Book Review
For Sophie Lewis, Femininity Is Not the Enemy of Feminism
In “Femmephilia,” the author reclaims femininity, sexual pleasure, and adornment from patriarchal narratives in art and theorizes their liberatory powers.
Books
Guide
15 Art Books for Your Fall Reading List
Guadalupe Rosales’s memoir, Christine Sun Kim’s artist book, Fady Joudah’s ode to the people of Gaza, and Elizabeth Alexander’s essay collection are among our most anticipated titles.
Book Review
In “Whistler,” Ann Patchett Tackles Loss and Art
The beloved author’s new novel tells a story of familial loss and reconnection, beginning with a chance encounter at The Met. But why does it seem to imply that grief and art are at odds?
Book Review
Jennifer Higgie’s Empathetic Elegy for Richard Dadd
In “Bedlam,” the author and art critic does not describe the English painter’s often-sensationalized mental deterioration. Instead, she writes the novel in his voice.
Books
Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press Gets an Exhibition of Its Own
They were both writers, and amongst the remarkable fruits of their union was a decision to open a small press, which in time grew into something far from small.
Book Review
Can We Stop Calling South Asian Painting "Miniature"?
A book on 18th-century Pahari painting warns against thinking of these works as “miniatures,” a Western term, instead illuminating the artistic collaboration and ways of life at their heart.
Book Review
Maria Martins Was More Than Just Duchamp’s Lover
A new book by leading Duchamp scholar Francis M. Naumann chronicles the artist’s affair with the Brazilian sculptor, but frequently reduces her influence and career to sexual allure.
Book Review
Haroutiun Galentz’s True Colors
A new book traces the function of color as both a mask and a mirror in psychological portraits by the modernist painter, who lost his parents during the Armenian Genocide.
Book Review
Why Won’t Britain Return Looted Gold to Ghana?
In “The African Kingdom of Gold,” Barnaby Phillips explores how British colonial forces plundered the Asante people and expertly traces the stolen artifacts’ afterlives in museum storage.
Books
10 Photo Books to Read This Month
Hal Fischer’s archive of queer fashion, Sophie Rivera’s portraits of Nuyorican communities, Rania Matar’s love letter to Lebanon, and more new titles to check out from photo book publishers.
Book Review
The Fruitless Search for Vermeer’s Personal God
A recent biography spends too much time speculating about the Dutch artist’s religious beliefs and not enough exploring other mysteries, including his possible use of a camera obscura.
Opinion
AI Companies Are Pulping Our Humanity
The recent revelation about Anthropic’s systematic digitization and destruction of out-of-print books portends a rapacious future, one where soulless LLMs swell while the shelves starve.