Martin Gayford, $150
Painter Lucian Freud worked consistently from the 1930s until almost the day he died in 2011. As a result, his vast body of work requires a survey as highly detailed and comprehensive. Not only is this a complete compendium celebrating one of the most important painters of our time but it is also a beautiful addition to a coffee table or bookshelf.
Stephanie Emerson, George Byrne, Ian Volner, $80
A camera, in good light—and in the right hands—can turn simple forms into images that could be mistaken for paintings. George Byrne strips away the periphery and brings the usually ignored details of Los Angeles to the forefront. The overlooked façades and alleyways of this storied city become a candy-colored oasis.
Roxana Marcoci, Wolfgang Tillmans, and others, $75
Complementing Tillmans’ 2022 blockbuster exhibition at MoMA, this book is a meditation on the work of a multi-talented visual artist. The highlights of the book are the effortlessly composed portraits of friends, lovers, and others in the photographer’s orbit.
William Klein and David Campany, $95
Photographer, filmmaker, and designer William Klein pioneered modern photography by breaking convention and resisting traditional methods of the art form. Completed just before Klein died in 2022, Yes contains more than 250 images—a fitting tribute to a long and beautiful career.
Doryun Chong and Mika Yoshitake, $65
Yayoi Kusama is quite possibly the most popular living artist working today. This book examines in great detail the recurring motif of polka dots and immersive installations for which she is best known. 1945 to Now is an essential addition to the Kusama completist’s library.
Virgil Abloh, Michael Darling, $80
Figures of Speech, the exhibition, is at once a retrospective and a celebration of a genius talent gone too soon. The exhibition recently closed at the Brooklyn Museum after stops in Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston. The accompanying book is a chronicle of Virgil Abloh’s work and doubles as a manifesto for the beloved designer.
Germano Celant and Sam Sackeroff, $65
Within a relatively short amount of time, just under three years in the early 1960s, New York City became the capital of the art world. New York: 1962–1964 is a chronicle of a time when Merce Cunningham, Donald Judd, Isamu Noguchi, and Andy Warhol were instrumental in creating an American art movement that endures today.
Hilton Als and Connie Butler, $45
In 2022, writer and curator Hilton Als assembled a show evoking the works of legendary writer Joan Didion. It was a moving elegy for an iconic American author and journalist. Als curated works from nearly fifty artists including Betye Saar and Félix González-Torres. This book was published in tandem with the exhibition and features essays by Didion.