Score

It's hard to believe The Lost Painting is non-fiction. It doesn't belong on this list, but what-the-hell. It's not a paper-chase, it's a ....a PAINT-chase, a fabulous true story. God Bless Captain Harr !

I love art in books. It is so beautiful. I want to read all of the books on this list!

Me, too, Lisa. I just said to my husband, so many books etc

Katherine wrote: "Me, too, Lisa. I just said to my husband, so many books etc"

What is your favourite on the list Katherine? My top three are:
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Madonnas of Lennigrad
The Swan Thieves

Hi Lisa, I, too, chose Girl with the Pearl Earring but have not read the others. I picked DaVinci Code, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Girl in Hyacinthe Blue. I wrote a little blurb with each choice. I'll have to check out your other two.

Hi Katherine
I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'll check out your blurb. I have read the others you recommended. It is always good to get recommendations from others with similar taste. Thank you very much Katherine.

The Gardner Heist is non-fiction, not fiction.

Joyce's PORTRAIT.... ?? Jessica, we need clarification here....surely you don't want books about LITERARY artists....big canna worms !

This list alone is nearly a years worth of reading. ;0

I love stories of paintings and artist - simply reading a history book is dull to me, but love the history and learning. To read in a story form is wonderful (Yes, I now the story part of it is fictitious, the passion and artistic reference is so real)

Normb4 wrote: "I love stories of paintings and artist - simply reading a history book is dull to me, but love the history and learning. To read in a story form is wonderful (Yes, I now the story part of it is fic..."

You might like the crime novels of Daniel Silva. His detective, Gabriel Allon, is an art restorer by trade.

Lisa wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Me, too, Lisa. I just said to my husband, so many books etc"

What is your favourite on the list Katherine? My top three are:
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Madonnas of Le..."

I just finished The Swan Thieves, and love, love, loved it.

Mayine wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Me, too, Lisa. I just said to my husband, so many books etc"

What is your favourite on the list Katherine? My top three are:
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The M..."
Me too Mayine. Have you read her other book The Historian. I loved it just as much.

I'm surprised no one had nominated In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past): Proust 6-pack, which is widely considered one of the finest examples of the Künstlerroman novel. Well, it's there now.

Currently reading Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Joy of joy, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art today and was able to totally immerse myself in Monet's paintings, especially the few on view there of Camille. What a thrill - each brushstroke is alive with stories of their lives, the rich history of that time, and Monet's contemporaries (Renoir, Pissarro, Bazille, Degas...) Happy day!

Lisa wrote: "Hi Katherine
I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'll check out your blurb. I have read the others you recommended. It is always good to get recommendations from others with similar tast..."

The painter is based loosely on john singer Sargent

Brenda wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Hi Katherine
I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'll check out your blurb. I have read the others you recommended. It is always good to get recommendations from others with ..."

Thanks Brenda. I will add it to the list.

Currently reading Elizabeth Hickey's The Painted Kiss about Gustav Klimt and Emily Floge... (Klimt's beloved muse, mistress, model - she's the woman in The Kiss.) Oh my goodness... I love Hickey's writing style, the book draws you in immediately. Richly textured, very atmospheric, the beautiful descriptions of Vienna, the various characters who come to life... The beginning is wonderful... so far, a rare gem of a book.

Irving Stone's The Agony and The Ecstasy, and Lust for Life, are my all-time favorites. BA Shapiro's The Art Forger is also really good. I just finished Ishiguro's An Artist of the Floating World.

Now checking into these lists, can't wait for a next good read.

There's a book I read a few years ago whose title I can't remember for the life of me ... it's about a painter who uses magic to transfer his mind into other people's bodies. The names are vaguely Italian, and he lives for hundreds of years, 'reincarnating' himself by transferring himself into one young budding artist after another. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I am thinking Isn't It Pretty To Think So? doesn't quite fit this list?

Blind guardian - It sounds a little like a book I read by Susan Hill, but I don't remember the title.

Removed Isn't It Pretty To Think So?. Spam.

Hi - vast list! Just to note: #138 The Hare with the Amber Eyes is non-fiction (biography). It is an excellent book though!

I am in the art world and enjoy this incredible list of wonderful books. I enjoyed The Hare with the Amber Eyes as well. The author traced the Ephrussi family through many decades. Another fascinating story is The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustave Klimt"s Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Blauer by Anne-Marie O'Connor. A fascinating read as well as historical story.

Seven Days in the Art World by Thornton isn't fiction.

Strapless is not fiction. It is straight up non-fiction. Why is it on this list? It is an excellent book but doesn't belong here.

I just put RUNNING, by JT Cooper on the list. It's a crime thriller wherein the main character is an artist. If anyone really wants the full scoop - www.jtcooperauthor.com
Anyway, one artist who read it said, through her husband on facebook, that JT "has the heart and mind of an artist as the author of this novel."