books to Read

Antonia Angress described this as a perfect thriller set in the art world.

In the story, an unnamed painter faces the devastation of a studio fire just before a career-defining show. 

She conceals the truth and embarks on a race against time to recreate her lost masterpieces within three months. 

Seeking refuge in an exclusive artist colony in Pine City, the narrative unravels within the legendary studio of a deceased performance artist, Carrie Logan. 

As the protagonist delves into the mystery surrounding Logan's demise, the novel becomes a gripping and intelligent exploration of identity, authorship, and authenticity in art. 

Set in the affluent enclave of Shaker Heights, Ng's novel unveils the seemingly perfect world of the Richardson family. 

Their well-intentioned acts, like providing affordable housing to the artistic Mia Warren, unravel when an adoption decision ignites a conflict between these families.

As Mia and her daughter Pearl become entwined in the lives of the Richardson family, the novel navigates complex themes of privilege, identity, and the consequences of well-meaning actions.

Related- Guide to the Celeste Ng Books and Exclusive Author Interview

Readers craving slower character-driven novels have found a deep connection to this novel that happens to be sitting on my bookshelf right now!

Set in war-torn Tuscany in 1944, Ulysses, a young British soldier, encounters the remarkable Miss Evelyn Skinner, a 64-year-old art historian on a mission to protect masterpieces from theft and destruction.

Spanning four decades from the 40s to the 70s, readers will appreciate this uplifting celebration of love, art, friendship, and delicious Italian food.

Related- The Best Books About Friendship to Read Now

Scharer's debut novel showcases the story of Lee Miller an accomplished model who made her way to Paris in the 1930's. 

When she meets famed Surrealist photographer Man Ray, she takes on a new role as his assistant.

This role soon shifts, though, when the two fall in love and attempt to navigate the complexity of this creative partnership. 

Later, working as a war correspondent, Lee begins documenting the liberation of the concentration camps as one of the first female war correspondents, utilizing radical new photography techniques to document the liberation.

I was amazed by Lee Miller's creative life.

Related- 53 Historical Fiction Novels to Escape With

I count this novel among my favorite coming-of-age stories simply for how people bond through art. 

June's uncle is a reclusive painter who teaches her everything she knows about art, from insights into music to understanding negative space.

When fourteen-year-old June meets her late uncle's partner, she learns more about his life, thoughtfully woven against the backdrop of the 1980s AIDS crisis.

Related- The Best Books for LGBTQ History Month

It's hard to pick a favorite Jojo Moyes book, but I count this historical fiction selection among my favorites from the author. 

In this dual timeline story, Sophie Lefèvre, determined to protect her family during the war, faces a risky situation when her portrait captures the attention of a dangerous German Kommandant. 

Almost a century later, Liv Halston, the unwitting owner of Sophie's portrait, unravels its troubled history, setting off a gripping battle that transforms her life. 

This coming-of-age story is set in the 90s and follows two teenage misfits who form an unlikely friendship. 

When their experimental art becomes a viral sensation around town, the consequences of Satanic panic within their community and conspiracy theories on its origin story later yield devastating results. 

Years later, Frankie's past comes back to haunt her when a journalist starts digging into the events of that fateful summer.

I highly recommend the audiobook and stick around for the author's note for the moving inspiration for this book. 

Related- 13 Coming of Age Books Any Adult Will Love

This weird fiction novel about Marie Tussaud was a MomAdvice Book Club selection.

Marie was an orphan in the 1700s who ended up being taken in by an eccentric wax sculptor and developed a growing curiosity and fondness for the art.

She begins as an apprentice to pay for her food and shelter and later tutors a princess on creating wax sculptures.

Carey writes AND illustrates this unusual novel that reminded many of our book club participants of a  Dickens novel.

Learning about the craftsmanship that went into these wax figures, particularly in those days, was equally strangely fascinating and horrifying.

Related- The 2024 MomAdvice Book Club Books Are Here (JOIN NOW)

Renowned artist Sylvia Wren faces her reclusive past when pursued by a journalist, revealing her true identity as Iris Chapel. 

The novel unravels the haunting history of the Chapel sisters, heiresses to a firearms fortune, whose lives are marked by tragedy and a family curse, leading Iris to escape and reinvent herself as Sylvia Wren to outrun the shadows of her past.

The first book in the Jaipur Trilogy and a Reese's Book Club pick is set in the vibrant world of Lakshmi Shastri in 1950s Jaipur.

Fleeing an abusive marriage, a seventeen-year-old girl becomes one of the most sought-after henna artists in town. 

As her designs adorn the hands of the city's elite, she must navigate the delicate dance between societal expectations and personal aspirations in post-independence India.

If you enjoy this novel, you can continue the book series with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris.

Fiona Davis weaves a dual timeline story set in New York's Grand Central Terminal.

In the present day, Virginia, working at the information booth, discovers an abandoned art school and an exquisite watercolor that unravels the school's history. 

The novel sheds light on the surprising existence of the Grand Central School of Art, co-founded by John Singer Sargent. 

This novel was selected for our MomAdvice Reading Retreat, and readers were fascinated by Fiona's research on New York's landmarks and little-known art school history. 

Related- Fiona Davis Books in Order

If you are looking for a captivating 5-star read on sisterhood, you'll fall in love with this story.

In 1878 Paris, the van Goethem sisters, Marie and Antoinette, navigate the harsh realities of their impoverished lives. 

As Marie immerses herself in ballet, she becomes the model for Edgar Degas and the iconic Little Dancer Aged Fourteen painting.

Meanwhile, Antoinette finds herself torn between love and familial obligation. 

I guarantee you'll never see the Degas painting the same way again. 

This wildly original novel delves into the working partnership between two female animators navigating a male-dominated industry. 

College best friends Mel and Sharon collaborate on an animated movie with a yin-and-yang dynamic proving effective to their work. 

When Sharon falls ill, roles reverse, and their work is paused until her return. Sharon's private journal catalyzes their next animated film project, leading them back to her hometown for answers. 

While the novel is sometimes dark, this is one of my favorite stories of a female business partnership I've read. It is the perfect selection for fans of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

Hoffman's enchanting narrative exploring art and identity makes it a favorite for many seasoned Alice Hoffman readers.

Rachel Pomié, the unconventional mother of Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, defies societal norms as she explores her own artistic desires. 

Readers will be riveted not only with her story, but with the backdrop of 19th-century. 

Amidst the aftermath of a confessed affair, Augusta, a seasoned painter, and her writer husband, Owen, seek solace on a farm.

To their surprise, a new neighbor develops unexpected connections to them both.

This character-driven love story unravels their vulnerabilities of aging and the fragility of marriage in beautiful ways. I loved the tension and prose in this novel.

This backlist novel earned Tartt the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. 

Theo Decker, orphaned after a terrorist bombing at an art museum, clings to his mother's memory through Carel Farbritius' painting, "The Goldfinch."

Adopted by a wealthy family friends, Theo navigates pain and anger, immersing himself in the underbelly of the art world.

Antonia Angress describes this timeless modern classic as a captivating portrait of a Hasidic Jewish boy who possesses an extraordinary talent for painting. 

Set in Brooklyn in the 1970s, the novel explores the conflict between Asher's artistic passion and his family's deeply woven religious traditions. 

With autobiographical elements, Potok artfully navigates the delicate balance between individualism and tradition, offering readers a moving glimpse into the Hasidic Jewish community.

Former New Yorker staffer Patrick Bringley invites readers into the enchanting world behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

As a museum guard, he shares his decade-long journey safeguarding treasures, forging bonds with fellow guardians, and discovering the extraordinary beauty in the hallowed halls of one of the world's most revered cultural institutions.

Related- The Best Memoirs to Read for Nonfiction November

Michael Finkel documents the true crime story of Stéphane Breitwieser, the world's most prolific art thief. 

Driven by obsession, he executed over two hundred art heists across European museums and cathedrals, amassing a trove of stolen treasures displayed in secret rooms. 

Our book club members praised this for a spectacular true crime story that read like fiction. 

Related- Captivating Con Artist Books to Read Right Now