15 Nonobvious Art Books That Would Make Great Gifts
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If you’re stuck shopping for someone who “has everything,” I have a suggestion: Get them an art book. They’re thoughtful, personal, and, yes, can double as décor. The best part is you can gift multiple to the same person. After all, you’re helping them build the inimitable Art Book Stack on their coffee table. Try pairing a couple that feel unexpected together, likeThe Frick Collection: The Historic Interiors, which just published this year and is filled with photos of the museum’s lush rooms, and Salvador Dalí’sLes Dîners de Gala,a tried-and-true gift that includes recipes from Parisian restaurants and illustrations by the surrealist artist.
Between writingThe Rose Period, my newsletter on the art world’s lesser-known stories, and pulling creative references for my job as a head of brand, I spend a lot of time thinking about art books. I’ve rounded up my favorites here, from the classics I give again and again to some of this year’s most exciting new releases.
The new art books I would gift this year
Consider these 2025 releases that feel timely to unwrap now, from MoMA’s retrospective of Ruth Asawa’s work to the late Martin Parr’s autobiography.
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The Japanese American artist Ruth Asawafinallygot a long-overdue retrospective at MoMA this year — one of the museum’s biggest-ever shows by a female artist. This book is an ode to her life’s work, from those undulating wire sculptures to her quieter pieces on paper. One of my favorite Asawa facts: She was a mother of six. I’d gift this to a new parent who loves art.
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‘The Frick Collection: The Historic Interiors,’ by Xavier F. Salomon and Miguel Flores-Vianna
The Frick’s reopening was my 2025 highlight (does anyone else go there to pretend they’re living on the set ofThe Gilded Age?). This book takes you through Henry Clay Frick’s 1914 home room by room with new photography of its jewel-like finishes — aurora-blue marble, silk damask wall coverings, gilt frames — plus little-known stories about how Frick put it all together. And yes, the Vermeers! It’s like gifting a museum visit without the crowds.
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American artist Danielle McKinney is a rising star known for her intimate paintings of Black women at home. Her work has been shown at some of the most in-the-know art-world spaces in London, New York City, and Turin, and her new book weaves together her paintings with journal prompts written by her mom. Give this one to the art girl who sends you a calendar invite to a gallery show before it’s even announced.
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A look into Japanese aesthetics across architecture, design, and everyday objects. It’s written by Gian Carlo Calza, a longtime scholar of Japanese art and culture (he’s published over 39 books and curated international museum exhibits on the subject). The cover is so simple, yet striking and graphic, it barely needs wrapping.
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The legendary photographer Martin Parr passed away this December, but lucky for us, he published this whip-smart autobiography chronicling his stories from 50 years behind the camera.Utterly Lazy and Inattentivepairs Parr’s iconic images with his own dry (funny!) commentary on class, taste, consumer culture, and life’s everyday rituals. A timely gift for photography devotees.
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If there’s one thing the Tate’s 2025 retrospective on Lee Miller showed, it’s that the woman hadmanylives. This book captures all of them: model, muse, surrealist, and fearless photographer. A perfect gift for your friend who always sends you chaotic voice notes, changes careers every two years, and somehow makes it work.
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‘Jean Paul Gaultier: The Complete Collections,’ by Loïc Prigent and Laird Borrelli-Persson
French designer Jean Paul Gaultier is known for his avant-garde pieces — which is really just a fancy way of sayingcrazy and fun. This book collects his most iconic runway moments and the models who brought them to life (Linda Evangelista, Madonna, Kate Moss, and Björk, to name a few).
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For the color-obsessed, give the 2025 reissue of an art-world favorite: Alexandra Loske’s dopamine-inducing visual history of color, which artists and designers have obsessed over for generations. Inside is a color chart from the very first color scholar, dreamy 18th-century botanical illustrations, and Bauhaus-era color systems that still influence how we learn about shades today. I reference it constantly for color inspiration, and I bet your giftee will use it often, too.
The art books I gift again and again
My forever favorites — the IYKYK titles I’ve gifted over many years.
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You probably know Dalí for his melting clocks, but did you know he was also an infamous dinner-party host? (Think: fur-covered plates, unicorn antlers, pet ocelots). Originally published by Dalí himself,Les Dîners de Galacaptures his surreal soirées in a glam art book meets cookbook. It’s just as decadent to unwrap as it is to read.
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Before Pop Art, Andy Warhol was just a commercial illustrator in New York, sketching shoes, lettering menus, and illustrating charming books for fun. This book collects seven of those early hand-drawn creations — and shows a rare personal side of Warhol. Included is my personal favorite:Wild Raspberries(1959), his slightly absurdrecipe bookthat parodies haute cuisine (an original copy sold for $35,000 at Sotheby’s this summer).
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‘Ninth Street Women,’ by Mary Gabriel
For the true art lovers on your list, this isthegift.Ninth Street Womenis an art-history classic with a devoted cult following. It tells the story of the five women (Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler) who shaped New York’s Abstract Expressionist scene in the 1940s and ’50s. I was gifted it by an old artist friend, and it was, dare I say, life-changing!
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A gift for the friend who loves the Maxfield Parrish mural at the King Cole Bar and Bemelmans’Madeline-esque illustrations at the Carlyle. Bonus points if you offer to visit each mural with them.
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Over 500 vintage candy wrappers in one brilliant book make this a dream gift for the nostalgia-minded design lover. I’m gifting this to Alex Mill’s founder (and my boss), Alex, who isobsessedwith good packaging.
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Any interior lovers on your list? This beautifully designed coffee-table book shows 30 iconic artists and the spaces where they lived and worked. There’s Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiú abode; Renoir’s stone home in Essoyes, France; and Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul.
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Our creative director at Alex Mill,Somsack, gifted me this art-history classic; it was the exact textbook he was assigned in high school. Gifting a textbook might sound a little …unexpected, but this istheone generations of artists and art lovers have cut their teeth on — and it still holds up. For any art history (or “lifelong learner”) on your list.
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