
Closer to Vermeer, Ige Verslype et al., Thames & Hudson, 320pp, $75 (hb). Published 2 September
A richly illustrated and thorough survey of the groundbreaking research conducted for the Rijksmuseum’s exhibition in 2023, with new insights into the enigmatic painter’s life and work.

Monumental: How a New Generation of Artists Is Shaping the Memorial Landscape, Cat Dawson, MIT Press, 272pp, $34.95 (hb). Published 5 August
Exploring the changing role of monuments in the US over the past 50 years and the relationship between the monumental landscape and national identity.

British Blonde: Women, Desire and the Image in Post-war Britain, Lynda Nead, Paul Mellon Centre, 272pp, £30 (hb). Published 9 September
How American glamour swept into war-torn Britain through four “blondes”: the actors Diana Dors and Barbara Windsor; Ruth Ellis, the UK’s last woman to be hanged; and the Pop artist Pauline Boty.

Art Is: A Journey into the Light, Makoto Fujimura, Yale, 232pp, £25 (hb). Published 21 October
The writer and artist, known for “process-driven slow art”, journeys to the heart of creativity via William Blake’s poetry, Mark Rothko and Josef Albers, sado (art of tea) and the traditional Japanese painting technique, Nihonga.

Shahzia Sikander, Jason Rosenfeld, Lund Humphries, 144pp, £45 (hb). Published 18 November
The first standalone monograph on the celebrated Pakistan-born American artist, recognised as the pioneer of the Neo-Miniature movement, which encompasses the ambition and breadth of her practice, with a focus on painting.