One of the Best Popular Science Books of 2025 atNew Scientist
From a leading writer of the sea, an exquisitely illustrated deep dive into the beauty and meaning of art inspired by the life of the watery depths. Artists have captured the marvels of ocean life throughout history. From fine art to scientific illustrations, these portrayals help us to appreciate and interpret the diversity of shapes, colors, and patterns of the remarkable organisms that inhabit the oceans of the world. In
Ocean Art, marine biologist and writer Helen Scales takes readers on a tour of ocean art, looking for the most striking and meaningful depictions of sea creatures, from ancient times to modern and from the coast to the deepest abyss, reflecting on how these works influence our view of life beneath the waves. This richly illustrated celebration of the beauty and wonders of ocean life is also a call to cherish and protect the endangered living seas.
Helen Scalesis a marine biologist, acclaimed author, and broadcaster who teaches at the University of Cambridge. Her books include
What the Wild Sea Can Be.
Introduction
1 Coasts and Beaches
2 Shallows
3 Open Seas
4 The Abyss
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
"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. At school, the book’s author, marine biologist Scales, was asked to choose between following an artistic life and a scientific one. Here she indulges both, aiming to select works that 'celebrate the diversity of life in the sea,' and to show how artists and scientists working together have played an important part in describing and recording the biodiversity of our oceans. Drawings still play a key role, as Scales ló)
![Ocean Art: From the Shore to the Deep [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/3/5/0/2_6933952.jpg "Ocean Art: From the Shore to the Deep [Hardcover]")