Must-Read Art Books for Summer 2025
Need a meditative escape this summer? A collection of new art books offers precisely that, with titles ranging from explorations of iconic figures to reflections on the lives of working artists.
Reclaiming an Icon
What makes a woman believable? That’s the question essayist, artist, and architect Nora Wendl tackles in Almost Nothing: Reclaiming Edith Farnsworth. Drawing from a decade of research, Wendl challenges the patriarchal “sex-and-real-estate myth” surrounding Farnsworth’s relationship with architect Mies van der Rohe and the glass house he designed for her in the early 1950s.
The book interweaves Wendl’s artwork, including photographs of her experiences with Farnsworth’s house, as she navigates her own period of exposure while moving from Chicago to Albuquerque. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Farnsworth House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 (National Trust for Historic Preservation).
This isn’t just a story about a woman wronged by a man, but rather a harrowing account of a woman’s attempt to build her own life.
Buy on Bookshop | 3 Fields Books, May 2025
Reflections on a Creative Life
Challenging outdated perceptions of success and age, Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50, edited by artist and educator Sharon Louden, presents a collection of intimate essays by artists over 50.
Contributors including Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Maren Hassinger, Colleen Coleman, and the late Audrey Flack share their unique paths and the communities they have built along the way. As of 2023, the median age of visual artists in the US was 47.1 years, according to Statista (Statista).
Buy on Bookshop | Intellect Ltd, May 2025
Rediscovering Nuyorican Art
Nuyorican and Diasporican Visual Art: A Critical Anthology, edited by Arlene Dávila and Yasmin Ramirez, documents the pivotal role of Puerto Rican artists in shaping 20th-century postmodern and contemporary art in the United States.
The anthology highlights artists such as Rafael Ferrer, Candida Alvarez, Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, Ivelisse Jiménez, and Pepón Osorio. These Nuyorican artists embraced experimentation, performance, conceptualism, and political critique, challenging institutional norms and reimagining art’s role in a fractured world.
Buy on Bookshop | Duke University Press, January 2025
Other Notable Releases
Several other titles deserve attention this month, including:
- Jill Johnston in Motion: Dance, Writing, and Lesbian Life by Clare Croft (Duke University Press, October 2024)
- Mafalda: Book One by Quino, translated by Frank Wynne (Elsewhere Editions, June 2025)
