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Reading lists

Vintage new writers to discover in 2023

Patrick Bringley

Who would have thought that the outstanding art book of the year would be written not by a curator or an art historian or even an artist &ndash; but by a museum guard?

Greek vases, an Iroquois turtle rattle, Picassos. His every word about them is illuminating. The big picture is art&rsquo;s power to console and unite

Hauntingly beautiful ... elegant ... a work of art as luminous as the old masters' paintings that comforted [Bringley] in his grief

Bringley is a marvellous guide ... All the Beauty in the World succeeds joyously

Told with real literary gusto and an impressive command of pace and shape. After finishing this book, plenty of sensitive readers will be desperate to become museum guards

An uplifting memoir that recalls his time behind the scenes there with colour, pathos and flair

I loved Bringley&rsquo;s book. It taught me how to get more out of museums, how to pay attention, and how to think differently about time

This absorbing memoir is also a beautifully written manual on how to appreciate art, and life. It's a must read for art lovers

Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Wonderful. If you have ever been to a museum and stood motionless before an exhibit, if you've ever looked at a painting and found yourself crying, if you have ever wondered how a sculptor could find a human body inside a block of stone, this book is for you

Natalie Haynes, author of A Thousand Ships

This book makes me yearn to have Patrick Bringley at my side in every museum I will visit for the rest of my life. Having a copy of All the Beauty in the World in my purse will be the next best thing

An astounding book about an astounding place

An intimate perspective on one of the world's greatest institutions. But All the Beauty in the World is about much more: the strange human impulse to make art, the mystery of experiencing art, and what role art can play in our lives. What a gift

Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind

This book will change your experience of museums, connecting you with the stories of those who make them possible and revealing the layers of wonder that gather in the quiet halls where art meets modern life. Bringley's keen, warm-hearted dispatches remind us - as art itself should - of our common humanity

Mark Vanhoenacker, author of Imagine a City

Perhaps most importantly, though, All the Beauty in the World is a story about grief and about beauty, and about how inextricably the two are linked

Nails the very particular thing of spending your days in galleries, and how close you grow to the works and the people that come to see them

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, Elle Decoration

Illuminating and transformative

A profound homage to the marvels of a world-class museum and a radiant chronicle of grief, perception, and a renewed embrace of life

Prepare to be wooed by this memoir, which doubles as a loving memoir of the Met from one of its most inside insiders: Patrick Bringliey, who worked at the museum as a guard for a decade.

A beautiful tale about beauty. It is also a tale about grief, balancing solitude and comradeship, and finding joy in both the exalted and the mundane

Bringley's memoir abounds with small details ... but it also has grander subjects to address - namely, solitude, the staying power of art, and grief. ... In the end, All the Beauty in the World is an empathetic chronicle of one museum, the works collected there and the people who keep it running - all recounted by an especially patient observer

Simply wonderful. This funny, moving, beautifully written book takes the reader on a journey that unfolds as epiphanies. It is a testament to the capacity of art to illuminate life

Keith Christiansen, Curator Emeritus, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Few know the secrets of the Metropolitan Museum of Art like the guards who roam its two million square feet treasure, keeping an eye on its treasures. For a decade, Patrick Bringley was one of them, and in this moving memoir, he recounts bonding with his colleagues and marveling at the beautiful works of art he is entrusted to protect

A unique workplace memoir that tells the tale of the museum and the people who keep it running

As rich in moving insights as the Met is in treasures, All the Beauty in the World reminds us of the importance of learning not about art, but from it. This is art appreciation at a profound level

An empathetic chronicle of one museum, the works collected there and the people who keep it running - all recounted by an especially patient observer

A profound homage to the marvels of a world-class museum and a radiant chronicle of grief, perception, and a renewed embrace of life

A Museum Guard’s Adventures in Life, Loss and Art

** THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES ART BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ** 
 
A revelatory portrait of a great museum and the moving story of one guard's quest to find solace and meaning in art 
 
'Who would have thought that the outstanding art book of you would have been written not by a curator or an art historian or even an artist - but by a museum guard?' Sunday Times 
 
When Patrick’s older brother dies at twenty-six, all he wants is to retreat. So, he does. He quits his job and seeks refuge in the most beautiful place he can think of: New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 
All the Beauty in the World recounts Patrick’s time as a museum guard, keeping quiet vigil over some of our greatest treasures and uncovering the Met’s innermost secrets. As his connection to the art and the life that swirls around it grows, so does Patrick – and gradually he emerges transformed by heartbreak, community and the power of art to illuminate life in all its pain, pleasure and hope. 
 
'As luminous as the old masters paintings' Daily Mail 
'Consoling and beautiful' Guardian 
'Marvellous' Daily Telegraph 
'A beautiful tale about beauty. It is also a tale about grief, balancing solitude and comradeship, and finding joy in both the exalted and the mundane' Washington Post 
 
*New York Times bestseller, Nov 24

Patrick Bringley

Praise for All the Beauty in the World

Who would have thought that the outstanding art book of the year would be written not by a curator or an art historian or even an artist – but by a museum guard?

Greek vases, an Iroquois turtle rattle, Picassos. His every word about them is illuminating. The big picture is art’s power to console and unite

Consoling and beautiful

Who would have thought that the outstanding art book of the year would be written not by a curator or an art historian or even an artist – but by a museum guard?

Greek vases, an Iroquois turtle rattle, Picassos. His every word about them is illuminating. The big picture is art’s power to console and unite

Consoling and beautiful

Who would have thought that the outstanding art book of the year would be written not by a curator or an art historian or even an artist – but by a museum guard?

Greek vases, an Iroquois turtle rattle, Picassos. His every word about them is illuminating. The big picture is art’s power to console and unite

Consoling and beautiful

Articles featuring Patrick Bringley

Vintage new writers to discover in 2023

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