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Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith

The Nation

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Observer’s Best Art Books of 2025

Our favorite new art books span museum insider accounts, histories of protest and fresh takes on how images shape politics.

01.09.2025 3

Observer

Nathan Smith

10 Pride Month Reads That Capture the Defiant and Joyful Spirit of Queer Life

These diverse LGBTQ-centered books offer up powerful portraits of love, loss and resilience.

06.06.2025 3

Observer

Nathan Smith

Observer’s Guide to 2025’s Best Memoirs and Biographies, From ABBA to Ono

Misunderstood artists. Legendary music icons. A forgotten Golden Age film star. These life stories deserve space in your reading pile.

15.04.2025 3

Observer

Nathan Smith

In Sydney, Julie Mehretu Challenges Our Engagement With Conflict and Devastation

The market-dominating abstractionist cloaks catastrophe in vaporous color at MCA Australia.

01.04.2025 3

Observer

Nathan Smith

What’s in a Name? Mao, Margaret Thatcher and Marie Antoinette Offer Answers at MONA

Here, everything from pop culture memorabilia to classical paintings clashes and collapses haphazardly under a unifying theme: the specter of status.

12.03.2025 8

Observer

Nathan Smith

Understanding Yayoi Kusama Is About Connecting the Dots

Paintings, drawings and videos at the NGV Melbourne reveal a long-tortured artist quietly seeking to be at one with themselves.

27.02.2025 1

Observer

Nathan Smith

12 New Non-Fiction Books You Need to Read in 2025

It’s up to you whether to pre-order now, but get your bookmarks ready. 

22.01.2025 4

Observer

Nathan Smith

Observer’s Guide to Helsinki’s Best Art Galleries and Museums

Amos Rex. Photo: Mika Huisman Finland has long been ranked as the happiest country on earth. Its lush natural landscapes, ingrained wellness...

24.12.2024 3

Observer

Nathan Smith

Last-Minute Literary Gifts for the Art Lover On Your List

There’s still time to wrap up a great gift for your art-obsessed family and friends. Courtesy the publishers Art books make excellent gifts for art...

10.12.2024 4

Observer

Nathan Smith

Breaking Free from the Bell Jar: Mike Kelley at Tate Modern

Nihilism, that despairing feeling that all is meaningless, fuels much of the work of experimental artist Mike Kelley. For some, seeing his life’s...

30.11.2024 4

Observer

Nathan Smith

Michael Craig-Martin’s Object Lessons at the Royal Academy

In 1973, Michael Craig-Martin set a water glass on a shelf high on a gallery wall. The arrangement was called An Oak Tree and included wall text...

17.10.2024 2

Observer

Nathan Smith

A London Museum Is Telling Barbie’s Story With Her Stuff

Barbie may only be 11.5” of plastic, but the childhood doll has a remarkable history reflecting—and sometimes questioning—the changing values of...

23.09.2024 10

Observer

Nathan Smith

The Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2024 Are Almost Here

Autobiographies give us a privileged glimpse into remarkable human experiences, and whether their authors recount painful personal trials or...

19.08.2024 1

Observer

Nathan Smith