Ocean Art

This book offers a fascinating opportunity to see art and science reflect off each other in a richly illustrated tour of artwork about the ocean, starting at its coastlines and ending at its abysses. -- Liz Else * New Scientist: Best Popular Science Books of 2025 *
In this brilliantly fun and expertly written book, Helen Scales tells crucial human stories about the development of our relationship with the ocean. She takes us on a tour through some of the most compelling, rare, and diverse works of art that have been inspired by sea life, from ancient artifacts and found fossils to modern paintings and scientific illustrations. Marine biologists: this is the ideal book for your artsy side! Artists and historians: you'll find no more appealing way to learn more about all that grows, crawls, slithers, and swims in the ocean! * Richard J. King, Visiting Associate Professor of Maritime History and Literature, Sea Education Association, and author of Ocean Bestiary and Sailing Alone *
In her latest book, Helen Scales intricately intertwines the wonders of marine life with the power of art. Her expert knowledge and vivid storytelling masterfully weave together the beauty of the ocean and the creativity it inspires, making this an essential read for anyone passionate about art, nature, and the mysteries of the sea. * Miranda Krestovnikoff, broadcaster, diver and author of The Sea: Exploring Our Blue Planet *
The oceanic world Helen Scales has meticulously summoned in this exquisite book holds an extraordinary variety of species. Scales asks that we not only see this realm, but also listen to it, attuning ourselves to the memory of sound in water. For her, observation does not end on the page; rather, it evokes our capacity to enter salt water, that “skin we are not in” which covers seven-tenths of the planet. * Ellen Gallagher *
For lovers of the sea and of art, this book is a dream come true: a round-the-world, through-the-ages gallery tour in the company of one of the world's top experts on the lives of ocean creatures. Writing with both authority and affection, Helen Scales makes canvasses, cave art and sculpture literally come to life as she imbues the images with the animals' natural history – and the artists' viewpoints as well. This is a book to be savored and celebrated! * Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus *
Ocean Art celebrates humans’ enduring obsession with creatures that live beneath the waves . . . Helen Scales’ latest booktakes us on a journey through vast underwater landscapes and their inhabitants via 140 photographs and illustrations – ranging from fine ceramic art to scientific drawings. The art is as diverse as the ocean life it represents. And Scales tells us as much about the artists as the sea life in a fusion of marine biology and art history. -- Matthew Sparkes * New Scientist *
The book explores the ways in which artists and craftspeople have reproduced and represented what dwells beneath the waves. This meticulously researched, delightful narrative essentially amounts to a visual journey through the ocean. -- Jules Stewart * Geographical *