While fans of Leonardo Da Vinci may quibble with the book’s title, this absorbing tome gathers together the full repertoire of Michelangelo’s work to create a vivid portrait of the artist’s life and career.

If you have ever stood in front of an artwork and wondered what you should be looking for, what it means, even whether or not it is any good, this compendium of over 650 artist profiles from early history to the present day is for you.

One of 20 separate editions from the best-selling 50… You Should Know series, this concise overview of key artists from the 13th century to the present day is perfect for casual reading or easy reference.

This month by month exploration of the countryside as seen through the eyes of the Borders-based artist is beautifully illustrated by delicate, detailed renderings covering a wide range of natural history subjects commonly found throughout Britain, with hand-written text offering a wealth of information, from botanical explanations and traditions to folklore and festivals.

Take a voyage through history and around the world to discover how artists who lived and worked between 4000BC and 2000BC created three-dimensional images of the human body.

Part art book, part gardening book, this new, lavishly illustrated edition charts the history of the world’s most visited garden, lovingly created by artist Claude Monet at Giverny. Four chapters trace the garden through the seasons, paying special attention to the light and atmosphere which so preoccupied Monet and became the inspiration and focus of his art.

David Zwirner has been known for years as one of the most crucial players on the international art market, representing artists such as Josef Albers,

Alice Neel (1900-1984) was one of the most significant American painters of the 20th century. Her psychologically charged portraits tell intimate and unconventional stories about people living on the margins of society and in subcultures, the New York cultural elite, minorities, Andy Warhol’s superstars, ordinary New Yorkers and her own family. Seemingly etched into her paintings are her own stresses of life as a feminist and single parent in a largely male-dominated art world.

Best known for her self-portraits and tragic life events, Frida Kahlo’s love of home and country were also defining aspects of her art. This book explores the influence of Mexican culture and tradition on her life and work as well as the places she travelled to and called home.

Partially drawn from several archives of previously unpublished letters and including illustrations of previously unseen works, the life of Pat (never Patricia) Douthwaite (1934-2002) is chronicled in this first study of one of the most distinctive artists of the post-war period, dubbed “The High Priestess of the Grotesque”. Author Guy Peploe, who knew the artist well, is Managing Director of The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh.

Through 200 everyday objects such as papier mâché masks, chai glasses and classic ‘buxa’ aluminium storage trunks alongside a selection of contemporary pieces inspired by them, this survey of Indian design from antiquity to the present day showcases the diversity of the
country’s visual identity and explores the techniques of its long-standing skilled artisans.

Edited by Martin Harrison FSA, Pub. The Estate of Francis Bacon, £1,000 clothbound hardcover.