What’s New at PWPL: Art Books

A Big Important Art Book (Now with Women): Profiles of Unstoppable Female Artists–and Projects to Help You Become One (709.252 KR) by Danielle Krysa. Written by the founder of The Jealous Curator, this coffee table book features what most art books don’t, women. This book not only provides art history lessons, but art lessons as well, prompting artistic activities that anyone can enjoy and learn from. Each chapter features a modern artist, a forgotten or lesser known female artist from the past, and an art project that relates to both. Krysa highlights many modern, young artists and features a nice mix of both US and international artists. This book features beautifully colored and detailed images, but is approachable in these sense that one does not need a background in art history to enjoy it.

Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over (700.92 PA) by Nell Painter is a memoir of an older woman, at the end of her career as a historian at Princeton who decides to go back to art school, not only to get a BFA but an MFA as well, both in painting. Oprah Magazine called it one of the top books of last summer. A little less new than the others on this list, it’s still worth reading, especially if you’re thinking about making a big career or life change. This book brings up several issues related to age, race, looks and what it means to be an artist. Painter (insert joke about last name and profession here) tackles these issues in a blunt and witty fashion.

The Eye: An Insider’s Memoir of Masterpieces, Money, and the Magnetism of Art (709.2 CO) by Philippe Costamagna–Have you ever wondered why some people have an eye for art? Not many people have such a talent that they can make a career of it, but that is exactly what this book is about. It is part memoir, part detective novel, and details how Costamagna became a leading expert on attributing Renaissance works, a skill that is part learned, part innate. This memoir also does a good job of showcasing the challenges one faces in the fierce world of art.

The Brilliant History of Color in Art (701.8509) by Victoria Finlay is an older book, but new again to us, as it is a replacement. This book reads like an encyclopedia of famous colors–Egyptian Blue, Greek White, Cobalt, Mauve, and Violet 19. It is broken up into three main parts: 1) Earth and Fire, 2) Rocks, Minerals, Twigs, and Bugs, and 3) Modern Colors. Each page talks about the origins of a color, how it has been used in works of art, and who it was often used by. These origins often reveal a history lesson; and the book itself can serve as a real crash course in international art history, albeit extremely, extremely brief. This would be a great book for someone new to art history or a young reader.

Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day (780.9 BU) by Clemency Burton-Hill–If you are looking to learn more about classical music, this book is for you. It features a piece of classical music for each day of the year, along with background information about the piece and composer. It would be a great book to read cover to cover or would make a great coffee table book. I picked it up looking for inspirational music to listen to while working and it did not disappoint.

By Samantha Ashby

Adult Services Department