When starting my research on contemporary drawing for Drawing & Notes in 2008, a couple of books were (and are still) of much use. All these books were beautiful sources of inspiration and will be a good start to discover the varied world of contemporary drawing. Beneath you will find a couple of my favorites, but a more complete list (updated regularly) can be found on my list Books on Contemporary Drawing.
__________________________________________________________________________
Compass in Hand. Selections From The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection
(The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2009). This book was published to accompany a major 2009 exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art of the Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection.
Vitamin D
(Phaidon, 2007) Probably the most influential and inspiring compendium of contemporary drawing. It shows the work of 109 artists, using a wide variety of styles, from representational to abstract. Along with the descriptions by the curators who picked the artists for the book, it was a very rich well for this weblog.
Vitamin D2: New Perspectives in Drawing
(Phaidon, 2013)
(Katherine Stout, 2015)
(Laura Hoptman, Museum of Modern Art, 2002)
Walk the Line: The Art of Drawing
(Ana Ibarra and Marc Valli, 2013)
(Ana Ibarra and Marc Valli, 2013)
Drawing from The Modern, Volume I: 1880-1940
Drawing from The Modern, Volume 2: 1945-1975
Marcel Dzama: Sower of Discord (2013) is a beautiful monograph about Marcel Dzama's work. Lavishly illustrated and with a foreword by Raymond Pettibon, three original short stories inspired by Dzama’s work by Dave Eggers, an essay by the art historian Bradley Bailey, and an interview with Dzama by the filmmaker Spike Jonze. [Even more books here]
Nedko Solakov: 99 Fears
Cy Twombly: Fifty Years of Works on Paper
Walk the Line: The Art of Drawing
(Ana Ibarra and Marc Valli, 2013)
(Roger Malbert, Thames & Hudson, 2015)
(Dumont, 2010)
› This survey examines the state of drawing in Germany through the lens of 19 artists working in the medium, among them Irena Baschlakow, Marc Brandenburg, Monika Brandmeier, Fernando Bryce, Marcel van Eeden, Pia Linz, Theresa Lükenwerk, Nanne Meyer, Christian Pilz, Alexander Roob, Malte Spoor, German Stegmaier, Markus Vater, Joined Voigt and Ralf Ziervogel.
Drawing Book: A Survey of Drawing : The Primary Means of Expression
Edited by Tania Kovats (Black Dog Publishing, 2007)
Drawing Futures: Speculations in ContemporaryDrawing for Art and Architecture
(Edited by Laura Allen and Luke Caspar Pearson, 2016)
On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century
(The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010)
› This survey examines the state of drawing in Germany through the lens of 19 artists working in the medium, among them Irena Baschlakow, Marc Brandenburg, Monika Brandmeier, Fernando Bryce, Marcel van Eeden, Pia Linz, Theresa Lükenwerk, Nanne Meyer, Christian Pilz, Alexander Roob, Malte Spoor, German Stegmaier, Markus Vater, Joined Voigt and Ralf Ziervogel.
Drawing Book: A Survey of Drawing : The Primary Means of Expression
Edited by Tania Kovats (Black Dog Publishing, 2007)
Drawing Futures: Speculations in ContemporaryDrawing for Art and Architecture
(Edited by Laura Allen and Luke Caspar Pearson, 2016)
On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century
(The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2010)