The relationship between art and science is fascinating and evolving, and no one knows that better than the Smithsonian Institution. Here is some of their recommended reading for people who love art, science, and the intersection between them.
Overview: A New Perspective of Earth, by Benjamin Grant
This is an impactful collection of satellite photos of the Earth, with an emphasis on how human hands have changed the face of the planet. Astronauts have talked about the “Overview Effect,” and this book attempts to recreate that for non-NASA readers.
The Secret Lives of Colour, by Kassia St Clair
This book incorporates not only art and science, but history, sociology, and etymology as well! It’s one of USA Today’s “100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis,” and it contains anecdotes about how certain colors earned their popular names. The book itself is beautiful, since all the pages are bordered with their very own colors.
Evolution: A Visual Record, by Robert Clark
The stunning photographs in this volume are accompanied by short science lessons about each subject, and they include extinct mammal skeletons, lizards, birds, and insects. It clearly documents evolutionary changes and it is a delight to hold and read.
Plant: Exploring the Botanical World, edited by Phaidon
What Evolution is to the animal world, Plant is to the plant world. This book contains botanical art from classic prints to X-ray photographs. The prints are not arranged chronologically, which makes it easy to group them and observe how connections to the natural world have remained constant over the centuries. It’s striking, surprising, and absolutely delightful.