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Non-fiction - Art Adventures - Christchurch City Libraries

Take a ripping ride into the art world, travel with artists to discover what motivates them, discover lost works, frauds, heists and scandals. Gain an appreciation of the role art played in history and read moving accounts where families have sought to reclaim their treasures. A Christchurch City Libraries list.

User from Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi

11 items

  • The Madman's Gallery

    the Strangest Paintings, Sculptures and Other Curiosities From the History of Art

    Brooke-Hitching, Edward
    From the author of The Madman’s library, this absorbing book takes readers on a trip examining some of the most mysterious, unconventional, and downright bizarre artworks throughout history. From well-known masterpieces and eccentric sculptures to…
    Book, 2022London : Simon & Schuster, 2022. — 709 BRO
  • This gripping globe-spanning account filled with intrigue and deception, follows the bizarre fate of five wooden panels (now called Motunui Epa) carved by Taranaki Māori in the 1700’s, hidden in a swamp to protect them from invaders, eventually…
    Book, 2022Wellington, New Zealand : Bridget Williams Books, 2022. — 736.4 BUC
  • The Art Thief

    a True Story of Love, Crime and a Dangerous Obsession

    Finkel, Michael
    Over the course of eight years and over 200 heists, art thief Stéphane Breitwieser, along with his accomplice and girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinhaus, stole an estimated 1.5 billion dollars’ worth of art. This is made even more intriguing by the…
    Book, 2023London : Simon & Schuster, 2023. — 364.162 FIN
  • Dissident and Ali Weiwei's wide ranging memoir reveals the struggles which made him an" important voice of freedom". At once an intimate portrait of his father's calm stoicism and the regime which repressed him and his own political struggles as he…
    Book, 2021London : The Bodley Head, 2021. — 709.51 AI
  • The Pursuit of Art

    Travels, Encounters and Revelations

    Gayford, Martin, 1952-
    With an Art critic's eye Martin brings us along as his traveling companion as he travels to far flung places in his quest to see art for himself. In his travelogue he shares his impressions of art with us, conversing with artists revelling their…
    Book, 2019London : Thames and Hudson, 2019. — 910.4 GAY
  • The Tsarina's Lost Treasure

    Catherine the Great, a Golden Age Masterpiece, and a Legendary Shipwreck

    Easter, Gerald, 1959-
    A rich gripping story of Dutch artists, royal politics and maritime history intertwined with the search for a lost treasure ship and an artist’s rise and fall. In 1771 a ship carrying Dutch masterpieces destined for Catherine the Great’s collection,…
    Book, 2020New York : Pegasus Books, 2020. — 910.45 EAS
  • A book about scandalous New Zealand art crimes. Full of amusing and unlikely anecdotes which may remind you of episodes from Outrageous Fortune. A fascinating look into the art underworld most of us didn’t know we had.
    Book, 2016Wellington, New Zealand : Awa Press, 2016. — 364.162 JAC
  • The Woman Who Stole Vermeer

    the True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist

    Amore, Anthony M.
    Women can do anything! In this case illustrated by the life of the wealthy and rebellious Rose Dugdale. She became the only woman so far to mastermind a major art heist, with a haul including Gainsborough, Rubens and Vermeer. It was not her only…
    Book, 2020New York : Pegasus Crime, 2020. — 364.162 DUG
  • Treasure Palaces

    Great Writers Visit Great Museums

    Articulated by award winning authors, poets, editors and journalists join them as they take us on a joyous odyssey; revealing hidden treasures and unravelling what speaks to us and how we relate to and are inspired by great museums.
    Book, 2016New York : Public Affairs, 2016. — 701.18 TRE
  • Plundering Beauty

    a History of Art Crime During War

    Tompkins, Arthur
    A leading authority on art crime New Zealander Arthur Tompkin's narrative takes us through key moments in history disclosing with poignancy what each loss has meant to the world.
    Book, 2018London : Lund Humphries, 2018. — 364.162 TOM
  • The Art of Rivalry

    Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art

    Smee, Sebastian
    Art critic and Pulitzer Prize winner Sebastian Smee examines how the connection between artists affect the trajectory of their art. Revealing their relationships with their lovers and with each other, the intimacy and competition which builds…
    Book, 2016New York : Random House, [2016] — 700.92 SME