Artists' Modernist Houses, Harriet Thorpe's book on 50 artists' homes

Where do artists actually live? Harriet Thorpe, a Wallpaper* contributor and former staffer, answers with Artists' Modernist Houses, a new book from Batsford gathering 50 homes built between the middle and the end of the 20th century. Some were commissioned by artists, some co-designed by them, and a few saw the artist take on the architect's role outright.

The range is generous: André Wogenscky and Marta Pan's house outside Paris, Barbara Hepworth's studio, Georgia O'Keeffe's ranch in New Mexico, the Bauhaus Masters' Houses in Germany, and Juan O'Gorman's studio and houses for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City. Further afield are Arthur Erickson's home for Frank Perry in Vancouver and a black timber house in Norway. New and archival photography sits alongside essays on art in the home, how architecture talks to art, and house museums.

Thorpe says she has always loved artists' house museums, where notebooks, sketches and daily views let you understand someone more deeply. She admits a growing nostalgia for a slower, well-made way of living, tempered by the struggles women and people of colour faced in that century.

At £30, it suits anyone who plans trips around a painter's front door, and doubles as a list of house museums worth the detour.

Our summary of a story from Wallpaper*, published 30 October 2026. Read the original

Photos: Wallpaper* · See all 8