5 Really Terrific Artsy Fartsy Books to Read

                           Make art a part of your life. It helps you pull your head out of your ass.

                                                                                                 Gentleman’s Wisdom

                   A list of interesting art world related books/novels you should track down and devour! 

1. The Private Lives of the Impressionists by Sue Roe(biography)--anything and everything you've always wanted to know about Renoir, Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt all set in various parts of France and Paris as it underwent spectacular transformation by Baron Haussmann. One of the most satisfying books I've ever read on this subject.
2. Misia Sert, The Life of Misia Sert by Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale (biography/nonfiction)--the alluring figure in the paintings of Toulouse Lautrec, Bonnard and Renoir. She inspired composers from Ravel to Stravinsky. Immortalized by Marcel Proust in "Remembrance of Things Past". Worldly, gossipy and elegant! A delicious book.
3. Strapless--John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X   by Deborah Davis (history)--the story of John Singer Sargent and his scandalous painting of the high fashioned Amelie Gautreau, "La Belle Gautreau" and how the controversy played out and ruined one of them. A deft and wonderful tale! A hands down favorite of mine.
4. Wives and Stunners--The PreRaphaelites and their Muses by Henrietta Garnett (biography)--the stories of Jane Morris, Lizzie Siddal, Effie Gray and Georgie Burne-Jones. Set in the background of bohemian mid-Victorian England. Deftly recounting the friendships and romances between the artists and these "stunners".A MUST read for anyone infatuated with the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian England!
5. When The Sons of Heaven Meet the Daughters of the Earth by Fernanda Eberstadt (fiction)--I read this one long ago but it was the book that seeded my curiosity for the art world and it's various collectors and patrons. This book is set in the high flying art world of the 80's. A book of excess, luxury and interesting personalities and the social excitement of the fictional world of the Geblers.

Surely, there are still SO many books I have yet to get my hands on and read that I know about and still so many I have yet to discover! This is a handful of  some of the most edifying books I've consumed thus far.

I encourage you to track these books down, one by one......settle into a favorite reading nook and allow yourself to be dazzled and educated!

      

                                                                                            CJ Ellis