The biggest and best textbook for the history of Western art. From cave drawings to postmodernism, it's all here. And the color illustrations are amazing.

A wonderfully readable, gorgeously designed, delightfully thought-provoking little book.

Look for all four volumes of this groundbreaking work. Vintage published them in paperback from the 1950's through the 1970's, and you'll probably find them hidden away in the art section of your local used bookstore.

A Brit critic's take on Brit art. The early stuff on Protestant iconoclasm is especially good.

A collection of critical articles. There's a lot of very good stuff in this little book.

Big Bob Hughes finally takes on Goya, and the result is magnificent.

This much-maligned work (Vasari sometimes seems to get every single fact wrong) remains the sole published source for much of our knowledge of artists from Giotto to Michelangelo.

The first volume of what is already the greatest biography of a painter ever written. (Volume 3 was published to acclaim in 2007; let's hope vol.4 doesn't take another decade.)

Richardson's delightful no holds barred (and no holes barred) memoir of his life with art collector Douglas Cooper. This is filled with great artworld gossip.

Clark explores the hidden intersections of revolutionary politics and art in midcentury France.

A book-length examination of a single landmark painting. Read this before visiting the Art Institute of Chicago.

The unholy bible of late 19th-century aestheticism, this remains one of the most beautifully-written books of art criticism in the English language.

The text tilts heavily toward Lacan (too much trendy academic jargon), but the illustrations are amazing.

The definitive biography of Degas, unfortunately out of print.

Page through this book and watch the changes in Guston's styles and content. Genius is transformative; it is not satisfied with mere mastery.

The author uses Manet's famous painting as a jumping-off point for a wide ranging examination of Impressionism and 19th-century French society.

Varnedoe's provocative argument about Modern art and its sources. Well-documented and convincing. Try to find a cheap copy somewhere.

A brilliant examination of some of the many forms of Romanticism.

A big, beautifully-illustrated exhibition catalogue that contains just about everything we will ever need to know about Van Gogh and Gauguin's months in Arles.

The standard film history. An invaluable reference. Cook seems to have seen every film ever made.