The Best Art Books

Good writing about visual experience allows us to see things we otherwise wouldn't, says Rachel Cohen. The author picks some of her own favourite books about art.

It used to be said that you could be parachuted into any country and know where you were from the typeface used on its road signs. The author of Just My Type tells us about the variety and meaning of different fonts.

What is pop art? Why did it catch on, and what does it mean? And what about Warhol – was his work as superficial as he liked to say it was? The art professor answers all this and more

The author of The Hare with Amber Eyes, who is also a ceramic artist, tells us about books that have influenced both his careers, from the life of a celebrated potter to a collection of Japanese haiku

Pictures operate in space, words in time, and the best stories are told with both, says the acclaimed American author and cartoonist, Ben Katchor. He tells us how visual narratives are making a deserved comeback.

'People learn how to read critically and think critically, but I don’t believe we learn how to see critically.'

One of the world's leading garden photographers talks us through the many different styles employed in his field

The distinguished art critic and art historian Michael Fried talks about the importance of philosophy to his work. He recommends the best books on the 'philosophical stakes of art.'

Art historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank explains the beauty of Palladian proportions, takes us on a tour of some key English country houses and describes the poetry of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles. He recommends the best books on 'architectural history'

Bestselling author Harry Mount thinks that the British sell themselves short when they fail to appreciate their architecture. He also expresses his thanks that Christopher Wren didn't redesign London on a Parisian/New York grid system following the 1666 fire.