The Last Castle

By Denise Kiernan

The Last Castle

Edith Vanderbilt shines in this history of North Carolina’s famed Biltmore Estate.

Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World

Creative genius aside, the famed artist was hardly a good guy.

Hidden Tapestry: Jan Yoors, His Two Wives, and the War That Made Them One

A novelist teases out the truth about the elusive artist’s life.

The Sagrada Família: The Astonishing Story of Gaudí’s Unfinished Masterpiece

A fascinating depiction of an architect and his struggle to create a singular basilica.

By Nicholas Fox Weber

Freud’s Trip to Orvieto

An art historian interprets the father of psychoanalysis via a cycle of sexually charged paintings.

The Icon Hunter: A Refugee’s Quest to Reclaim Her Nation’s Stolen Heritage

A fascinating account of a Greek Cypriot woman's journey to return pillaged, priceless objects.

The Glamour of Strangeness: Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic

Recalling a time when creative types could lose themselves — and find inspiration — in the utterly foreign.

The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry

A unique look at one of the National Mall's iconic structures.