Book of the Day Posted Jul 22, 2026

Book of the Day: Marcel Duchamp

From the publisher: "A lavishly illustrated survey of the artist whose radical vision reshaped art—and the role of the artist—forever Marcel Duchamp, more than any other modern artist, challenged and transformed the very definition of art. Published to accompany the first North American retrospective of his work in over fifty years, this volume is beautifully illustrated with nearly one thousand images. Among the more than three hundred works featured—including paintings, sculptures, readymades, films, works on paper, and photographs—are icons such as Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (1912), the painting that established his reputation as an iconoclast; the scandalous Fountain (1917), a mass-produced urinal turned on its back and signed with the pseudonym “R. Mutt”; L.H.O.O.Q. (1919), his irreverent revision of a reproduction of the Mona Lisa; and Box in a Valise (1935–41), the re-creation of his own most important works in miniature. This deeply researched book spans Duchamp’s life and work, which evolved against the back-drop of the technological revolutions, world wars, and cultural upheaval of the twentieth century. Marcel Duchamp offers a new generation the opportunity to experience the breadth of the work that upended the most dearly held traditions of Western culture." Book of the day. (Philadelphia Museum of Art, MoMA)
Book of the Day Posted Jul 18, 2026

Book of the Day: Undesigning the Bath

From the publisher: "Blunk Books has reissued Undesigning the Bath, in collaboration with the original author, Leonard Koren. In the quarter century since its publication, and long since out of print, Undesigning the Bath has accrued a devoted following amongst designers and artists. The book presented a novel idea, coming from an artist and designer: that design is, in some fundamental ways, antithetical to the essential bathing experience. It was the culmination of a many-decade interest of Koren’s, who created bath-related events, unusual bathing environments, and paper works about bathing, including the avant-garde WET: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing, from 1976–81. Designed by Leonard Koren and reissued by Blunk Books." 

Book of the Day Posted Jul 16, 2026

Shirt of the Day: Ottessa Moshfegh's "Unlikable Female Character"

Friend of Arcana and celebrated writer Ottessa Moshfegh, after the umpteenth misguided review referring to her "unlikable female characters," went ahead and made a shirt that is both a celebration and a middle-finger. And she used a sorority t-shirt template because of course there is such a thing. We have limited amounts in-store and at this link now!
Events Posted Jul 12, 2026

Please Join Us on SATURDAY (7/18), 4-6m for a book signing with CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON for INDEX.

A life isn’t a straight line, it doesn’t conform to an easy narrative. Christopher Anderson’s career has spanned conflict zones, presidential campaigns, near-death experiences, and moments of quiet domestic tenderness, all captured with a rare poetic sensibility. His new @stanleybarkerbooks publication INDEX gathers nine series from across his career, each presented as an individual volume.
 
From his early images in Afghanistan, where he was already working as a journalist on 9/11 and continued to document events through the span of the second Gulf War, to Haiti, where he boarded a wooden boat with hopeful migrants bound for America until it began to sink, a story that earned him the Robert Capa Gold Medal. From volumes that chart the places he has called home, such as France and New York, to places that have left their mark on him, like China. From books that record tender moments with his family on holiday to immersive accounts of conflict in some of the world’s most troubled corners, even his fascination with cars finds its place here. Gathered as nine volumes housed in a slipcase by the acclaimed designer Brian Roettinger, INDEX is a breathtaking way to experience the defining events and fleeting intimacies that shaped the first decades of the millennium.
 
“I suppose, from the outside, it looks as if I stopped being one kind of photographer to become another. To me, the same photographer who boarded a boat with Haitians trying to sail to America showed up to photograph Trump’s inner circle in the West Wing… continual points on a spectrum, colors bleeding together in the rainbow. The previous works inform and shape the photographs that follow.” - @christopherandersonphoto
 
A limited quantity of INDEX will be available for sale only at Saturday's event starting at 4:00 PM - first come, first served, one per person. We're sorry, but due to the fact this is now sold out with the publisher in the US, we are unable to offer advance sales. If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a signed copy, please send us a request to be placed on a waiting list. Should there be any remaining following the event, we will fulfill requests in the order in which they have been received. Thanks for understanding.
Book of the Day Posted Jul 09, 2026

Book of the Day - "Hujar: Contact" by Peter Hujar

From the publisher: "Hujar: Contact explores the Morgan Library & Museum’s extensive archive of original contact sheets and job books made by the beloved photographer Peter Hujar between 1954 and 1986, which come together to form an enthralling visual document of the artist’s creative process. Hujar’s empathetic eye focused in on varying subjects – crowds of protest, damaged relics, farm animals – but above all he was preoccupied with making portraits of the overlapping circles of artists, writers, and underground luminaries he moved within in New York. Accompanying critical texts by Joel Smith establish a chronology of Hujar’s contact sheets, presenting an artist developing, experimenting with, and refining his practice against the tumultuous cultural politics and sea changes of gay life conveyed by the words ‘Stonewall’ and ‘AIDS’. Throughout his career Hujar recorded more than a thousand photo shoots in his job books. These documents, transcribed and annotated by Olivia McCall, illuminate the contact sheets, rich in never-before-seen images as well as the earliest iterations of Hujar’s most iconic works, including portraits of Susan Sontag, David Wojnarowicz, Candy Darling, Gary Indiana, Fran Lebowitz, and Paul Thek. This volume provides captivating insight into a master at work, forming an immersive chronicle of Hujar’s poignant efforts to connect, through photography, with the creative communities that defined his life, outlook, and art. Co-published with the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, on the occasion of the exhibition Hujar: Contact, on show from 22 May–25 October 2026." Book of the day. (MACK Books / The Morgan Library & Museum, 2026)
Book of the Day Posted Jul 03, 2026

Book of the Day: Mark Abegg de Boucherville - "Out To Lunch"

"100 models chose where to have lunch [in Paris] and were duly photographed in return." Photographs by Mark Abegg de Boucherville. Book of the day. (self-published, 2026)
Book of the Day Posted Jul 02, 2026

Book of the Day: Elliot Erwitt's Color

From the publisher: "The New Edition of Elliott Erwitt's Kolor showcases a fresh compilation of the legendary photographer’s color images. Carefully curated from an archive of nearly half a million Kodachrome slides, the 304 pages reveal a vibrant kaleidoscope of photographs - some of them over 70 years old - whose colors have been remarkably preserved. The subjects span a diverse range, from world leaders to playful showgirls, bustling marketplaces to military camps, and from Las Vegas to Venice—all imbued with Erwitt’s signature dry wit and keen sensitivity. An essential addition to any Elliott Erwitt collection." (teNeues, 2026)
Book of the Day Posted Jul 01, 2026

Book of the Day: UK Pub Matchbox Labels 1968-1989

From the publishers: "This book brings together a selection of pub matchbox labels produced roughly between 1968 and 1989, a time when pubs in England were a natural part of everyday life. The interest behind this collection comes from personal memories of those places, and from the way each one seemed to carry its own distinct identity. Collected over time, these small printed pieces show how pubs expressed themselves through simple logos, typography, and illustration. Today, they stand as quiet reminders of a changing landscape, while also offering a valuable reference for designers and collectors." Book of the day. (Masala Noir & Jumbo Press, 2026)
Book of the Day Posted Jun 27, 2026

Book of the Day: The Mastermind

From the publisher: "The newest release from MUBI Editions, The Mastermind is a box set of four unique booklets documenting the making of Kelly Reichardt’s 2025 film. Through personal reflections, photographs, and fragments of memory and ephemera, Reichardt and the project’s collaborators reveal the skill, care, and camaraderie that define their filmmaking process. The book also features a critical essay by Lucy Sante and an exploration of artist Arthur Dove by Alec MacKaye of the Phillips Collection. Together with exclusive production images and striking reproductions of Dove’s work, these texts crystallize the world of the film as well as the meticulous craft behind its period setting. Housed in a beautifully designed slipcase, The Mastermind is an intimate record of the film’s creation and an evocative capsule of time and place." Book of the day.
Book of the Day Posted Jun 25, 2026

Book of the Day: R. Crumb's "Art & Beauty"

From the publisher: "Art & Beauty is at once a satirical take on aesthetics and a continued exploration of Crumb’s subversion of sexuality and mainstream values. Drawings of women in positions ranging from lascivious to modest or mid-sport are accompanied by quotations from artists like Leonardo da Vinci, George Grosz, William de Kooning, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Harvey Kurtzman. Mining his own obsessions and fantasies, Crumb reimagines the history of art, challenging notions of beauty, along with society’s mores and expectations of propriety around the female form. The images appeal to a mostly erotic sensibility, which in turn is undercut by the inclusion of sometimes ironic and frequently philosophical prose. The images drag philosophy back down to earth, while the writing challenges the pure eroticism of Crumb’s drawings. Presenting all three issues of the series in one book, Art & Beauty is arranged chronologically, from the earliest images in the 1990s to drawings completed in 2016. Paul Morris, longtime gallerist and supporter of Crumb’s practice, writes an introduction that contextualizes this body of work and the artist’s career." Book of the day. (Fantagraphics, 2026)
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