8 Exciting Books for the Art Lover’s Summer Reading List

From harrowing true-crime narratives to colorful works of fiction, these books offer a taste of drama, beauty, passion, ambition, and more for the most casual fans of art to the most discerning collectors.

1. Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel

Named “Best Book of the Year” by several news outlets, this true-crime narrative tells the story of Stéphane Bréitwieser, one of the most prolific art thieves of all time. Bréitwieser, who admitted to sealing more than 200 artworks, often in broad daylight, never resold them, and he didn’t act alone. Michael Finkel’s 2024 release tells the tale of one man’s quest to possess the world’s most beautiful treasures, even if it costs him everything.

2. Venice: City of Pictures by Martin Gayford

Appealing to both lovers of Venice and lovers of art, Martin Gayford takes readers on a visual journey through five centuries of the city once known as “La Serenissima.” By delving into the stories behind the art made in the city, created for the city, and inspired by the city, Gayford paints his own compelling and enchanting portrait of Venice.

3. Stan and Gus: Art, Ardor, and the Friendship That Built the Gilded Age by Henry Wiencek

Discover the unlikely friendship of architect Stanford White and sculptor August Stain-Gaudens that went on to define the art of the Gilded Age. Historian Henry Wiencek takes readers to the very beginning, when White overheard Stain-Gaudens whistling Mozart in his studio, to Europe, where each forged their careers, and back to New York, where they challenged each other through countless commissions and personal strife.

4. Surreal: The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dalí by Michèle Gerber Klein

The long-awaited biography of Gala Dalí, mentor, protector, and wife of Salvador Dalí, tells the story of how she first left her pre-Revolutionary Russia life behind for Paris, where she lived with poet Paul Éluard and Max Ernst. Known as the Mother of Surrealism, and an ambassador of the movement, her life was full of glamor, drama, love, ambition, money, art, and more. Michele Gerber Klein tells Gala’s riveting story in colorful details, and finally brings to light the recognition she deserves.

5. Van Gogh’s Lover by Michael Hetzer

Although a work of fiction, this riveting novel is based on Vincent van Gogh’s years spent in France. Michael Hetzer sets the plot around a woman named Jane who has inherited a van Gogh painting through her family and is invited by a powerful gallery to bring it to Switzerland. Once there, the painting disappears, and Jane is set on a whirlwind journey to find it that uncovers lies, murder, and injustice from the most unexpected characters.

6. Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux

While Paul Gauguin’s stunning works have influenced everyone from Henri Matisse to Pablo Picasso, the reputation that often supersedes him may have been entirely misconstrued, according to Sue Prideaux. Gauguin, a self-taught, brilliant artist, was a complicated man, Prideaux discovers, having fled Paris for Tahiti, where he fought for the rights of Indigenous people. The first full biography of the artist in over three decades gives a never-before-seen look into some of his most important moments.  

7. Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell

While on the outside this British brother-sister duo may have seemed to be opposites, at their core, they shared many of the same traits. In a family bursting with talent, the time period in which they lived only allowed for Augustus to receive true recognition for his work, while Gwen was only fully acknowledged for her contributions after her death. Nevertheless, they both shared a turbulent temperament, and left a deep impact on twentieth century art through their experiments with form and color, which Judith Mackrell is careful to highlight in this complicated family portrait.

8. The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young

Although it’s historical non-fiction, Michelle Young’s latest work reads like a thrilling novel. Set in Paris in August 1944, readers are introduced to museum curator Rose Valland, who secretly worked to stop Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler from stealing the world’s most valuable art. Based on previously unseen documents and accounts, Valland, an unlikely heroine, is finally receiving recognition for how she infiltrated enemy leadership, repeatedly put her life in danger and even faced death during the last hours of Liberation Day.