December Book Bag: from a photographic record of a lost nightclub to the tale of an accidental art heist

This article presents a roundup of four new art-related book releases for December. It covers Liz Johnson Artur's photographic monograph 'PDA' documenting a queer Black club night in London from 2011 to 2021; a survey of William Nicholson's career edited by Simon Martin, accompanying an exhibition at Pallant House Gallery; a monograph on Sandy Skoglund's surreal installations tied to a show at the McNay Art Museum; and Whit Rummel and Noah Charney's true-crime memoir 'The Accidental Picasso Thief' about a stolen Picasso painting that ended up in a forklift operator's home.

architecture houses lost los angeles fires 2598556

A week after wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, the city remains under critical threat as the Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Hollywood Hills, and San Fernando Valley fires have forced the evacuation of roughly 200,000 residents, destroyed about 12,000 buildings, and claimed at least 24 lives. Among the losses are culturally and architecturally significant structures, including the Bunny Museum in Altadena, the historic Will Rogers ranch, the Altadena Community Church (designed by Harry L. Pierce), the Andrew McNally House (a Queen Anne-style mansion by Frederick Roehrig), Richard Neutra's Benedict and Nancy Freedman House, and Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes in Altadena. Adrian Scott Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy described the destruction as "a mass erasure of heritage."

Kate McNamara Named Director of Harvard’s Carpenter Center for Visual Arts

Harvard University's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts has officially appointed Kate McNamara as its John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director. McNamara, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis since last year, is the founder of the experimental art space ODD-KIN and has held leadership positions at Providence College Galleries, Otis College of Art and Design, and Boston University Art Galleries.

Beacons in a Grim World

Two concurrent solo exhibitions at Alexander Berggruen Gallery feature the work of artists Kevin McNamee-Tweed and Tajh Rust. McNamee-Tweed presents enigmatic, tenderly absurd ceramic scenes, while Rust debuts in New York with figurative paintings that explore perception and Black identity through portraits of leisure and experimental silvered glass works.

In Naples, an International Exhibition to Map Instability and Deactivate Borders

A Napoli una mostra internazionale per mappare l’instabilità e disattivare i confini

The exhibition "Atlante" at Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples, curated by James Lingwood, brings together works by eight international artists—Igshaan Adams, Teju Cole, Luigi Ghirri, Emma McNally, Claudio Parmiggiani, Anri Sala, Tatiana Trouvé, and Akram Zaatari—to challenge traditional cartographic representations. Through maps, drawings, textiles, and photographs, the show interrogates the ideological and political assumptions embedded in mapping, reframing the Mediterranean not as a border but as a connective space, and exposing the instability and power asymmetries underlying historical worldviews.

McNay Art Museum presents "Garden Party: Nature on Paper" opening day

The McNay Art Museum has opened a new exhibition titled 'Garden Party: Nature on Paper.' The show features prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculpture from the museum's permanent collection, presenting two intertwined narratives: one celebrating nature's abundance and the other examining human extraction and impact.

Texas' First Modern Art Museum Is In A Gorgeous San Antonio Colonial Mansion

The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, is highlighted as the state's first modern art museum, uniquely housed in a 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion. Founded in 1954 by collector Marion Koogler McNay, the institution manages a collection of over 20,000 objects, including masterworks by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Georgia O'Keeffe, set across 25 acres of landscaped gardens.

McNay Art Museum’s new exhibition celebrates parks, plazas and the joy of being together

The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio has opened a new exhibition titled “Ferias, Parques y Plazas: A Celebration of Public Space,” running from January 8 to April 12, 2026. Featuring over 15 works, the show highlights how parks, plazas, and markets bring people together through art and culture, with pieces by Diego Rivera, Elizabeth Catlett, Howard Cook, and local San Antonio artist Adriana M. Garcia.

Why is the French government spending millions on art no one sees?

The French government agency Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP), established in 1982 to support living artists and collect their work, has come under scrutiny following two opposing government reports. A July white paper by Martin Bethenod recommended refocusing CNAP's acquisitions on France-based artists and galleries, while a November report from the Cour des Comptes by Julien Aubert found the agency financially fragile and redundant, noting that 24,472 works—one quarter of its collection—have never been exhibited. Aubert recommended closing the CNAP by 2030, sparking backlash from over 1,000 art professionals who signed an open letter criticizing the ideological attack on public cultural service.

IN REVIEW: To be felt, not read — ‘Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives’ at IAIA MoCNA

A new exhibition titled 'Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives' has opened at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), part of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). The show features works by contemporary Indigenous artists who utilize paper as a primary medium to explore themes of history, memory, and cultural identity, moving beyond text-based narratives to create visceral, sensory experiences.

McNay Art Museum to unveil exhibit that 'blurs the line between fiction and reality'

The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio will open "Sandy Skoglund: Enchanting Nature" on September 11, 2025, running through February 2026. The exhibition features an unconventional mix of sculptures, photographs, and installations by artist Sandy Skoglund, including never-before-exhibited works and large-scale photographic enlargements. Known for her meticulous tableaux using handmade objects, found materials, and live models, Skoglund explores the tension between human-made environments and the natural world.