The Art of Arousal

by Ruth Westheimer

This is a celebration of one hundred of the most erotic paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings from diverse eras and cultures, coupled together with revealing commentaries about their sexual and aesthetic content. Erotic encounters have been celebrated by artists from the beginning of time. Presenting a wide range of provocative images, this irresistible volume chronicles a startling variety of sensual relationships from flirtation and seduction through consummation to blissful exhaustion. Dr. Ruth explores every element of sexuality expressed in these works of art, including the pleasures of looking, creative masturbation, and the effects on male and female pleasure of the various positions depicted. All the works have been chosen to meet two criteria: everyone portrayed must be having a good time and each image must satisfy a high aesthetic standard.

Genres: Erotica, Art, History, Nonfiction, Sexuality

180 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1993

About the author

Karola Ruth Westheimer, better known as Dr. Ruth, was a German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, and Holocaust survivor.
Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her parents sent the ten-year-old girl to a school in Switzerland for safety, remaining behind themselves because of her elderly grandmother. They were both subsequently sent to concentration camps by the Gestapo, where they were killed. After World War II ended, she immigrated to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine. Despite being only 4 feet 7 inches (1.39 m) tall and 17 years of age, she joined the Haganah, and was trained as a sniper, but never saw combat. On her 20th birthday, Westheimer was seriously wounded in action by an exploding shell during a mortar fire attack on Jerusalem during the 1947–1949 Palestine war, and almost lost both of her feet. Moving to Paris, France two years later, she studied psychology at the Sorbonne. Immigrating to the United States in 1956, she worked as a maid to put herself through graduate school, earned an M.A. degree in sociology from The New School in 1959, and earned a doctorate at 42 years of age from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1970. Over the next decade, she taught at a number of universities, and had a private sex therapy practice.
Westheimer's media career began in 1980 with the radio call-in show Sexually Speaking, which continued until 1990. In 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in the area, in the country's largest radio market. She then launched a television show, The Dr. Ruth Show, which by 1985 attracted 2 million viewers a week. She became known for giving serious advice while being candid, but also warm, cheerful, funny, and respectful, and for her tag phrase: "Get some". In 1984 The New York Times noted that she had risen "from obscurity to almost instant stardom." She hosted several series on the Lifetime Channel and other cable television networks from 1984 to 1993. She became a household name and major cultural figure, appeared on several network TV shows, co-starred in a movie with Gérard Depardieu, appeared on the cover of People, sang on a Tom Chapin album, appeared in several commercials, and hosted Playboy videos. She is the author of 45 books on sex and sexuality.
The one-woman 2013 play Becoming Dr. Ruth, written by Mark St. Germain, is about her life, as is the 2019 documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth, directed by Ryan White. Westheimer had been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, and awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Leo Baeck Medal, the Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger Award, and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Reviews

[Petra X]

So Dr. Ruth, the famous mini-sexologist granny who wanted all women to have orgasms and enjoy licking men's dicks like icecream cones, liked dirty pictures but justified them as "Art". I read that she interprets these Old Masters and Fine Art as illustrations for her sexual advice. How weird. Porn is better, more direct, doesn't need interpretation. However, it's not quite so socially acceptable as having an Art Book on the coffee table. (Not unless it's a Taschen).

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I noticed The Art of Arousal lurking in the 'art, comics, kids (!)' section of the house library about a week ago and it looked pretty intriguing. But when I got around to reading it, it was a total letdown and more. Instead of being a sort of coffee table book as I'd hoped (the only books that are both interesting and personally inoffensive), it had a bunch of text interspersed with a few famous nudes. But then when actually reading the text, the author couldn't seem to help giving sexual advice every other sentence. If I wanted some old lady to tell me 'a woman can't have an orgasm unless she really wants to' and 'when giving oral for the first time, pretend the penis is an ice cream cone' I wouldn't be reading a book on ART. Or what masquerades as a book on art, as Dr. Ruth Westheimer obviously doesn't know a thing about art history. 'Look at a couple of famous paintings you've seen a billion times, and hear my opinion on why Leonardo was a very unfortunate man for never discovering the joys of sex! Plus, see bullshit art theory and bullshit sexual how-to become one!' This is a rather more accurate tagline for The Art of Arousal. And as if the book wasn't annoying enough already, the author managed to throw in an obliviously offensive comment directed at transsexuals! This would be acceptable if it were published in the '60s or 70s, perhaps, but it's from Nineteen-fucking-ninety-three - a pretty good year for books on gender theory. Long story short, I can't see how many people would find this book pleasing. Those looking for the actual 'art of arousal' will be disappointed, those looking for a lot of glorious images they haven't seen elsewhere will be disappointed, and those looking for accurate information on the history of erotic art will be sorely disappointed.

[Sarah Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Ruth is adorable, intelligent, amusing and really understands sex, erotica, and the joy of desire. This is a beautiful book with a lovely collection of art from all over the world.

[June RL · Rating 4 out of 5]

hehehe funney

[Stormy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joyful book combining three of my favorite topics: art, history and sex! Dr. Ruth is a stitch to read and encouraging to lovers of all ages.

[willowdog · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second edition of Dr. Ruth's work in which she writes of various art works and a way to look at these works detailing their erotic subjects. In speaking of these works, she places the art in their time and exposes some of the symbolism in the art. Having not read the first edition, I can't tell what has changed, but I can guess that the new works addressed in this volume are non-western art.
It was interesting. Was it very enlightening? No. It is filled commentary that is to be expected of Dr. Ruth. Sometimes engaging, sometimes fun. Has Dr. Ruth lost her edge when talking about sex? No, but some commentary seems old school.

My thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Treeline for providing this free ebook in exchange for a unbiased review.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesterday we had faces of ecstasy but what about the art of arousal? I came across this fascinating art book describing everything with old paintings. The pleasure of looking, flirtation and seduction, kisses and other foreplay, the embrace, solitary and group pleasure, blissful exhaustion. If you're interested in erotic art (who isn't?) this definitely is worth reading. Highly recommended!

[Fiona Montgomery]

It is a collection of pieces that Dr. Ruth gets horny by. She explains her order in the beginning of the book, but the fact that they weren’t in chronological order was driving me bonkers!
Overall, these pieces you could find in other sources, and the information given is not out-of-this-world.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very strange selections and some odd commentary but overall not a bad dabbling in historical sensual art.