15 Art Books We're Excited to Read in 2026
Books about Marcel Duchamp, Frida Kahlo, Alma Thomas, and more, plus critical studies of lipstick and complaining, are on our radar.
It’s a new year and that means a new crop of art books awaits us. Whether you prefer criticism, catalogs, or conversations — or the rare art-themed novel that promises to deliver — we’ve got you covered. We're excited to alternate between a book on the activist art of complaining by Sarah Ahmed and a reissued monograph on iconic art activist Corita Kent. And we can't wait to read an engrossing critical take on those tubes of color by longtime Hyperallergic contributor Eileen G’Sell. Whatever else is in store for 2026, a year of good reading lies ahead. —Natalie Haddad, reviews editor
The Lost World: The Art of Minnie Evans, edited by Katherine Jentleson | Delmonico Books, January 6
The late Minnie Evans became one of the first Black artists to receive a solo show at the Whitney Museum in 1975, but The Lost World at the High Museum in Atlanta marks her first major exhibition in decades. If you can’t make it to the show, this catalog offers a luminous glimpse into the countless drawings Evans crafted by fusing her spiritual visions with quotidian experiences in the American South and inspiration drawn from lush Airlie Gardens, where she worked for over 25 years. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
Painters, Ports, and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750–1850, edited by Laurel O. Peterson and Holly Shaffer | Yale Center for British Art, January 6
The East India Company helped to formulate our modern conception of the corporation as a militarized looting machine par excellence. Functioning as a state within a state, its history offers some poignant reminders for our current moment, as tech giants and oligarchs increasingly wield the levers of government and act above the law. Most of the artists in this book weren't directly commissioned by the company but, as curator Holly Shaffer explains, "worked for Company-oriented markets, specific Company patrons, and other buyers." The results are paintings and drawings of plants, animals, landscapes, seascapes, modes of transportation, agriculture, and regional customs. Most are pleasant to look at, but speak primarily to the pedestrian tastes of the class that commissioned them. This publication makes me wonder if all the art being produced for the tech titans and their fellow billionaires nowadays isn't going to resemble this unadventurous pablum. —Hrag Vartanian
Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent, edited by Ian Berry and Michael Duncan | Delmonico Books, February 3
Famed for her pop colors and positive messages that adorn her art, Sister Corita Kent is deservedly celebrated as a joyful presence in art. However, her practice extended well beyond bold sloganeering, aesthetically or conceptually. Originally published in 2013 and newly reissued, Someday is Now guides readers through Kent’s visual innovation and political activism. Accompanying the rich illustrations are writings by the artist as well as interviews with past students and collaborators. As this survey makes clear, she remains iconic for good reason. —Natalie Haddad
Lipstick: Object Lessons by Eileen G’Sell | Bloomsbury Academic, February 5
An art critic’s take on a 5,000-year-old makeup tool? Sign me up. Only Eileen G’Sell, a longtime Hyperallergic contributor, could blend the past, present, and future of lipstick so seamlessly, not unlike a well-executed lip combo. As a Kulfie First Sari girlie myself, I can’t wait to dig into her interview-based study on the ways that people of all genders use lipstick in personal, subversive, and creative ways. —Lakshmi Rivera Amin
