John McPhee. The Ransom of Russian Art. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.

This intriguing little paperback tells the remarkable story of Norton T. Dodge, the American economics professor who smuggled paintings by ‘nonconformist’ artists out of the Soviet Union in the 1960s and ’70s. Written in a colloquial style by acclaimed journalist, John McPhee, the book includes colour reproductions of key artworks to give a brief but fascinating insight into their journey, from artists studios hidden in the depths of Russia to the walls of the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick.

On sale from Macmillan Publishers.

Image: Oleg Tselkov, Golgotha, 1977. Courtesy Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University