Essential Books for Art Lovers

Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age

The special exhibition Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age presented stunning masterpieces from the first millennium B.C. The lavishly illustrated companion volume, called “inspiring” by a Met Store customer, explores an artistic legacy that is “complex, arresting, and essential to civilization,” to quote the New Yorker.

Charles James: Beyond Fashion

In May, the newly reopened Costume Institute galleries focused on the work of the innovative Anglo-American couturier Charles James. The definitive catalogue received high praise: Women’s Wear Daily lauded it for “demonstrating just how inspiring James was, and how much ‘beyond’ clothes that influence goes,” while Library Journal called it “luscious.” Met Store customers described it as “beautifully illustrated” and “compelling.”

Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection

The current exhibition Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection (through February 16, 2015) showcases an “exhilarating” assembly of works by Picasso, Braque, Gris, and Léger, according to the New York Times. The New York Review of Books cited the accompanying book for its “distinguished scholarly contributions,” making it the essential resource for understanding Cubism for years to come.

Madame Cézanne

Also on view through March 15, 2015, Madame Cézanne examines Paul Cézanne’s powerful and iconic portraits of his wife, Hortense Fiquet. The comprehensive catalogue features all 28 of the artist’s oil portraits of her, and most of the known drawings, providing a lens on his overall technique. About the exhibition, the Wall Street Journal said, “Superb… not to be missed.”

Whether your interests run to ancient Roman glass or contemporary art jewelry, explore our full selection of outstanding Met publications online.