Louise Bourgeois’s Overdue 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 subversive monuments — or one that does away with them altogether. Our reviewer Nanase Shirokawa relished the contemporary works in its pages, like Kara Walker's 2014 sugar sculpture, but craved a deeper exploration of the funding systems behind them. She asks: "What stakes are at play if the most common staging grounds for these new monuments are the rarified atriums and rooftops of art museums?"
It's hard to believe that Knife-Woman: The Life of Louise Bourgeois by Marie-Laure Bernadac, translated by Lauren Elkin, is the first comprehensive biography of the artist. Critic Bridget Quinn assesses the strengths and shortcomings of this overdue "gigantic tapestry" of a book, in the words of its author, including the simultaneous feminist use of first names and questionable inclusion of sexist terms. (Are we really calling women "hysteric" in 2025?)
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From timeless monographs and special editions to colorful children’s books and artist journals, there’s something for everyone on your list. Enjoy 25% off during our holiday sale and discover thoughtful, beautifully made books for readers and art lovers alike.
ICYMI
Catch up on our gift guide to books for every artsy person in your life:
15 Art Books to Gift This Holiday Season
A Ruth Asawa catalog for the disenchanted, artsy almanac for the planners, Prospect Park photo book for the New Yorkers, Vermeer tome for the Golden Age fans, and much more.
Reading Slump Remedies
Struggling to find your next art read? Revisit these excellent book reviews from our archives for inspiration:
Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art by Lauren Elkin (2023). After novelist Jenny Offill coined the term "art monster" in 2014, it felt like every art publisher was releasing an essay collection about monstrosity and women artists. But Elkin, who translated the new Louise Bourgeois biography, cut through the noise.
The Van Gogh Sisters by Willem-Jan Verlinden (2021). For better or for worse, many of us cannot get enough of van Gogh biographies. Art historian Willem-Jan Verlinden broke the mold by turning to an overlooked element of the artist's endlessly fascinating familial dynamics: his three sisters.
Lorraine O’Grady Writing in Space 1973–2019, edited and with an introduction by Aruna D’Souza (2020). Beloved conceptual artist Lorraine O'Grady, who died almost exactly one year ago at age 90, immortalized her own relationship to the written word in this gem of a volume.
Read Alexandra M. Thomas’s review.
Upcoming Book Events
Art book launches and talks over the next two weeks, both in and outside of New York — email us with suggestions for events happening in your community!
- The Once and Future Riot author Joe Sacco in conversation with Kate Kelp-Stebbins at Powell's City of Books, Portland, Oregon (Tues Dec 2, 7pm)
- Rizzoli Bookstore Holiday Fair, Flatiron, Manhattan (Weds Dec 3, 6pm–8pm)
- Zomia Garden by Yutong Lin and Ann Chen book launch at Bungee Space, Lower East Side, Manhattan (Thurs Dec 4, 7pm)
- A Suspension of Outcomes: FLOATER book launch at Printed Matter, Chelsea, Manhattan (Tues Dec 9, 6pm–8pm)
- Alphabet In Motion by Kelli Anderson book launch at Festival Center, Washington, DC (Tues Dec 9, 7pm–8pm)
- Palestinian & American Comic Book Artists panel at Interference Archive, Park Slope, Brooklyn (Sat Dec 13, 1pm)
- Prospect Park author Jamel Shabaaz in conversation with Noelle Théard at Powerhouse on 8th, Park Slope, Brooklyn (Sat Dec 13, 5pm–7pm)
- Press Play fair at Pioneer Works, Red Hook, Brooklyn (I went to this last year and was thoroughly charmed) (Sat Dec 13–Sun Dec 14)
- Search & Destroy zine archive launch at City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco, California (Tues Dec 16, 7pm)
Other Books I'm Reading This Week
(Not that anyone asked!)
Katabasis (2025) by R. F. Kuang. A solid three stars so far, but definitely geared toward fans of Dante and dark academia. Current or prospective grad students, read at your own risk.
Authority (2025) by Andrea Long Chu. A few months late to this collection of essays by one of the most divisive critics in the game. I've loved and hated some of her pieces in the past, so I'm expecting a mixed bag.
Thank you, dear reader, for making it to the end! As always, let me know what you're reading this week, and keep an eye out for more reviews and our picks for the best art books of the year soon.
— Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor
