PICTURE THIS  | Daily Mail Online

Portraits Unmasked

by Francesca Bonazzoli and Michele Robecchi (Prestel £24.99)

The lives of famous artists are well documented, from Diego Velazquez to Frida Kahlo, but what about the people who sat for their paintings? 

This insightful book seeks to unmask some of the most famous faces in art — who were these people and why were they immortalised on canvas? 

The models for Grant Wood’s American Gothic (pictured), for example, were his sister Nan and his friend, the dentist Dr McKeeby. 

Wood made his 30-year-old sister look much older and gave her a face which some critics said ‘would turn milk sour’. Yikes! I bet that made for some awkward family dinners.