Museums & Collections Books

In early 2005, Richard Polsky decided to put his much-loved, hard-won Warhol Fright Wig, up for auction at Christie's. The market for contemporary art was robust and he was hoping to turn a profit. His instinct seemed to be on target: his picture sold for $375,000. But if only Polsky ...more

This beautiful volume explores American paintings of people engaged in the tasks and pleasures of everyday life between the colonial era and World War I. These works reflect key historical and cultural developments, including the growth of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration; changing gender roles; and the shifting location and meaning ...more

The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called "indispensable" and "a transfixing study of American mores and manners that happens to incorporate boundless laughs, too" is finally available in paperback—fully updated and featuring a brand new introduction by Adam Gopnik. Organized by decade, with commentary by ...more

The public profile of the Japanese photography book has recently boomed, from near-complete obscurity to great desirability. And not only for the aficionados. Photobooks that once were entirely unknown outside Japan (except to a few well-informed scholars and collectors) now sell at astronomical prices at auctions and online. And yet ...more

A fashion history from the 18th to the 20th century Clothes define people. A person's clothing, whether it's a sari, kimono, or business suit, is an essential key to his or her culture, class, personality, or even religion. The Kyoto Costume Institute recognizes the importance of understanding clothing sociologically, historically, ...more

A fly-on-the-wall account of the smart and strange subcultures that make, trade, curate, collect, and hype contemporary art. The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for ...more

An authoritative book published in collaboration with Christie’s, featuring photographs of the Bergé Saint Laurent collection in situ, complete with estimated value information and final auction prices. In February 2009, 733 pieces from Pierre Bergé’s and Yves Saint Laurent’s art collection—one of the world’s largest private collections—was auctioned off in ...more

Captures the unique style of fashion maverick Iris Apfel and her exuberantly idiosyncratic personal chic. With remarkable panache and discernment, Iris Apfel combines styles, colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, or aesthetic conventions. Now in her mid-eighties, she is a unique style icon. Over ninety sumptuous color ...more

In 1943, with the world convulsed by war and a Fascist defeat in Europe far from certain, a few visionaries—civilians and soldiers alike—saw past questions of life and death to realize that victory wasn’t the only thing at stake. So was the priceless cultural heritage of thousands of years. In ...more

Artists need help with the business side of their career, and this 302-page, twenty-one-chapter volume answers all the questions they could have. Ultimately, it guides artists to create both a long- and short-term marketing plan so they can become independent businesspeople. It educates them to gain a competitive edge in ...more