Obedience only to inspiration in 'Agnes Martin: On Beauty'

Featured spreads are from Agnes Martin: On Beauty, Pace Publishing’s elegant new collection of the artist’s meditations on life, work, solitude and silence, which have influenced generations of painters. Featuring several key paintings, including debossed front and back cover images, the book is as poetic, airy and austere as Martin’s work itself. “Hold fast to your life, to beauty and happiness and inspiration, and to obedience to inspiration,” she writes in The Current of the River of Life Moves Us. “Do not imitate others or seek advice anywhere except from your own mind. No one can help you. No one knows what your life should be. No one knows what your life or life itself should be because it is in the process of being created.”

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the source for books on art & culture

Published by Pace Publishing, 2026

STAFF PICKS | FROM THE SHELVES

Women's History Month Staff Picks, 2026

FEATURED STORE

Institute of Contemporary Art Boston Store

Set within Boston’s iconic waterfront museum, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the ICA Store reflects the bold, contemporary spirit of its galleries with a thoughtful selection of artist collaborations, design objects, jewelry and distinctive gifts for all ages. It is a special Boston destination for art books, including exhibition catalogues, hard-to-find titles and artist monographs that extend the museum experience long after a visit. Currently, the store is featuring books and objects related to 'An Indigenous Present,' the remarkable survey of contemporary Native North American artists, musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, architects, writers, photographers and designers, conceived by Jeffrey Gibson.

FEATURED PUBLISHER

DelMonico Books

DelMonico Books publishes visually striking and award-winning books on contemporary art, photography, design and culture, working in close partnership with artists and museums in the US and abroad.
Published to accompany the traveling survey currently on view at ICA Boston, An Indigenous Present, co-published with BIG NDN Press, is a monumental gathering of more than 60 contemporary artists, photographers, musicians, writers and more, showcasing diverse approaches to Indigenous concepts, forms and mediums. Forthcoming staff favorites include the exhibition catalog Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Multiple Offerings, co-published with Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and the photography monograph Melissa Auf der Maur: My ’90s Rock Photographs, co-published with Art Gallery of Ontario.

CURATED ART LIBRARIES

Curated Libraries by Movement and Subject Area

Shop By Color	Black Art & Culture	Women Artists	Illustrated Literary Classics
Danish Design	Classic Photobooks	Pop Art	Outsider Art
Avant Garde Music & Dance	Product Design Bookshelf	Performance Art	Bauhaus
Surrealism	Dada	Contemporary Figurative Painting	Modern and Contemporary Drawing
Photography: Photojournalism	Photography: Polaroids	Feminist Art	Graphic Design Bookshelf
Photography: New Topographics	Sound Art	Collage & Photomontage	Architecture: Essential Books
Urban Studies	German Expressionism	Curatorial Studies	Contemporary Sculpture
Prints & Graphics	Pacific Standard Time	Pictures Generation	Beautiful Losers
Nouveau Realisme	Sustainable Design	Films & Filmmakers	Relational Aesthetics
Conceptual Art	Lee Friedlander Library	Artists Books	Essential Photography Reference Books