One of New Scientist’s Best Popular Science Books of 2025 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, colours 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.

"In this brilliantly fun and expertly written book, 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"

Helen Scales is a marine biologist, acclaimed author and broadcaster who teaches at the University of Cambridge. Her books include What the Wild Sea Can Be (2024), which was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.