Art Work
On the Creative Life
Published on 18. September 2025
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-241-77454-0 (ISBN)
Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Erudite, frank, and funny" - Amor Towles
"This book will make you brave" - Margaret Renkl
The much-anticipated new book by artist and New York Times bestselling author Sally Mann about the challenges and transcendent pleasures of the creative process
Art Work, by photographer and writer Sally Mann, offers a spellbinding mix of wild and illuminating stories, practical (and some impractical) advice, and life lessons for artists and writers-or anyone interested in the creative path. Written in the same frank, fearless, and occasionally outrageous tone of her bestselling memoir, Hold Still, this new book reaffirms Mann as a unique and resonant voice for our times and is destined to become a classic.
Illustrated throughout with photographs, journal entries, and letters that bring immediacy and poignancy to the narrative, Art Work is full of thought-provoking insights about the hazards of early promise; the unpredictable role of luck; the value of work, work, work, and more hard work; the challenges of rejection and distraction; the importance of risk-taking; and the rewards of knowing why and when you say yes. In sparkling prose and thoughtfully juxtaposed visuals and ephemera, Art Work is a generous, provocative, and compulsively readable exploration of creativity by one of our most original thinkers.
"Erudite, frank, and funny" - Amor Towles
"This book will make you brave" - Margaret Renkl
The much-anticipated new book by artist and New York Times bestselling author Sally Mann about the challenges and transcendent pleasures of the creative process
Art Work, by photographer and writer Sally Mann, offers a spellbinding mix of wild and illuminating stories, practical (and some impractical) advice, and life lessons for artists and writers-or anyone interested in the creative path. Written in the same frank, fearless, and occasionally outrageous tone of her bestselling memoir, Hold Still, this new book reaffirms Mann as a unique and resonant voice for our times and is destined to become a classic.
Illustrated throughout with photographs, journal entries, and letters that bring immediacy and poignancy to the narrative, Art Work is full of thought-provoking insights about the hazards of early promise; the unpredictable role of luck; the value of work, work, work, and more hard work; the challenges of rejection and distraction; the importance of risk-taking; and the rewards of knowing why and when you say yes. In sparkling prose and thoughtfully juxtaposed visuals and ephemera, Art Work is a generous, provocative, and compulsively readable exploration of creativity by one of our most original thinkers.
Reviews / Votes
It seems unfair that an artist so gifted behind the camera should also be possessed of such a magnificent literary talent -- John Banville I love this book. It's not just about art - if anyone's asking me - it's about being a human. And it is really wise about that business. -- James Rebanks If it's possible to learn fearlessness-or cussedness or dust-yourself-offedness or stick-to-itiveness-Sally Mann is the one who could teach it to you. Sally Mann may be the only one who could teach it to you. This book will make you brave -- Margaret Renkl * author of The Comfort of Crows * In this erudite, frank, and funny book, Mann gives us wonderful new insights into her photography and her life as an artist. Full of inspiration and sage advice, it should be required reading for young artists setting out to work in any medium -- Amor Towles * bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway * Art Work is an important book with one clear message for artists: stay true to your vision, whatever happens. By following Mann's tough and hard-won example, we learn that short-cuts and gimmicks will never lead to lasting success. Art Work is written in language of great beauty - poetic and direct - and artists will turn to it as their manual - their bible, even - for years to come -- Celia Paul Highly readable ... This is a book as much about the art of living as a life in art from the warm, spirited and thoughtful artist and photographer -- Simon Armstrong * The Bookseller * One of America's finest memoirists ... [Mann] is at the peak of her powers in Art Work * The New York Times * Entertaining, inspiring and hilariously idiosyncratic ... Art Work is like looking through the 'everything drawer' in someone's kitchen ... it seems disparate and whimsical, yet everything is actually practical and necessary. Mann is showing any wannabe artist that you can't just be a dreamer, you also have to be a schemer; and you can't just peddle fairytales and daydreams, you also have to put in the grift and graft. It is a brilliant read * Bidisha, author of The Future of Serious Art * Candid, kickass and wise ... telling eye-widening personal stories, drawing on her deep reading, and sharing letters, notebooks, and photographs, Mann pegs her rollicking mix of pragmatic guidance and electrifying discoveries to key topics ... She recounts crucial moments of serendipity and misery, mistakes and breakthroughs with verve, precision, rueful self-critiques, and spirited insights ... Mann is galvanic, funny and profound * Booklist * Entertains as much as it enlightens ... Mann is a clear-eyed, self-deprecating guide, framing her many mistakes as part of a lifelong creative practice * Publishers Weekly *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
785 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-77454-0 (9780241774540)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Sally Mann is a Guggenheim Fellow and three-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She was named "America's Best Photographer" by Time in 2001. In 2021, she received the Prix Pictet and was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame. She has been the subject of two documentaries: Blood Ties (1994), which was nominated for an Academy Award, and What Remains (2006), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Emmy for Best Documentary. Mann's Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs (Little, Brown, 2015) received universal critical acclaim, was a finalist for the National Book Award.