New and Novel: Art History and Appreciation

I have met a few people in my life who have said something very much like “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like..." It was always said with humility, and with a sense of admiration for people who do know much about art. Arts administrators: are these not the very people you would like to meet? They like something, have had a response to something, although they know little of the context. Show interesting art, and those who know much about art will come to you. Those who don’t like anything, you will never reach. But those finding their way – and in many genres, I could count myself among them – in music, theatre, dance, visual art, film, poetry and prose? Talk to them.
~Michael Rushton, "But I know what I like," from For What It's Worth: An ArtsJournal Blog

Still almost any reaction in front of a picture is better than none... You've got to start somewhere and anything that hooks you on to a picture and makes you look again at it is better than nothing. And certainly more helpful than being told, "You should look at this. It's a masterpiece".
~Alan Bennett, "I know what I like, but I'm not sure about art"

We were at a poetry reading this weekend, and some of us were discussing "getting" poetry - similar to that old saw about art appreciation, "I don't know much about art, but know what I like," which is traditionally greeted with scorn. There's a lot to be said for a deep, academic understanding of poetry and art - the forms, the history, the techniques. We might miss out on some of the richness of the artist's craft for not knowing more background about the artist's work.  But you have to start somewhere, and isn't it important to leave yourself open to the experience? We love a good art museum, gallery, show, happening; it's amazing to be moved by a piece of artwork, to stand before it and take it all in. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of  books about art history and appreciation from the library catalog.  There's a lot out there - you can learn about art, you can look at catalogs of exhibitions, you can go behind the scenes at museums and the art market. We hope you'll find a piece of the art world that moves you to "almost any reaction"!

How to Read Islamic Carpets by Walter B. Denny

How to Read Impressionism: Ways of Looking by James Rubin

Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing by Laura J. Snyder

In Search of Civilization: Remaking a Tarnished Idea by John Armstrong

The Notebooks by Jean-Michel Basquiat; edited by Larry Warsh

Artful Dodgers: Fraud and Foolishness in the Art Market by Bernard Ewell

Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Danny Danziger

The Supermodel and the Brillo Box: Back Stories and Peculiar Economics From the World of Contemporary Art by Don Thompson 

Leo and His Circle: The Life of Leo Castelli by Annie Cohen-Solal

33 Artists in 3 Acts by Sarah Thornton

The Girl With the Gallery: Edith Gregor Halpert and the Making of the Modern Art Market by Lindsay Pollock

The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe 

What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art by Will Gompertz

A People's Art History of the United States: 250 years of Activist Art and Artists Working in Social Justice Movements by Nicolas Lampert

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western art by the Guerrilla Girls 

Keeping An Eye Open: Essays on Art by Julian Barnes

Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley by Valerie K. Verzuh

Grayson Perry by Jacky Klein

Colliding Worlds: How Cutting-Edge Science Is Redefining Contemporary Art by Arthur I. Miller

Traces: Ana Mendieta  edited by Stephanie Rosenthal