Book Review
How White Elites Drained Ancient Art of Its Color
The publication of “Chroma” represents an important shift by museums toward recognizing polychromy and its entanglement with white supremacy.
Books
Books
8 Art Books to Read This February
The trailblazing sculptural practice of Edmonia Lewis, the birth of modernism in Montmartre, the luminous paintings of Kaylene Whiskey, and Gainsborough’s alluring fashion portraits are among our favorite reads this month.
Book Review
Where Would Contemporary Art Be Without Plastic?
A new anthology on plastics in art reveals the philosophical conundrums and contradictions at the heart of a material the world relies on.
Book Review
Claude Cahun’s Survival Guide for the Ages
A new translation of the French artist’s 1930 memoir is a kaleidoscopic collection of dialogues, sketches, and Blakean proverbs.
Book Review
Michelangelo and Titian’s Rivalry That May Never Have Been
William E. Wallace openly uses what he calls “informed imagination” to explore the relationship between the two masters in his new study.
Guide
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.
Feature
The Internet According to Sex Workers and Cyberfeminists
Mindy Seu’s "A Sexual History of the Internet" is part performance, part artist book, and part financial experiment.
Book Review
Coreen Simpson’s Timeless Ode to Black Beauty
Her photography captures both celebrities and everyday people with such intimacy that they might call to mind your neighbors and friends.
Best of 2025
Our Favorite Art Books of 2025
This year, we read too many incredible books to count — here are a few that stuck with us, including tomes on Marsha P. Johnson, Mary Cassatt in Paris, and Ruth Asawa and mothering.
Book Review
The Rembrandt Thief Who Came Out On Top
Myles Connor is one of the very few people alive to have come out ahead after lifting an artwork from the wall of a museum, as Anthony M. Amore explores in his new book.
Books Newsletter
Louise Bourgeois’s Newest Biography
The countdown to 2026 — and the deluge of end-of-year lists — has begun in earnest, but we're not quite done with 2025 yet. This week, our reviewers tackled two colossal subjects: monuments and the late great Louise Bourgeois. Monumental by Cat Dawson invites us to contemplate a world of
Book Review
Louise Bourgeois’s Life Was as Monumental as Her Art
Writing one of the first comprehensive biographies of a major artist could prove daunting, but taking on Bourgeois's long life in art might be called heroic.