March Book Bag: from a Modigliani catalogue raisonné to a career guide for artists

Amedeo Modigliani’s La Bouquetière (1919-20) Private collection © Marc Restellini/Institut Restellini
This long-awaited controversial catalogue raisonné dedicated to the notorious early 20th-century artist Amedeo Modigliani, available in a limited edition of 1,250 copies, comprises six volumes: volume one outlines the methodology used for compiling the catalogue while volumes three to five contain Modigliani’s paintings, each represented by a full-page reproduction and provenance details. According to the publisher’s statement, the author “Marc Restellini has made use of scientific and technological tools including spectrometry, infra-red, and x-ray imaging to authenticate 100 works not included in the previous catalogue raisonné [by Ambrogio Ceroni, 1938] and remove 15 others due to lack of definitive evidence attributing them solely to the artist.”
Arms and amour tend to be overlooked in the Wallace Collection, the museum in central London housing famed works dating from the 14th to 19th centuries by artists such as Titian and Anthony van Dyck. “The pieces within the collection provide an expansive view of three key areas, Asia, Africa and the Ottoman world, and span the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries,” says a publisher’s statement. Objects featured include an early 17th-century jewelled dagger from north India, its guards (hilt components) sculpted in the form of lion heads, and a shield made from a single piece of translucent water buffalo hide dating from 1265, which hails from Iran.
Nancy Nicholson, one of the protagonists of the book Relative Ties, with Smuts in her Land Army uniform (around 1917) © Estate of Nancy Nicholson
This exhibition (Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, 6 March-6 September) and catalogue focus on four artists— Mabel Nicholson (1871-1918), her daughter Nancy Nicholson (1899-1977), Nancy’s sister-in-law EQ Nicholson (1908-1992), and EQ’s daughter, Louisa Creed (b.1937)—and how they are linked artistically and personally. “Relative Ties gathers the work of four women from three generations of one of 20th-century Britain’s most creative families, telling the story of how their artistic practice grew out of domestic life,” writes Rachel Polonsky, the acting president of the college, in the catalogue. Paintings, preparatory drawings, textiles, and wallpaper designs by all four women feature.
The Artist’s Roadmap, a guide to navigating the art world, addresses topics such as approaching galleries and representation as well as the basics of art business, such as tax affairs, shipping and insurance. The guide has been compiled by Delphian, which is an artist-run nomadic gallery and arts platform mainly based in London. Chapters cover areas such as “writing your artist statement”, “cataloguing, authenticity and proof” and “the trappings of social media”. Regarding selling work, the authors state that “selling in a high volume can be good for some things (money helps you pay bills) and harmful for others (with more sales, scarcity diminishes)”.
Our roundup of the latest art publications
Our roundup of the latest art publications
There is something for every art lover among our pick of the publications—from a forgotten 17th-century painter to a lively history of dyes
Our round-up of the latest art publications