Published to celebrate The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary, Making The Met, 1870–2020 examines the institution’s evolution from an idea—that art can inspire anyone who has access to it—to one of the most beloved global collections in the world. Focusing on key transformational moments, this richly illustrated book provides insight into the visionary figures and events that led The Met in new directions. Among the many topics explored are the impact of momentous acquisitions, the central importance of education and accessibility, the collaboration that resulted from international excavations, the Museum’s role in preserving cultural heritage, and its interaction with contemporary art and artists. Complementing this fascinating history are more than two hundred works that changed the very way we look at art, as well as rarely seen archival and behind-the-scenes images. In the final chapter, Met Director Max Hollein offers a meditation on evolving approaches to collecting art from around the world, strategies for reaching new and diverse audiences, and the role of museums today.

In 1971, with an advertisement in the June issue of Artforum, Diane Arbus announced the offering of her limited-edition portfolio, A box of ten photographs. At the time of her death, one month later, only four were sold. Two were purchased from Arbus by Richard Avedon; another by Jasper Johns. The last of the four was purchased by Bea Feitler, art director at Harper's Bazaar. Arbus signed the prints in all four sets, and each was accompanied by an overlying vellum sheet inscribed with an extended caption. For Feitler, Arbus added an eleventh photograph. This is the first publication to focus exclusively on A box of ten photographs, using the eleven-print set that Arbus assembled for Feitler. It was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., in 1986, and is the only one of the four portfolios completed and sold by Arbus that is publicly held. This publication examines this unique object as the sole body of images selected by Arbus herself, and considers its legacy as a key document of her enduring impact on contemporary photographic practice. An in-depth essay features new and compelling scholarship by John P. Jacob, the McEvoy Family Curator for Photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The book is published in conjunction with the exhibition Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs, on view at the museum from April through September of 2018.

An unprecedented look at the contemporary collective's theatrical art, charting their performances and exploring their social and creative commitments The first monographic publication on the art collective My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade) offers new insights into the work of this singular group of performers. My Barbarian has used performance to theatricalize social issues, adapting narratives from modern plays, historical texts, and mass media; this volume accompanies a major retrospective celebrating the group's twentieth anniversary. An overview essay relates their work's formal qualities to several historical moments over this span: the club era following September 11, 2001; postcolonial theater after the 2008 financial collapse; and political theater responding to the pressing issues of today. Other contributions read the collective's output through a lens of queer and other critical theory, and contextualize it within the twenty-first-century experimental performance scene. A richly illustrated visual chronology features texts on each of My Barbarian's past works written by the artists. Performances and video works are re-created using stills alongside photos, drawings, scripts, and personal materials drawn from the artists' archives, many never previously published.

Published on the occasion of the twenty-five year anniversary of David Zwirner, this book paints a picture of the gallery’s growth and development through the lens of the artists that have shaped it. Since its founding in 1993, David Zwirner has above all else been guided by its artist-centric ethos. Beginning with the gallery's early days on Greens Street in SoHo, to its transition and expansion to Chelsea, London, the Upper East Side, and Hong Kong, this book captures David Zwirner's devotion to its inimitable roster of artists and estates. The heart of the publication is a wide-ranging, dynamic selection of the gallery's standout exhibitions—in many cases handpicked by David Zwirner himself. Many of these exhibitions highlight the countless works that ended up in major museum and private collections around the world. Also featured is an extensive gallery history that details all of the exhibitions by every artist and estate presented at David Zwirner, accompanied by archival imagery. With contributions by Richard Shiff and Robert Storr, as well as a foreword by David Zwirner, this publication offers rare insights into the growth of a commercial gallery through its long-term commitment to artists.

A richly illustrated biographyon the life and work ofBarbara Hepworth, one of thetwentieth century's mostinspiring artists and a pioneerof modernist sculpture.

South Sea Dreams around the cocktail bar - on the trail of the forgotten Tiki cult of the Fifties. One of the most bizarre chapters of American Pop Culture awaits rediscovery.

A highly illustrated,important volume inspired by the way craft artists have unitedduring the COVID pandemic and engaged in artistic conversations about race,gender, and inclusivity. During thesummer of 2020, the space outside the Renwick Gallery--the Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum's dedicated museum for contemporary craft and decorative arts--becamehome to a new discussion about racial justice on Black Lives Matter Plaza. Thecurators at the Renwick Gallery felt the need to align themselves with what wasgoing on right outside the Gallery's door, the organizing rationale forunderstanding the objects presented in this volume, many of which are newacquisitions. The title istaken from Alicia Eggert's 2019-2020 eponymous neon work, and the 85 objects inthe main plates section lead the reader from the idea of shelter, throughlayers of expanding spaces to the vast expanses of the universe. The volume looksat contemporary American craft "in the whirlwind of now" revealingpossibilities for contemporary makers to respond to a more empathetic future.