
By Gaia Giordani. Cover image: The Art Book (2020, Phaidon).
In the world of art books, there are certain classic titles that every art lover should have on their bookshelf. If you’re looking to start your foundation collection, here some essentials: best sellers and hidden gems, amazing coffee table books and unusual retrospectives, as well as catalogues from legendary exhibitions and creative pop-up monographs.
All of them are exceptional and provide a wealth of knowledge about the greatest art movement and GOAT artists. Are you ready?
14 Iconic Art Books for Your Essential Collection
01. The Art Book
One of the most beloved bestselling art books in the world has a very obvious title: The Art Book. Published in 1994 by Phaidon and updated in later editions, it has been translated into 20 languages and read by millions of art lovers. It breaks away from traditional classifications, presenting more than 600 artists from various periods, along with examples and techniques arranged from A to Z. It is highly informative and a cornerstone for your bookshelf.

02. Olafur Eliasson: Experience
Olafur Eliasson was personally involved in the creation of his retrospective book released in 2018. Titled Olafur Eliasson: Experience, this impressive hardback features over 560 illustrations and serves as an inspiring guide to the remarkable work of one of the most influential contemporary artists. The book showcases both well-known pieces and lesser-known projects, with commentary from Art historian Michelle Kuo.

03. Damien Hirst: The Currency
There are a couple of great books about Damien Hirst that will shine in your collection. The most recent one, released in 2024 by HENI Publishing, features a dialogue with Stephen Fry about one of the artist’s controversial projects, The Currency. As part of this project, Hirst sold 10,000 hand-painted coloured dots on paper as a collection of 10.000 NFTs to make a point about money and art. After a year, buyers had the option to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork. Hirst then burned the rejected pieces—as is typical of his provocative style! The book provides an in-depth exploration of this stunt. Can’t miss it.

04. David Hockney: My Window
If you admire David Hockney, you might have a piggy bank set aside for a future purchase of the iconic “David Hockney. A Bigger Book”, which is a work of art in itself (and quite pricey, too). A more accessible option is the recent book and instant icon David Hockney: My Window, published in 2022. This book showcases 120 drawings that the artist created on his iPad in his Yorkshire country house, capturing what he saw through a window. It’s the artistic version of the viral Internet game that millions of people played while sheltering in place during the pandemic, where they shared views from their windows on social media.

05. Andy Warhol. Polaroids 1958-1987
If you love Andy Warhol, you’re likely aware of his fixation with Polaroids. He took over 20,000 images from the 1950s to the late 1980s, reflecting the essence of many people in his circle, including Audrey Hepburn, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, and himself. His work, Self-Portrait (Eyes Closed), exemplifies this passion. This extensive monograph, created in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, is a true treasure for any admirer of the father of Pop Art.

06. Artifacts: Fascinating Facts about Art, Artists, and the Art World
A delightful booklet by Phaidon Editors is filled with fascinating anecdotes about Art and famous artists. As you flip through the pages, you will learn that Picasso’s works are among the most stolen in history, along with the names of famous artists’ pets. This interesting read offers numerous stories about the quirks, passions and odd jobs that famous artists from various eras experienced throughout their lives. Additionally, if you consider yourself a misunderstood art genius, it will be refreshing to learn that Goya and Rodin were rejected from art school —almost unbelievable!

07. Matisse. Cut-outs
No dream is too wild if you are an artist. A prime example of this is “The Swimming Pool” (1952), a remarkable masterpiece by Henri Matisse that has been on display at MoMA since 1975 (you can still admire it there). Before its exhibition at the museum, it was featured as a site-specific cut-out in the artist’s dining room at the Hotel Regina in Nice, in the South of France, where he felt a strong desire to have supper in a setting that resembled his own swimming pool. You can also enjoy this work from the comfort of your living room by leafing through the pages of Matisse. Cut-outs, a coffee-table book by Taschen. The book explores a technique that artists used almost exclusively in the 1940s, which involved colouring and cutting paper with scissors.

08. Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future
In the early 1900s, Swedish artist Hilma af Klint believed that the world wasn’t ready for her radically abstract paintings, which she had painted decades before other abstract artists like Kandinsky and Mondrian. Back then, in the late 1800s, she was a famous figurative painter, but deep down, she felt that her boldest, wildest works should be kept hidden for nearly a century until they could be properly appreciated. Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future is a book that features stunning reproductions of her artwork, which remained unseen until the 1980s and was later exhibited by the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2019.

09. Banksy You Are An Acceptable Level of Threat and if You Were Not You Would Know About it
The stories behind secretive artists are the hardest to be told, but here’s a book that sheds light on the graffiti master from Bristol. Titled Banksy You Are An Acceptable Level of Threat and if You Were Not You Would Know About it, this lengthy title belongs to a fascinating tome published by Carpet Bombing Culture. It covers the artist’s massive collection of artworks from the early days of his career up until 2019. The book, which spans 248 pages, features iconic works from the Seasons Greetings Christmas 2018 to Dismaland, curated by Gary Shove. Covering locations from Gaza to New York, it is one of the few books that provides a comprehensive look at Banksy’s story.

10. Christo 1935–2020 wrapped book
Are you a romantic at heart? The love story between Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the artist duo known for their large-scale wrapping artworks, is an impressive tale of shared passion. They met in Paris in the late 1950s and went on to create iconic installations, including air packages, floating piers, over 3 thousand umbrellas in Japan and California, and even wrapped up the Arc du Triomphe. Their installations are as bold as they were as artists.
Their biography is also wrapped! Some signed and numbered copies of Christo 1935–2020 wrapped book, published by Abrams Original Editions New York in 1978 and limited to only 120 copies, are still available. If you don’t have $12,000 to spare, you can also get the amazing Taschen edition of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. 40th Anniversary Edition at a more reasonable price.

11. Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers
Once upon a time, there was a French artist named Yves Klein who, in the 1960s, decided to paint exclusively in one colour: blue. He created numerous works featuring various objects and people, all rendered in an iconic deep blue hue he developed using synthetic resin. This distinctive colour is now known as IKB (International Klein Blue). In October 1960, Klein famously jumped from a second-floor window of a Paris apartment. This act, referred to as his “leap into the void,” was captured in a picture that embodies his artistic vision: “First there is nothing, then there is a deep nothing, then there is a blue depth”. The book “Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers” is the most complete retrospective of a great artist who dared to break the rules and somehow challenge gravity.

12. The Assouline Style Series
Four iconic books, beautifully curated and printed, explore contemporary art movements: Art Deco, 18th Century Art, Bauhaus, and Pop Art. The Style Series collection by Assouline, a beloved indie publisher of coffee table books, really captures and showcases the essence of contemporary art and its impact on our culture. They’re perfect for inspiration, providing details and historical facts from each era.

13. Keith Haring Pop-Up Book Special Edition
The best tribute to the memory of Keith Haring is to connect with his playful work. The amazing pop-up book created by Poposition Press, officially licensed by The Keith Haring Foundation, features 3D versions of the artist’s most famous works and includes a greeting card and a pop-up poster. It’s a true gem to enjoy and treasure in your bookcase.

14. Dalí. Les dîners de Gala
The concept of surreal cuisine truly comes to life when the chefs are Salvador Dalì and his wife, Gala. Les diners de Gala, recently published in a new luxury edition by Taschen, is an undercover work of art cleverly disguised as a cookbook. It features 136 recipes that promise pure delight! Dalí illustrated these recipes over half a century ago for the restaurant Moments in Barcelona. He always dreamed of becoming a chef and believed that “the jaw is the best instrument of philosophical knowledge”
