Books by Eleanor Nairne

Lee Krasner

by Eleanor Nairne

A richly illustrated monograph on the life and work of Lee Krasner, one of the twentieth century’s most inspiring women artists and a pioneer of abstract expressionism.
In 1984, Lee Krasner (1908–1984) became one of the few women artists to have been given a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She quipped about her belated recognition: “I was a woman, Jewish, a widow, a damn good painter, thank you, and a little too independent.” One of the original pioneers of abstract expressionism, Krasner has for too long been eclipsed by her husband, Jackson Pollock. In fact, his death in 1956 marked her renaissance as an artist.
Coinciding with a major exhibition at Barbican Art Gallery, Lee Krasner features an outstanding selection of her most important paintings, collages, and works on paper, contextualized by photography from the postwar period, an illustrated chronology, and an unpublished interview with her biographer Gail Levin. This richly illustrated monograph is a comprehensive survey of the work of one of the twentieth century’s most dynamic artists. 250 color illustrations

Basquiat: And the Art of Storytelling

by Eleanor Nairne

The legend of Jean-Michel Basquiat is as strong as ever. Synonymous with 1980s New York, the artist first appeared in the late 1970s under the tag SAMO, spraying caustic comments and fragmented poems on the walls of the city. He appeared as part of a thriving underground scene of visual arts and graffiti, hip hop, post-punk, and DIY filmmaking, which met in a booming art world. As a painter with a strong personal voice, Basquiat soon broke into the established milieu, exhibiting in galleries around the world.

Basquiat’s expressive style was based on raw figures and integrated words and phrases. His work is inspired by a pantheon of luminaries from jazz, boxing, and basketball, with references to arcane history and the politics of street life―so when asked about his subject matter, Basquiat answered “royalty, heroism and the streets.” In 1983 he started collaborating with the most famous of art stars, Andy Warhol, and in 1985 was on the cover of The New York Times Magazine. When Basquiat died at the age of 27, he had become one of the most successful artists of his time.

First published in an XXL edition, this unprecedented insight into Basquiat’s art is now available in a compact, accessible volume in celebration of TASCHEN’s 40th anniversary. With pristine reproductions of his most seminal paintings, drawings, and notebook sketches, it offers vivid proximity to Basquiat’s intricate marks and scribbled words, further illuminated by an introduction to the artist from editor Hans Werner Holzwarth, as well as an essay on his themes and artistic development from curator and art historian Eleanor Nairne. Richly illustrated year-by-year chapter breaks follow the artist’s life and quote from his own statements and contemporary reviews to provide both personal background and historical context.

Basquiat: Boom for Real

by Eleanor Nairne, Dieter Buchhart

Now available in paperback, this exciting book charts Jean-Michel Basquiat's groundbreaking career.

Basquiat first came to prominence when he collaborated with Al Diaz to spray-paint enigmatic statements under the pseudonym SAMO©. From there he went on to work with others on collages, Xerox art, postcards, performances, and music before establishing his reputation as one of the most important painters of his generation. This book places his collaborations in a wider art historical context and looks at his career through the lens of performance. Six thematic chapters offer compelling research, with essays from poet Christian Campbell on SAMO©; curator Carlo McCormick on New York/New Wave; writer Glenn O'Brien on the downtown scene; academic Jordana Moore Saggese on Basquiat's relationship to film and television; and music scholar Francesco Martinelli on Basquiat's obsession with jazz. This insightful survey also features rare archival material and extensive illustrations, demonstrating how Basquiat's legacy remains more powerful and relevant than ever today.

Eric Fischl: Late America

by Eleanor Nairne, Eleanor Heartney, Heather Sealy Lineberry, Dr. Kathryn Brown, Arcmanoro Niles

Major new catalogue on one of the leading figurative painters working in the USA today.

Contemporary artist Eric Fischl has been unwavering in his commitment to painting the human figure throughout his long career, revealing the body’s central role in determining social and individual experience. As the first major book on the artist in over a decade, this beautifully illustrated publication accompanies a new exhibition in Phoenix, Arizona and includes early, well-known paintings and works on paper focused on the inhabitants of middle-class American suburbs with their social taboos, family secrets, toxic masculinity and unacknowledged privileges.

Also featured are the recent poetically and revealingly titled series of paintings Late America, Presence of an Absence, and Complications of an Already Unfulfilled Life. These works were created in the contexts of the pandemic, political activism and division.

Featuring new and unpublished work, this book will be essential for Fischl’s many loyal fans, and all those interested in modern and contemporary figurative painting.

Lee Krasner Living Colour

by Eleanor Nairne

In 1984, Lee Krasner (1908-1984) became one of the few women artists to have been given a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She quipped about her belated recognition: "I was a woman, Jewish, a widow, a damn good painter, thank you, and a little too independent." One of the original pioneers of abstract expressionism, Krasner has for too long been eclipsed by her husband, Jackson Pollock. In fact, his death in 1956 marked her renaissance as an artist.

Lee Krasner features an outstanding selection of her most important paintings, collages, and works on paper, contextualized by photography from the postwar period, an illustrated chronology, and a previously unpublished interview with her biographer Gail Levin. This richly illustrated monograph is a comprehensive survey of the work of one of the twentieth century's most dynamic artists.

Noah Davis

by Eleanor Nairne, Wells Fray-Smith, Paola Malavassi

This striking exhibition catalog celebrates the late artist whose deeply emotional works intermingled realism with abstraction to address complex themes of identity, race, and community.

American artist Noah Davis (1983-2015) believed 'painting does something to your soul that nothing else can. It is visceral and immediate.' Drawing on art history, personal archives, anonymous photography found in Los Angeles' flea markets, and his own imagination, he compiled a ravishing body of figurative paintings that explore a range of Black life. Alongside his celebrated paintings, Davis made drawings, collages, and sculptures, and co-founded the Underground Museum.

This elegantly designed volume documents the span of Davis's career and attends to his commitment to representation in the art world and community engagement at the Underground Museum. Alongside new scholarship from writers, artists, and musicians like Tina M. Campt, Claudia Rankine, Marlene Dumas and Jason Moran, this catalog features high-quality reproductions of Davis's more widely-known works as well as previously unseen archival material. A vital resource for understanding the depth and significance of his practice, this beautiful publication reveals how humanity, humor, imagination, and above all, people, were the epicenter of Davis's work.