Photo caption: Major museums, like the Guggenheim, offer a number of beneficial art resources, including free art books for download. Image by Kai Pilger from Pixabay.
Few, if any, art resources could replace the art book. When you read a book about art, whether it’s about art history, art techniques or artist biographies, you’re gaining experience in the art world that you couldn’t get otherwise.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that you’re getting the benefit of the book author’s knowledge without years of study. Talk about a quick way to develop some artistic superpowers!
As Elli Milan points out in the history section of the Mastery Program, to be taken seriously, artists must continue to study art history for the rest of their lives. Only dedication, conviction and hard work leads to mastery in the end, and diligent study is part of becoming the master artist you dream of becoming.
It’s also important to continue to study art from a professional perspective as well if you want to gain credibility with art galleries and others in the professional art world.
It’s with that in mind that we compiled a list of places that you can find and download hundreds, if not thousands, of free books about art. These books lift the veil, so to speak, giving you an in-depth look at works of art that will push you to greater artistic heights, expand your virtuosity as an artist and, of course, feed your passion for art.
1. The Guggenheim
The selection that The Guggenheim offers include some pretty impressive books. Art students can find books, like Kandinsky’s “On the Spiritual in Art,” “American Pop Icons,” “Futurism: A Modern Focus” and more.
The Guggenheim’s collection of free art books include an option to flip through the books or to download. Download formats include all major shareable formats, like ePub, PDF and Text files.
2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Like the Guggenheim, the Met’s list of books is pretty stellar. Some notable titles include books, like “20th-Century Art: A Resource for Educators,” “Abstract Expressionism: Works on Paper” and “The American West in Bronze, 1850–1925.” Online users will want to create a free account to access the books.
3. The Getty
The Getty’s site includes an easy-to-navigate system, whereby you can find books about painting, antiques, architecture and more. Titles include “Cezanne in the Studio,” “The Nature of Conservation” and “Antiquity and Photography.”
4. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is the web’s premier place to find free public domain books, including books about art and art history. Here we’ve linked the site’s bookshelf page. Search through the links for headers, like “Fine Arts Bookshelf,” “Archaeology, “Architecture,” “Art” and “L'Illustration,” to name but a few.
Project Gutenberg includes many books in languages, like German, French, Spanish and even Esperanto, so if you happen to be a language buff who also wants to master your foreign-language skills, Project Gutenberg is an excellent all-around resource.
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