Gauguin and Polynesia, Nicholas Thomas, Head of Zeus, 464pp, £40 (hb)
The 19th-century French painter Paul Gauguin, known for entering into sexual relationships with Tahitian teenage girls, is a delicate subject for a book today. Nicholas Thomas, the director of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, gives another take on the artist. Thomas’s account is a “reassessment of one of the most controversial Post-Impressionist artists, exploring his work in the context of the Polynesian islands where much of it was created”, says a publisher’s statement, outlining that the author’s aim is to give “Pacific perspectives” on Gauguin’s life and legacy.
Artists’ Things: Rediscovering Lost Property from Eighteenth-Century France, Katie Scott and Hannah Williams, Getty Publications, 374pp, £50 (pb)
Authors Katie Scott and Hannah Williams bring to light a new aspect of artists’ lives, illuminating their lives and art through their personal possessions. The themes of production, consumption, and sociability are explored via, for instance, Jean-Siméon Chardin’s cistern, featured in his 1733 painting ,Copper Drinking Fountain and Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s colour box. “From the curious to the mundane, from the useful to the symbolic, these items have one thing in common: they have all been eclipsed from historical view,” says a publisher’s statement.
Mamma Andersson: Sleepless, Karl Ove Knausgaard (contributor), David Zwirner books, 72pp, £38 (hb)
The Swedish painter Mamma Andersson looks to a wide range of sources for her practice, from art history to filmic imagery and theatre sets as well as the stark topography of northern Sweden. This collection examines how Andersson represents masks, statues, and figurines.“While recalling classical genres of still life, landscape, and interiors, this body of work, painted in 2021 and 2022, blends our sense of the past, present, and future,” says a publisher’s statement. A text by the celebrated Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard “considers the history and evolution of the human desire to depict our surroundings” via Andersson’s art.
Now You See Me! An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design, Charlene Prempeh, Prestel, 200pp, £24.99 (hb, published US)
Author Charlene Prempeh’s exploration of pioneers of Black design was prompted by her discovery of Ann Lowe, a Black clothing designer who created Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress. “Embarking on a journey to bring context, perspective, and visibility to Lowe’s experiences, Prempeh developed this book with the catalysing prompt: If we don’t know about Ann Lowe, then what else don’t we know about?” says a publisher’s statement. Organised into sections on fashion, architecture and graphic design, the publication features figures such as the UK artist Samuel Ross and the designer Emmett McBain who created the Black Marlboro Man.
How to Collect Art by Magnus Resch, with an introduction by Pamela J. Joyner
Published by Phaidon
How to Collect Art, Magnus Resch, Phaidon, 232pp, £24.95 (hb)
Entrepreneur Magnus Resch doles out advice in this handy volume described as “the definitive guide to the art market and collecting in the twenty-first century”. Chapters cover topics such as “Navigating the art market—data, players, power structures” and “Auction Houses—getting the best deals without overpaying”. Collector Pamela Joyner discusser her collecting experiences in the introduction, saying: “One of Magnus’s key ideas is the notion of ‘responsible buying’: rather than investing in art to maximise your return, you are supporting artists and their community. I subscribe to this idea.”