There's a Book for That: Best of Art & Photography, 2024
Looking for gifts for the art and photography afficionado in your life? Reviewing the “Best of the Year” lists has revealed magnificent books from Penguin Random House imprints and client publishers. Many of the following books are works of art themselves, and for a range of artistic interests:
A new trade publication of Before Easter After, originally published in a limited edition at $1,000.
Hundreds of rarely seen images by legendary photographer Lynn Goldsmith offer an intimate portrait of rock ’n’ roll icon Patti Smith during a transformative moment in her career. Images of Smith performing on stage combine with candid behind-the-scenes photographs and striking studio shoots to create a deeply personal look at the singer during her rise to fame. The photographs include Smith’s life-changing accident while on tour in 1977 and the aftermath, as well as closeup, empathetic portraits that reveal Smith’s self-assurance, her defiance of cultural norms, and her effortless poise. This poignant visual narrative is punctuated throughout by Smith’s original poetry and song lyrics.
Ray Johnson (1927-1995), a.k.a. “New York’s most famous unknown artist,” was notorious for the elaborate games he played with the institutions of the art world, soliciting their attention even as he rejected their invitations. In A Book about Ray, Ellen Levy offers a comprehensive study of the artist who turned the business of career-making into a tongue-in-cheek performance, tracing his artistic development from his arrival at Black Mountain College in 1945 to his death in 1995. Levy describes Johnson’s practice as one that was constantly shifting—whether in tone, in its address to potential audiences, or among three primary artistic modes: collage, performance, and correspondence art.
A unique collaboration between New York Review Books and the Louvre Museum, At the Louvre presents a hundred poems, newly commissioned exclusively for this volume, by a hundred of the world’s most vibrant poets. They write about works from the museum’s collection. They write about the museum and its history. They write what they see and feel, and together they take us on a tour of the museum and its galleries like no other, one that is an irresistible feast for the ear and mind and eye.
New York Times bestselling author and famed kitten rescuer with over 4 million social media followers Hannah Shaw (Kitten Lady) and professional cat photographer Andrew Marttila journey to over 25 countries to bring you cats from every corner of the world.
An account of Annie Ernaux’s love affair with journalist Marc Marie while she was undergoing treatment for cancer, and their combined project to document images and memories.
“These photos, in which the bodies are absent, and the eroticism is only represented by the abandoned clothes, were a reminder of my possible, permanent absence.”—Annie Ernaux
Drawing on thousands of never-before-translated letters and unpublished sources, this biography reveals dramatic new information about the life and work of one of the late nineteenth century’s most important painters. Despite being mocked at the beginning of his career, and living hand to mouth, Monet risked all to pursue his vision, and his early work along the banks of the Seine in the 1860s and ’70s would come to be revered as Impressionism. In the following decades, he emerged as its celebrated leader in one of the most exciting cultural moments in Paris, before withdrawing to his house and garden to paint the late Water Lilies, which were ignored during his lifetime and would later have a major influence on all twentieth-century painters both figurative and abstract.
Ten Best Photography Books of 2024, Smithsonian Magazine
An immersive journey into a natural wonder—the underwater caves and cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, a destination very few divers have ever reached. Over multiple expeditions and utilizing groundbreaking diving and photographic techniques, Broen has captured more than 250 different cenotes, their caves, and the dramatic secrets that lie within them, bringing photographs from his explorations back to the surface. Paired with images of startling otherworldly beauty, Broen’s engaging text guides readers through the unique features of the Yucatán cenotes: from dramatic sinkhole entrances to decorated underwater caverns filled with rainbow colors; from ancient time capsules that document the fossil record to the critical environmental role that cenotes play today.
The first ever monograph on the groundbreaking work of artist and composer Raven Chacon.
Raven Chacon is a composer and artist creating musical experiences that explore relationships among land, space, and people. In an experimental practice that cuts across the boundaries of visual art, performance, and music, Chacon breaks open musical traditions and activates spaces of performance where the histories of the lands the United States has encroached upon can be contemplated, questioned, and reimagined. In 2022, Raven Chacon became the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and was awarded a prestigious MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 2023.
What is the work of art? In this guided tour inside the artist’s head, Adam Moss traces the evolution of transcendent novels, paintings, jokes, movies, songs, and more. Weaving conversations with some of the most accomplished artists of our time together with the journal entries, napkin doodles, and sketches that were their tools, Moss breaks down the work—the tortuous paths and artistic decisions—that led to great art. From first glimmers to second thoughts, roads not taken, crises, breakthroughs, on to one triumphant finish after another.
Featuring: Kara Walker, Tony Kushner, Roz Chast, Michael Cunningham, Moses Sumney, Sofia Coppola, Stephen Sondheim, Susan Meiselas, Louise Glück, Maria de Los Angeles, Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett, Twyla Tharp, John Derian, Barbara Kruger, David Mandel, Gregory Crewdson, Marie Howe, Gay Talese, Cheryl Pope, Samin Nosrat, Joanna Quinn & Les Mills, Wesley Morris, Amy Sillman, Andrew Jarecki, Rostam, Ira Glass, Simphiwe Ndzube, Dean Baquet & Tom Bodkin, Max Porter, Elizabeth Diller, Ian Adelman / Calvin Seibert, Tyler Hobbs, Marc Jacobs, Grady West (Dina Martina), Will Shortz, Sheila Heti, Gerald Lovell, Jody Williams & Rita Sodi, Taylor Mac & Machine Dazzle, David Simon, George Saunders, Suzan-Lori Parks…
A vibrant tour of Portugal, featuring more than 200 photographs that bring to life one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Organized into five colorful themes—Azul, Sun Bleached, Bougainvillea, Terracotta, and Verde—Patterns of Portugal features cultural and historical essays that explore the artistry of azulejos, the colorful ceramic tiles covering much of Portugal’s architecture, the intricate embroidered details of traditional lavradeira costumes, and much more. Filled with over 200 gorgeous photographs, Patterns of Portugal captures the timeless beauty and unique essence of this stunning region.
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