DVV’s Fall Book Recs
Autumn is right around the corner, and there’s nothing more the DVV team loves more than a good book, preferably about art. With so many amazing art related books out there, it’s hard to pick one, but fret not! The DVV team has got your back. Here’s an updated list of what we’ve been reading here at DVV!
The Art Museum: From Boullée to Bilbao, by Andrew McClellan.
A rec from Devon
If you have taken a museum studies course, chances are you have read at least one passage from this book. If not, this is the book to learn about the ins and outs of museums as cultural institutions. McClellan covers from the beginnings of the museum in Europe and the United States, to the contemporary day global museum.
The Story of Art Without Men, by Katy Hessel
A rec from Haley
Hessel’s book is the one for you if you find yourself wondering where all the women artists are in the history of art. Learn about female artists throughout history from Europe, to Asia, and to Africa, and explore a new perspective on art history.
Ways of Seeing, by John Berger
A rec from Haley
Berger’s book is one of the most influential books in art history. In Ways of Seeing, he breaks down why we look at art in the way we do. This again is one of the books that you will have probably read if you have taken an art history course, and if not, this short and digestible book is the perfect autumn read.
The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
A rec from Lizzy
This short but thrilling true story follows the story of Stéphane Breitwieser and how he carried out nearly 200 robberies from museums around Europe. The most fascinating part of this book is learning about how Breitwieser was able to find the smallest crack in museum security and utilized that to pull off his string of thefts.
Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space, by Brian O’Doherty
A rec from Sophia
If you want to learn even more about museums and gallery spaces, this book is for you. The collection of essays that make up this book were first published in 1976 in Artforum where they instantly started conversations within the art world about the gallery space. This is an excellent book on institutional critique, as well as an excellent fall read.
Women, Art, and Society, by Whitney Chadwick
A rec from Sophia
With the many lenses through which art history is studied, the feminist lens is one of the most well known. If this sounds to be right up your alley, Chadwick’s book is your fall read! You’ll learn about the many great women artists throughout history from Chadwick while also getting analysis of their works in dialogue with issues such as class, ethnicity, and sexuality.
9th Street Women, by Mary Gabriel
A rec from Lizzy
If you’re a fan of post-war American art, this book is for you. So often, we learn about the men of the Abstract Expressionist movement, but in Mary Gabriel’s book, we get a deep dive into the leading women of the movement such as Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Elaine de Kooning, and their contributions.
Making the Mummies Dance, by Thomas Hoving
A rec from Devon
Written by the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hoving’s book offers a first hand account of the ins and outs of how one of the most famous museums in the world was run. What more do we need to say? This is the book for you if you are dying to know what goes on behind the scenes of one of the most well-known museums ever to exist.