Loved this. Well written and researched. There were a lot of artists here that I already knew of, but a lot that I did not. Very informative and great for a variety of ages and lends itself to opening up to further research on the artists, which is great wheb you are homeschooling kids. Honestly could not put it down.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

An interesting survey of mini-bios of artists classic and contemporary, famous and obscure, with mini-bios and discussions of their artistic significance. One of the most interesting aspects of this book were the portraits of each artist composed (somewhat) in their distinct own style. The grouping of artist by general theme worked less well, but I really enjoyed learning about some artists that I'd never heard of before. And I was reminded of how much I like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and have been getting back into the work of each of these classic 80s artists.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed reading this book. The book has short biographies of artists who sadly died too young. There are many familiar artists included but I really enjoyed discovering lesser known artists. The author does a wonderful job rediscovering them, including why they have been forgotten and why they should be better known. The book is well written and illustrations accompany the text. This book will make a wonderful gift for any art lover. Enjoy

A beautiful and well-detailed compilation of 30 artists that lived beyond their age through their art despite having a relatively small window to showcase their mastery.
Further the artists are categorized to make them even more interesting.
I liked how the portrait of the artist was attached with the description but I absolutely loved the attached artwork that presented a better chance at grasping their mastery and getting a sense of them.
If you're new to the art world or in awe of it already, don't miss this phenomenonal book.

Bright stars is a biographical collection of artists who died tragically and before their oevres were fully realised. Kate Bryan takes the question of what the world loses when an artist dies too young and utilises it to explore a large variety of artists of different time periods, genders, sexualities and social classes, often shedding light upon less well known artists to the general public.

I enjoyed this book immensely and though Bryan did a great job of picking the right amount of well known and lesser know artists from both classical and modern art. It was fascinating to get a glimpse into their lives and particularly how they died. I was surprised to read about how many of them died from AIDS, Tuberculosis or mental illness. What was prevalent with all the artists is it seems they truly knew what art was, which is something I believe many people find difficult to grasp. They created what they decided art was and constantly broke and reformed the boundaries and it does leave us to wonder what art would be like today if they had a greater hand in it.

This book was put together beautifully and I loved the illustrations of each artists. I only wish there was more of it on the remaining pages and more images of the artists' works, although I acknowledge this is probably not under the control of the author. I will definitely be researching these artists and their art more.

Great art lives on.
Each masterpiece is telling a story, revealing a cherished moment or representing what lies in the heart, soul and mind of the artist. Activism, homelessness, mental illness for example, fueled the fires behind each stroke.
Kate Bryan’s ‘Bright Stars’ is a work of art. The short-lived lives of the thirty artists examined are spellbinding. Bryan does not glorify the artists but provides an honest portrait of each. The struggles, the determination and the passion they had for their art tugged at my heart string’s. The watercolor sketches created an additional beauty to each artists portrait such as Basquiat, Modigliani, Beardsley, Harding, Boty, to name a few.
The paths they walked and the beauty they created live on and Kate Bryan’s book is a highly recommended testament.

This is a fun coffee table book. I enjoyed the illustrations and the entertaining information. Any art lover would devour this ins no time, and it would make an excellent conversation piece.

Bright Stars is art historian Kate Bryan’s engaging and informative new book about thirty artists who sadly died young. Some of her choices are very well known, Van Gogh, Raphael, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Schiele, Beardsley, Mapplethorpe, Haring and Basquiat among them and much has been written about each. You might think then that this is a book for the general reader, but Bryan's real strength is in passionately championing the lesser-known artists featured.

I was initially drawn to Bright Stars because of three names on the list of artists: Pauline Boty who I looked up after reading Ali Smith's Seasons quartet, Gordon Matta-Clark and Helen Chadwick whose work I’d seen decades ago at The Serpentine Gallery. Some, like Gerda Taro, Ana Mendieta and Amrita Sher-Gill I had some idea about but others including Robert Smithson, Paula Modersohn-Becker and Noah Davis were not familiar. Reading about them and their work was quite inspirational and so was learning more about Khadija Saye who sadly died in the Grenfell Tower fire, only a month after her work was featured at the Venice Biennale. Illustrations accompany each entry along with a signature artwork and while I liked the illustrations, I wished for more artwork.

Bryan is really good with promoting diversity and inclusivity in the arts. She has included many female, LGBTQI+ and minority artists but her scope is too narrow. Apart from Amrita Sher-Gill, the focus is only on artists who worked in Western Europe and the US. I thought about this omission after finishing the book, surely there were great artists elsewhere who died young and deserve wider attention? Didn’t some Russian constructivists die young? So I did some research (not an art historian) and found two, Lyubov Popova (quite well known) and Olga Rozanova as well as (among others) Japanese artist Hishida Shunso, Korean artist Lee Jeung Seob, Marie Bishkirtseff from Ukraine and Lithuanian Mikolajos Konstantinas Čiurlionis. Their work looked interesting and worth finding out more about. And perhaps that’s the best compliment I can give Kate Bryan’s book, despite its limitations, it inspired me to learn about and see more art.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Bright Stars.

Like the artists' paintings, to me Bright Stars is a work of art. A masterpiece. I just discovered many other artists who died young with their genius in mind. My heart rips for artists like Keith Haring, Jean Basquait, Dash Snow, Vincent Van Gogh and Francesca Woodman.

Artists like Keith Haring and Jean Basquait should have been highly appreciated because their art/paintings have brought them into being activists where they were not appreciated in their times. Jean Basquait from being homeless, teenage runaway and made ends meet by creating art, to Keith Haring who was diagnosed with AIDS , who with art , brought social activism in drugs, South African apartheid, nuclear disarmament and gay rights.

Overall, this book was well published and briefly detailed so the readers would not get bored. I would highly recommend this book for individuals who does or does not appreciates art.