Play 2026 Book Bingo
30 Vivid Novels About Art and Artists
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.If you’ve ever wandered through a museum wishing the paintings could talk, or found yourself intrigued by the life of an artist, this list is for you. We’ve curated a well-rounded collection of books about art and artists that explore everything from the creative process to high-stakes art crimes. You’ll find historical fiction inspired by real painters, contemporary stories set in the modern art world, and page-turning mysteries involving forgery and long-lost works. Whether you’re drawn to art history or contemporary stories, there’s something here to spark your imagination.
Historical Art & Artists
The books in this section tell fictionalized stories centered on a real work of art or real artists (or both), blending meticulous research with imaginative storytelling.
Oil and Marble
Book Summary
At fifty, Leonardo da Vinci is at the peak of his career, but in this novel, his personal life is falling apart. He loses the David commission, can’t finish projects, obsesses over his flying machine, and watches his engineering designs fail. Then he becomes fixated on Lisa, a merchant’s wife, and paints the Mona Lisa.
Meanwhile, twenty-six-year-old Michelangelo is a temperamental sculptor desperate to prove himself. When he wins the David marble statue commission, he must work against an impossible deadline.
Leonardo despises Michelangelo for his youth and lack of sophistication. Michelangelo both loathes and worships Leonardo’s genius. Their rivalry pushes them to create their most famous masterpieces.
Historical Context
According to the author, this novel was written as fiction with a foundation of historical fact, filling in the gaps where history is silent in order to “make history human.” That means while events like the rivalry between Leonardo and Michelangelo and their work on masterpieces are based on real history, the specific conversations, personal dynamics, and some imagined moments are products of the author’s creative license.
Girl with the Pearl Earring
Book Summary
This story follows Griet, a sixteen-year-old girl who must work to support her family after her father loses his sight. She finds a job as a maid in the household of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. There she must navigate tensions among the artist’s wife, Catharina, her formidable mother Maria Thins, and the family’s patron, Van Ruijven.
The painter recognizes Griet’s way with color and light and begins assigning her tasks in his studio, including preparing paints and arranging objects. As she becomes more involved in his artistic process, household tensions heighten. When Vermeer decides to paint her, he asks her to pose wearing his wife’s pearl earrings, a request that pushes things to a breaking point.
Historical Context
This historical fiction novel is inspired by a real painter and a real painting, but the story itself is largely imagined. Johannes Vermeer was a real 17th-century Dutch artist, and the “Girl with the Pearl Earring” is a real painting created around 1665, which now hangs in The Hague. However, very little is known about Vermeer’s personal life, so the novel invents the character of Griet along with most of the household dynamics and events.
Film Adaptation
The popularity of this novel has endured since its original publication more than 25 years ago, in part thanks to a successful 2003 film adaptation. The movie, which starred Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, received numerous Academy Award nominations.
Madame Matisse
Book Summary
While most of us are familiar with the artwork of Henri Matisse, the French artist who founded the Fauvism movement, this historical fiction book is not just about him. Instead, it tells the story of three women who modelled for his famous paintings – his wife, Amelie; Lydia, an orphan from Russia who becomes a caretaker in the Matisse household; and Henri’s daughter, Marguerite.
Across these overlapping lives, the women navigate devotion, rivalry, and their own quests for identity against the backdrop of the era and Matisse’s fame.
Paintings of Each Character
Matisse’s wife, Amelie, posed for several of his most famous paintings around 1905, including “Woman with a Hat.”
Lydia, on the other hand, modeled for more than 90 of Matisse’s works between 1935 and his death in 1954.
Matisse’s daughter, Marguerite, was featured in many of her father’s paintings, spanning her childhood to her adult years.
You can see a sampling of these paintings in this article from Historia Magazine.
The Secret Life of Sunflowers
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
96% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This historical fiction novel is based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law.
Johanna was a 28-year-old widow with a baby living in Paris when she inherited Van Gogh’s paintings. They weren’t worth anything at the time, but despite barely speaking French, she managed to introduce Van Gogh’s legacy to the world.
Hollywood auctioneer Emsley comes across an old diary while cleaning out her famous grandmother’s New York brownstone. But it turns out that the diary didn’t belong to her grandma. It was written by Johanna, and it provides Emsley the inspiration she needs at just the right time.
Thoughts on This Book
Reviewers say this book is a real page-turner that you’ll be so emotionally invested that you won’t be able to put it down until the stories of Johanna and Emsley finally come together.
A Non-Fiction Alternative
If you are interested in learning more about the life of Vincent van Gogh, you may also like Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman. This meticulously researched nonfiction tells of the deep friendship between artist Vincent van Gogh and his brother, Theo, throughout the 1870s and 1880s.
A Piece of the World
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This atmospheric novel takes place in a small coastal town in Maine and is inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, “Christina’s World.”
Christina Olson was born at the austere home on a barren hill in Cushing, Maine, that her family had inhabited for generations. After nearly dying as a child and being incapacitated by an ongoing illness, Christina could never venture beyond her small community.
For twenty years, the farm hosted painter Andrew Wyeth during the summers. Many of his paintings feature the family’s farm, but Christina herself would inspire his most iconic painting.
While Wyeth makes some appearances in the novel, this historical fiction focuses on Christina as it vividly imagines her life on the farm through the changing Maine seasons.
Historical Context
While the artist, the model, the farmhouse, and the painting at the center of this novel are all real, the author imaginatively reconstructs Christina Olson’s inner life, relationships, and perspective.
Consider This Before Reading
While many of our readers rated this book 5 stars, keep in mind that the book is slow-paced and has a melancholy tone. If you have any winter blues, skip this one in favor of something more uplifting.
The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo
Book Summary
Inspired by several notebooks discovered at Frida Kahlo’s Mexico City home, this novel provides a fictional account of the famous artist’s life. The author begins with the premise that, after Frida nearly died in a streetcar accident, she received a notebook as a gift from her lover, Tina Modotti, and used the notebook to collect memories, ideas, and recipes.
This reimagined tale of Kahlo’s passionate life and the development of her art also details her relationships with many famous characters, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Nelson Rockefeller, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, Salvador Dali, and more.
Inside the Art World: Galleries, Museums, and Studios
If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of the art world, these books take you there. From galleries and museums to art studios and schools, the art in these books isn’t just created, it’s bought, sold, preserved, and sometimes rediscovered.
The English Masterpiece
Book Summary
Lily has been waiting her whole life for a chance to make an impact in the art world, and that opportunity comes when she is promoted to assistant to the keeper of the Modern Collection at the Tate Museum in London, just in time to help plan a world-class exhibit to honor the passing of Picasso. The opening of the exhibit is going perfectly – the lighting, the champagne, and the glittering crowd – until Lily notices that one of the Picassos on display appears to be a forgery. Her declaration shocks everyone in the gallery.
Lily’s boss, Diana, has worked hard to become one of the most trusted voices, both in London’s modern art scene and across Europe. The Picasso exhibit that she’s curated is supposed to be her crowning achievement, topped off by the newly discovered Picasso painting that she’s advised an investor to purchase. But Lily’s accusation that the painting is a forgery throws the art world into chaos amid already swirling concerns about post-war acquisitions.
With just one comment, Lily has jeopardized her career and that of her mentor. The clock is ticking for her to prove that she’s right, but clues are starting to stack up against her.
The Masterpiece
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is a masterpiece of architectural design, but for Clara and Virginia, it represents something entirely different.
For Clara, in 1928, teaching at the Grand Central School of Art was the stepping stone to her future. In a time when there was public disdain for a woman artist, Clara is determined to succeed in her dream of creating cover art for Vogue. But she and her friends will soon be blindsided by the looming Great Depression that may destroy the entire art scene.
By 1974, Grand Central had declined to a dangerous place full of pickpockets and drug dealers, and it was at the center of a lawsuit that would decide if the terminal should be preserved or demolished. Virginia, who had recently taken a job in the Grand Central information booth, stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor that opens her eyes to the elegance beneath the decay. She sets out to find the artist and finds herself drawn into the battle to save Grand Central.
Why We Think You’ll Love It
We both LOVE New York City, the beauty of Grand Central Station, and art, so it’s like Fiona Davis wrote this book for us. We enjoyed the combination of history, mystery, and even a little romance. The characters are based on real people, and it was interesting to walk in the shoes of a female artist in the 1920s. We think those who enjoy reading about art history, 20s Manhattan, or women’s equality will all love this one.
Another Fiona Davis Book to Consider
We also highly recommend The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis, which takes place at the Frick Museum in New York City. This dual-timeline novel is set in 1919 and 1966, following two different women’s experiences at the Frick mansion.
Lillian was one of the most sought-after artist models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing famous landmarks throughout the city (including the Frick mansion). When her modeling work dries up, she takes a job as a personal secretary at the Frick Mansion. Working closely with Helen Frick, daughter of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, she is drawn into a privileged world.
Five decades later, Veronica, an English model, finds herself snowed in at the Frick Museum after being dismissed from a Vogue shoot there. When she and a young art curator stumble upon a series of hidden messages in the museum, they might discover the truth behind a decades-old murder.
Mouth to Mouth
Book Summary
This novel begins when the narrator is approached in an airport by a former college acquaintance, Jeff Cook, who insists on telling him an extraordinary story. Years earlier, Jeff was in Los Angeles when he impulsively rescued a man from drowning. The man he saved turned out to be Francis Arsenault, a wealthy and influential figure in the contemporary art world.
Arsenault draws Jeff into his orbit, introducing him to elite collectors, high-value transactions, and the inner workings of galleries and private sales.
As Jeff becomes increasingly entangled in Arsenault’s professional and personal life, he begins to question the legitimacy of Arsenault’s fortune and the authenticity of the art deals surrounding him.
Consider This Before Reading
While one of Angela’s in-person book clubs really enjoyed this novel, and it was featured on Barack Obama’s summer reading list in 2022, it’s definitely not for everyone!
This heavily literary novel is told as a “framed narrative” with an unnamed narrator recounting the story that Jeff tells him. This creates a lot of ambiguity, which feels intentional on the author’s part. This literary style invites readers to decide what to believe, especially regarding the art-world intrigue and the character of Francis Arsenault.
The Tiffany Girls
Book Summary
The Tiffany Glass Company was already well known for its stained-glass windows in 1899, but its leader, Louis Comfort Tiffany, had something planned for the Paris World’s Fair that he hoped would prove himself to be the best glass artist in the world.
The artists of the Women’s Division of Tiffany, known as the “Tiffany Girls,” worked long hours in the company’s Manhattan studio designing and executing the glasswork construction without ever receiving credit.
There’s Emilie, who was shunned in Paris art circles after her abusive father was unmasked as an art forger. Then there’s Grace, who spends her days cutting glass into florado borders for religious stained-glass windows but also leads a secret double life as a political cartoonist under a pseudonym to hide her identity and gender. And finally, there’s Clara, the manager of the Women’s Division, who keeps everything on schedule and in budget. Recently, Clara has been working on a new design that she has no idea will one day become Tiffany’s famous signature piece.
These three female artists were brought together by chance, but together they’ll break the glass ceiling of their era.
The Personal Librarian
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
This historical fiction novel is based on the remarkable true story of J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, a Black woman who became one of the most powerful women in NYC at the turn of the century.
Belle da Costa Greene was working at Princeton University Library when J.P. Morgan’s nephew recommended her for a position curating a collection of artwork, books, and rare manuscripts for his uncle’s newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. This position of prominence made her one of the most influential people in the art and book world. She became a fixture on the New York social scene.
But Belle had a secret that could change everything. She led people to believe that her dark complexion was the result of her alleged Portuguese heritage. In truth, however, she was born Bella Marion Greener – the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard University.
Our Thoughts on This Book
If you ever find yourself in NYC, be sure to plan time for The Morgan Library & Museum, which holds a vast and diverse art and manuscript collection, including rare drawings, prints, illuminated manuscripts, and other art objects, in addition to its impressive collection of books! Angela and Melissa have both visited and were awed by the architecture and grandeur of every room, including Belle’s private office.
We both rated The Personal Librarian five stars. The writing duo of Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray put together a seamless story that educates and entertains. From learning about the progress and recession of the civil rights movement in the decades surrounding the turn of the century to art history, the book introduces several aspects that left us eager to do more research.
Book Club Resources For This Novel
We have a free online book discussion guide for The Personal Librarian, along with a printable Personal Librarian book club guide available on Etsy, including discussion questions, 7 pages of bonus contextual information and photos, a printable bookmark, and more!
Art & Identity
In these novels, art isn’t just something characters create or admire; it shapes who they are, becoming a mirror that reflects grief, ambition, love, or self-discovery.
My Friends
Book Summary
When looking at one of the most famous paintings in the world, it’s easy to miss the three tiny figures in the corner at the far end of the pier. You might even think they’re just part of the sea. But 18-year-old Louisa, an artist herself, noticed them. The painting has unexpectedly been bequeathed to her, and she’s determined to find out the story behind the enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years ago, a group of teenagers spent their days hanging out and laughing on the pier to escape their difficult lives at home. Joar never backs down from a fight. Bookish Ted is mourning his father. Ali’s dad never stays in place for long. And then there is the boy who hoards sleeping pills and doesn’t want too much attention, but who has an extraordinary talent for art.
Louisa sets out on a cross-country journey to learn more about the work of art. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more she feels compelled to unleash her own artistic spirit.
Why We Think You’ll Love It
When we went to see Backman during his book tour for My Friends, he told the audience, “I love the way my wife loves things… I’m excited to see what she’s excited about.” In writing this book, he approached it from a similar perspective. He says that rather than writing about art, he wanted to tell the story from the perspective of a person watching another person looking at art.
We will read anything Fredrik Backman writes, and we enthusiastically encourage everyone else to do the same!
If you are new to Backman’s writing, it may, at first, seem stream-of-consciousness, and you may even feel like you don’t understand what it’s about or where it’s going… but just keep reading and trust the journey. You’ll soon discover his immense talent for crafting characters and stories that will stick with you long after you’ve read the final page. He has a deep understanding of human emotion and motivation that we’ve never seen another author capture in quite the same way.
Theo of Golden
Book Summary
One spring, Theo, an 86-year-old Portuguese man with a gentle manner and a past he won’t discuss, arrives in the town of Golden, Georgia. A chance stop at a coffee shop introduces him to a display of ninety-two framed pencil portraits of local residents. Compelled by the faces on the wall, Theo begins purchasing the drawings one by one, then tracking down each subject to return their portrait.
As deliveries multiply, Theo befriends the shop’s regulars, the artist behind the sketches, and a widening circle of townspeople whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, curiosity about his identity and motives spreads through Golden, and Theo’s careful routine is tested by practical obstacles, community skepticism, some eager to help, others wary, and the risk of being discovered.
More About This Book
This book was originally self-published back in October of 2023 before being republished by Atria Books in the fall of 2025.
While faith plays an important role in this novel (including church attendance, quoted Scripture, and discussions of Christianity), many readers (including those who describe themselves as “not religious”) view religion as a light theme that focuses more on being a good person.
Why We Think You’ll Love It
Our readers voted this one of their favorite books of 2025. One of our readers describes the book this way: “Theo of Golden is a slow-down and make-you-think kind of book. It’s a book with a simple but profound message about serving others through small acts of building community and simply taking the time to get to know each other. I have not stopped recommending it since I finished it and have purchased several copies to hand out to friends.”
No Matter What
Book Summary
A year ago, married couple Roz and Vin survived a traumatic car accident that seems to have permanently scarred their marriage. They can’t look each other in the eyes anymore, let alone share a bed. Roz has held out hope that they can fix things, but then discovers Vin has signed a lease for a different place to live. So, like any soon-to-be-divorced Brooklynite, she signs up for a figure-drawing class as a distraction.
When she needs a model, and Vin offers, she’s not sure what to think. After a year of avoiding each other, focusing on every detail of her estranged spouse’s body while drawing him nude seems like a terrible idea. But as Roz works to capture the wholeness of the person she fell in love with on paper, they both begin to see each other, and themselves, in a new light. Can they draw upon the feelings they buried deep inside to finally heal together?
Horse
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
99% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Through the true story of a racehorse named Lexington, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks manages to weave a tale of spirit and injustice over 150 years of American history.
The book has three timelines. In 1850, you’ll meet an enslaved horse groomer, Jarrett, in Kentucky, who has a special bond with Lexington. There is also a young artist who paints images of the horse. When the Civil War erupts, the artist fights for the Union and runs into the young groom and stallion again, far from the track.
In 1954, a gallery owner on Martha’s Vineyard takes a special interest in a 19th-century equestrian oil painting, even though the artist and provenance are unknown.
In 2019, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia and a Nigerian-American art historian unexpectedly connected through a common interest in the painting as they looked for clues to the origin.
Thoughts on This Book
This story goes well beyond horse racing and art. The page-turning storytelling has detailed descriptions and depth that will stick with you long after you finish the book. We both rated it 5 stars, and our readers agree, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5.
Hello Stranger
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Sadie is a talented portrait artist who is finally getting the recognition she deserves as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition. Before her death, her mom was a finalist in the same competition, so Sadie is full of emotions about the new painting she must produce as part of the contest.
However, in one moment, everything changes for Sadie. The only constant is her beloved dog, Peanut. With both her work and her family in chaos, how will Sadie overcome the hardest period in her life?
Why We Think You’ll Love It
If you’ve been a Book Girls’ Guide reader for a while, you know that we always seem to connect with Katherine Center books, and Hello Stranger was no exception! We kept our summary more vague than the publisher’s, so you can be as surprised as the main character by some of her experiences. It’s rare that a book provides a real surprise, and this one does it well.
Like Center’s other books, you get a mix of a main character with internal struggles, family drama, and some romance. However, these common pieces do not make her books predictable. They each have their own unique characters and settings. Hello Stranger is no exception!
Don’t miss the author’s notes at the end for her thoughts on romance novels and the reasons they are so delightful!
More Romance Books About Artists
If romance and rom-com are your preferred genres, we also recommend checking out the following titles: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren; The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez; The View from the Top by Rachel Lacey, and Lease on Love by Falon Ballard (just trust us on this last one, as you won’t find any mention of art in the synopsis).
Tell the Wolves I’m Home
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
94% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Fourteen-year-old June shared a deep bond with her beloved uncle, Finn, a renowned painter. When Finn died in 1987 from AIDS (at a time when the illness was widely misunderstood), June was devastated.
Before his death, Finn completed a formal portrait of June and her sister, a painting that becomes both a symbol of his love and a lingering source of tension within the family.
At Finn’s funeral, June meets a mysterious man who was also close to her uncle. As June begins to form an unexpected friendship with him, she slowly uncovers more about Finn’s life beyond what her family has shared.
Through memories of Finn, his artwork, and the portrait he left behind, June navigates grief, loyalty, and the complicated truths that shape the people we love.
Still Life
Book Summary
As bombs fall, young British soldier Ulysses Temper and sixty-four-year-old art historian Evelyn Skinner spend an unforgettable evening in a ruined wine cellar. Over wine and conversation, Evelyn introduces Ulysses to art and a new way of seeing the world. The brief encounter will shape both their lives for decades.
When Ulysses returns to London after the war, everything has changed. His father’s shop was bombed, and his wife, Peg, has moved on. Years later, when he unexpectedly inherits a Florence apartment, he returns to Italy with his best friend Cress, Peg’s daughter Alys, and a Shakespeare-quoting parrot named Claude.
In Florence, the unlikely group builds a life together as a chosen family of artists, musicians, and misfits. Spanning four decades from the 1940s to the 1970s, the novel traces their interwoven lives through love and loss, the devastating 1966 Florence flood, and the many forms that family and beauty can take.
Know This Before Reading
This is a very character-driven read that meanders through the characters’ lives over the 460 pages. Skip it if you prefer fast-moving plot-based books.
Those who love it praise the beautiful prose, descriptions of Florence, celebrations of love in all its forms, and the connections to art.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
Lenni is only 17 years old, but she has a terminal illness. Despite the devastating impacts of her disease and the drugs she has to take to manage it, Lenni is determined to live every moment that she can, even if she can’t leave the hospital.
Escaping to the hospital’s crafts room, Lenni enrolls in a painting class where she gets to know Margot, an 83-year-old fellow rebel with heart problems. As their unexpected friendship grows, the pair realizes that between the two of them, they’ve lived an entire century of life. To celebrate this milestone, they decide to paint their life stories – joy, kindness, loss, and love.
Our Thoughts on This Book
Throughout the novel, painting portraits is an important connecting device between the two main characters. This is a tearjerker, but readers say that it’s ultimately uplifting and worth every tear! Although this is a tender and touching story, it’s also disarmingly funny at times, with plenty of snarkiness and shenanigans.
This book is said to be especially good on audio, with two different narrators doing the voices of Lenni and Margot.
The Singing Trees
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
While this book starts in 2019, it soon goes back to 1969 and chronologically tells the story of Annalisa’s life until the end of the 70s. She is a passionate and talented young artist trying to find her voice as the country is affected by the Vietnam War.
Annalisa leaves her grandma and small town and moves to the thriving art scene in Portland, Maine. While her primary pursuit is art, she meets Thomas, an Ivy League student with a much different background than her own. He upends her quest to become a museum artist in ways she didn’t expect. But her unexpected love may be unraveled by an unforgivable lie.
Thoughts on This Book
Readers say that this coming-of-age book is both heartbreaking and uplifting. The fashion and food will transport you back in time to the art scene of Maine in the 1970s.
The author started his career as a songwriter, which becomes apparent through lyrical writing and the inclusion of references to the musicians of the era.
The Goldfinch
Book Summary
At the age of 13, New Yorker Theo Decker survives a bombing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that kills his mother. As he escapes through the debris, he takes with him a small painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. From that day forward, he clings to the painting as a reminder of his mom.
Having been abandoned by his father, he goes to live with the family of a wealthy friend on Park Avenue until his life is once again upended.
Eight years later, and now an adult, the painting of the goldfinch pulls Theo into a dangerous world of crime and drugs.
Consider This Before Reading
Many of the 4-star reviews of The Goldfinch say that they would have given it 5 stars but for the length. At nearly 800 pages, some readers feel the story would have benefited from more aggressive editing, while others love the deep dive into the characters that the length affords.
Art Crimes, Forgeries, and Heists
In these gripping stories, masterpieces don’t just hang quietly on gallery walls. From Nazi-looted treasures to daring deceptions and high-stakes investigations, these novels (and one non-fiction) explore the shadowy side of the art world.
The Last Mona Lisa
Book Summary
In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen, and two years passed before it was recovered.
Present-day art historians know that many replicas of the famous painting are in circulation, and more than one has questioned whether the one currently hanging in the Louvre could actually be a forgery.
Art professor Luke Perrone travels to Florence, Italy, to read the long-lost journal of his grandfather, who he suspects may have been behind the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa.
Luke finds himself falling deeper into the world of art and forgery, and soon realizes that uncovering the truth could be a very dangerous endeavor.
Historical Context
On August 21, 1911, the painting was, in fact, taken from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The theft went unnoticed for over a day, and when the painting was discovered missing, the story became an international sensation. The Louvre closed temporarily, and even figures like Pablo Picasso were questioned during the investigation.
The thief kept the painting for more than two years before attempting to sell it to an art dealer in Florence in 1913. This led to his arrest, and the painting was finally returned to the Louvre in 1914.
Woman on Fire
Book Summary
Jules Roth is a rising young journalist who persuades a famed investigative reporter named Dan Mansfield to give her a job at the Chicago Chronicle. He assigns her to the secret and urgent task of locating a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier.
The artwork, “Woman on Fire,” was created by a fictional German Expressionist painter and depicts a woman engulfed in brilliant color; it has become a legendary lost masterpiece.
Shoe designer Ellis Baum has deeply personal reasons for wanting the painting found before he dies. Jules and Dan pursue leads across the US and Europe, but they find themselves contending with Margaux de Laurent, a powerful and cunning gallery owner who also wants the painting for herself.
As the search for the looted artwork intensifies, Jules gains unexpected help from Adam Baum, Ellis’s grandson, who is also a struggling contemporary artist.
Genre Notes
Readers say this novel is a great mix of historical fiction and psychological thriller.
The Lost Masterpiece
Book Summary
This novel centers around a mysterious (fictional) painting by Édouard Manet called “Party on the Seine” that has haunted art historians for over a century.
In the present day, Tamara Rubin’s life is upended when she inherits this long-lost work of art. A painter whose career has stalled, she was previously unaware of any family connections to the painting.
Tamara discovers that it was once stolen by the Nazis, explaining why it disappeared for decades, but raising more questions about how it survived when other works were destroyed.
The story alternates between Tamara’s journey to learn more and the late-19th-century life of Berthe Morisot, a female artist during the Impressionist movement in Paris. As Tamara pieces together a timeline of how the painting changed hands over time, there is also action that takes place across Europe during the WWII era of Nazi art looting.
What to Expect in This Novel
While the painting in this novel is fictional, the story is rooted in the true history of large-scale art theft that took place during World War II. While the story is heavily focused on this art crime aspect, the present-day timeline also includes quite a bit about Tamara’s life as an artist and the struggles that come along with that.
Other Novels by This Author
B.A. Shapiro has written several other novels that blend historical art, art crime, and artist lives, including: The Art Forger (2012), a thriller about the real-life 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist and the search for a missing Degas masterpiece; The Muralist (2015), a historical fiction about an American painter on the eve of WWII and her later-era relative uncovering lost Abstract Expressionist works; and The Collector’s Apprentice (2018), which is set in the 1920s Paris and U.S. art scenes and features a protagonist who is navigating scandalous art dealings.
The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland
Book Summary
This non-fiction book recounts the true story of Rose Valland, a French art historian and curator at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris during World War II. When the Nazis occupied France and used the museum as their headquarters for the systematic looting of artworks, Valland remained at her post.
She secretly tracked and documented the seizure and movement of stolen paintings, sculptures, and cultural objects. Working under the noses of Nazi officers, she recorded details about where valuable works were going, often memorizing lists when she was forbidden to take notes, and relayed this information to the French Resistance and later Allied forces.
What to Expect in This Non-Fiction
Many reviewers note that this book is fast-paced and narratively driven, making it read more like a story than a dry academic history. Readers appreciate the bite-sized chapters and vivid, atmospheric descriptions, which help to balance the extensive research and historical documentation.
Veridian Sterling Fakes It
Book Summary
Freshly graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, aspiring painter Veridian (Veri) Sterling arrives in New York City ready to show her own work in galleries, but instead lands a job as a personal assistant at an art gallery that rejected her paintings.
Struggling financially and hoping to help her mother realize her own business dreams, Veri overhears her boss discussing a large finder’s fee for a lost Van Gogh. Her own artwork might go unappreciated, but maybe she can put her copying skills to use instead.
Veri becomes increasingly involved with a famous art dealer and his circle, and she soon realizes that she might be in over her head. Can she clean up the mess she’s made before she goes down for someone else’s crimes?
What to Expect in This Novel
While this novel fits into the category of art heists and forgeries, it’s shorter, lighter, and more humorous in style than others in this section.
Other Art-Related Mysteries
The novels in this final section round out our “art and artists” book list with a variety of mysteries, from cozy to contemporary to historical.
An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder
Book Summary
When Frances and her husband travel to France, the trip is a mix of business and pleasure. They look forward to their holiday and a visit to the Paris Exposition, but they have also been asked to help George’s Aunt Julia investigate the death of renowned artist Paul Ducasse.
The Expo quickly turns tragic when a footbridge collapses. Julia is among the casualties, but it turns out she wasn’t hurt in the collapse – she was stabbed to death in the chaos. Now George and Frances are digging into both Paul and Julia’s deaths with no shortage of suspects in the art community.
About the Series
This art-focused “cozy” is the seventh in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series, but it can be enjoyed as a standalone because the self-contained mystery is fully resolved by the end.
If you choose to start at the beginning of the series, you’ll enjoy the ongoing character development and relationships. Keep in mind, however, that the other books in the series are set in England and do not center on the art world.
Another Cozy Mystery Series to Consider
If you love cozy mysteries, another series to consider is Paint and Shine by Cheryl Hollon. In this three-book series, artist and car restorer Mary Alice Watson turns amateur sleuth while restoring classic cars and cataloging fine art. Between engines, paint, and priceless paintings, she uncovers clues to murders and thefts.
Book Summary
Joan’s father was a world-class artist who died on September 11th. Following in her dad’s artistic footsteps, Joan became an art historian. When her husband confesses that he’s fathered twins with another woman, Joan impulsively decides to take a last-minute job as an art courier on a trip to Paris. With some very valuable drawings tucked discreetly in her carry-on luggage, it’s her job to carry them safely to some potential clients in Paris.
On the flight, Joan enjoys sipping champagne while flirting with her seatmate, a handsome tech nerd named Nate. When they land in the City of Lights, Nate invites her to dinner. After a romantic night out (and a romantic night in), Joan wakes the next morning to discover that the drawings are missing from her suitcase.
Even more shocking is that the art has been replaced with a sketch from her father’s journal that she believed was lost on 9/11. Along with the sketch is a poem that reads like a treasure hunt. With Nate as her sidekick, Joan follows the clues through the streets of Paris – from grand cathedrals to small bistros.
The Venice Sketchbook
Book Girls’ Readers Rate This Book
92% Would Recommend to a Friend
Book Summary
In 2001, Caroline Grant’s marriage was falling apart when her beloved great-aunt Lettie passed away, leaving Caroline a sketchbook, three keys, and the request that her ashes be spread in Venice. Key by key, Caroline will learn the secrets that Lettie kept for more than 60 years – secrets of impossible love, loss, and courage.
In her younger years, Lettie traveled to Venice numerous times as an art teacher, providing a wealth of art history to her students and allowing her to visit the man she loves, even though his future cannot include her.
Why We Think You’ll Love It
As the story unfolds, this novel is filled with beautiful descriptions of Venice’s narrow footpaths, canals, architecture, and food, both in the 1928-1944 timeline and in the 21st century. Art plays an important role throughout this novel.
The Red House
Book Summary
Thirty years ago, Laura’s mother, Viola, vanished from their New Jersey home, leaving behind her purse, keys, and mysterious paintings of a red house. On each painting’s back, Viola scrawled in Italian: “I will not be here forever.” Now 42, the same age Viola was when she disappeared, Laura receives an unexpected call from Detective Hendricks, who handled her mother’s case. She flies to Italy in hopes of solving the puzzle.
In Brindisi and Puglia, Laura discovers shocking truths: Viola was Jewish, not Catholic. Her great-grandfather, Giovanni, never existed. Through elderly Tommaso Bassano, Laura learns that Viola and her family were imprisoned at the Red House, an internment camp in 1942. As the narrative shifts between Laura’s present-day quest and Viola’s harrowing wartime past, Laura confronts how trauma echoes across generations and finally comes to understand her mother’s story.
Reader Thoughts on This Book
Reviewers say this novel often has a memoir-like feel with introspective prose, and they appreciate learning more about the lesser-known history of Italian Jews during World War II, specifically the internment camps in southern Italy and the complex dynamics under Mussolini’s fascism.
Some wish the ending had more closure, while others appreciated the focus on emotional truth over tidy answers.
You are welcome to choose any book you’d like to read for the “Books About Art and Artists” prompt in our 2026 Book Bingo Challenge, but we hope this list of books has given you a good starting point.
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Book Recommendations for Every Bingo Prompt
We provide book recommendations for each and every square on the Bingo card so that you can spend less time researching and more time reading. Find all the book recommendation lists in one place here.
