The Best Art and Coffee Table Books of 2019

What are the best coffee table books of the year in fashion, art, photography, food and culture? Our correspondent Julie Chang Murphy has curated a list of the best art and coffee table books of 2019.

what are the best art and coffee table books of the year?

Coffee table books are one of our favorite micro-luxuries here at Dandelion Chandelier. What other item in your home can so easily serve as a decorative object and conversation starter? Not to mention, as a perennial source of reading material and visual inspiration?

We love rotating those gorgeous tomes on our coffee and side tables depending on the season– just like throw pillows.

There is no shortage of not only beautiful, but culturally significant, art books and coffee table books published this year.

From legendary street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham to the celebratory work of Kwame Brathwaite’s portrayal of African American beauty and style, to the highly anticipated visual biography, The Rihanna Book, you just might have to rearrange your living room to accommodate a larger coffee table for all of these gems.

The best art and coffee table books of 2019

Here are our top favorite art, fashion, design and museum coffee table books of 2019.

1. Bill Cunningham On the Street

Before Instagram influencers, there was the humble and incomparable, Bill Cunningham, in his classic royal blue jacket. It’s hard to believe but Bill Cunningham: On the Street: Five Decades of Iconic Photograph  ($54.73) is the first published collection of photographs by the icon of street style. The portfolio brings together his work published in The New York Times, including never-before-seen photos over five decades. This book is not only a record of style and fashion but of the people of New York City.

2. Blooms: Contemporary Floral Design

 Few things rival the delivery of a sumptuous floral arrangement or the visual and olfactory delight of an elaborate floral show. For flower power everyday, Blooms: Contemporary Floral Design ($33.46) from Phaidon showcases the art of modern floristry. The style and diversity from names like John Derian, Lewis Miller, Ariella Chezar, Emily Thompson and Eric Buterbaugh, alongside other designers from all over the world: Melbourne, São Paulo, and Bangkok, make this volume fresh and exciting.

3. Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women

 Featuring more than 200 buildings, and spanning the last 100 years, Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women by Jane Hall ($31.16) is a glorious visual manifesto of extraordinary architecture. It features the work of Julia Morgan, Eileen Gray, Lina Bo Bardi, Kazuyo Sejima and Zaha Hadid, amongst many other twentieth-century icons. Author Hall is an architect herself and she says that in selecting the buildings the book would feature, she was eager to showcase the wide spectrum of female architects all over the world and emphasize that each woman’s experience and how they want to frame their practice are different. “This book, then, does not support the idea of ‘women’ as an aesthetic category but rather presents an architectural history of buildings through a female lens,” Hall writes.

4. Tulum Gypset

Tulum has been one of the trendiest beach and party destinations for the past decade, which makes the backlash inevitable. But luxury book publisher, Maison Assouline’s 280-page book Tulum Gypset by Julia Chaplin ($94.80) showcases the eight-mile bohemian paradise in all its lush beauty, local flavor and natural wonders. No Instagram filters needed.

5. Piatti: Plates and Platters for Sharing

I’m sure there are beautiful food and recipe books for elaborate layered cakes, pastel ice creams and thick, hearty pastas, but if those were sitting on my coffee table- I’d be tempted to order in at all hours of the day. Piatti: Plates and Platters for Sharing, Inspired by Italy ($19.76) from Stacy Adimando,, the Executive Editor of SAVEUR magazine, is organized by season and features wholesome and colorful feasts like Baby Root Vegetable with Vinaigrette, White Clam Pizzas with Scallion and Bacon, and Baked Squash with Chile Oil and Crispy Seeds. The visually stunning photography inspires us to eat better and enjoy the social ritual of eating.

6. Golf: The Ultimate Book

This volume introduces the most exclusive, sophisticated, and spectacular golf resorts in the world. Whether against alpine mountain scenery or tropical sandy beaches, Golf: The Ultimate Book, ($41.49) published by teNeues, also comes with expert reviews on each course. Even non-golfers will appreciate this gorgeous landscapes and find themselves daydreaming about the far-flung locales.

7. Kwame Brathwaite: Black is Beautiful

In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Brooklyn born artist, Kwame Brathwaite, used his photography to popularize the political slogan “Black Is Beautiful.” This book offers a long overdue catalog of Brathwaite’s life and work, solidifying his contribution to the second Harlem Renaissance. Essays by Tanisha C. Ford and Deborah Willis, contribute to this groundbreaking book, Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful ($32) based on an exhibit of the same name, at LA’s Skirball Center earlier this year.

8. Space Utopia: A Journey Through the History of Space Exploration

 Space Utopia: A Journey Through the History of Space Exploration from the Apollo and Sputnik Programmes to the Next Mission to Mars ($64.36) features Vincent Fournier’s photographs which were a result of a collaboration with the world’s major space centers. His approach is an imaginative look at space exploration, merging fantasy and reality. This unparalleled and unique look at the history of space exploration- from the early Sputnik to the future Mission on Mars, is a treasure for all the wannabe astronauts, young and old.

9. Japanese Woodblock Prints (1680-19380

Japanese Woodblock Prints (1680-1938), ($200) by East Asian art historian, Andreas Marks, will be out later this month in November. This 622-page book lifts the veil on a much-loved and recognized but little-understood art form. From common themes of mystical and snowy mountains, samurais and bird and flower compositions to the horror-inducing demons, ghosts and otherworldly man-eaters, this collection reflects a unique genre in art history and features the work of 89 artists as well as 17 full detail fold-outs.

10. The Rihanna Book

 What is there to say about Rihanna that hasn’t already been said? Instead, let this visual biography of her childhood in Barbados to the worlds’ stages tell the story. The Rihanna Book ($119.99) which Rihanna describes as a “piece of art,” took over five years of planning and curating to create. With 1,050 color images and 11 special inserts from the iconic singer’s, designer’s and entrepreneur’s action-packed life.

There you have it! 10 gorgeous coffee table books for instant inspiration. Just try not to spill any actual coffee on them.

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Crediting her training as a cultural anthropologist at Wellesley College, Julie has immersed herself in various industries in the last 15 years including fashion design, event planning, fitness and even investigating police misconduct. Julie lives in NYC where she loves trying every ramen and dumpling restaurant with her husband and three children. She finds joy in bold prints, biographies of fierce women. Also kickboxing and spending way too long finding the perfect polish color to express her mood.

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