AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2024 BY NPR TIME AND THE ECONOMIST
“Get the Picture is one of the funniest books I’ve read . . . Brilliant.” — The Washington Post
“A gripping and often hilarious investigation into the art world. . . . Bosker goes full Tom
Wolfe.” — TIME “Funny whip-smart and gorgeously written Get the Picture will forever
transform the way you see. . . . I loved every word.” —Suleika Jaouad New York Times
bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms The New York Times bestselling author of Cork
Dork takes readers on another fascinating hilarious and revelatory journey—this time
burrowing deep inside the secretive world of art and artists An award-winning journalist
obsessed with obsession Bianca Bosker’s existence was upended when she wandered into the art
world—and couldn’t look away. Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite
colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the
world Bosker grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she—or any of us—could
engage with it more deeply. In Get the Picture Bosker throws herself into the nerve center
of art and the people who live for it: gallerists collectors curators and of course
artists themselves—the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios while scrabbling to
get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister talks her way into
A-list parties full of billionaire collectors has her face sat on by a nearly-naked
performance artist and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while
working as a museum security guard she discovers not only the inner workings of the
art-canonization machine but also a more expansive way of living. Probing everything from cave
paintings to Instagram and from the science of sight to the importance of beauty as it
examines art’s role in our culture our economy and our hearts Get the Picture is a
rollicking adventure that will change the way you see forever.
