The most comprehensive and up-to-date monograph available on the work of the celebrated artist, a trailblazer who continues to influence and inspireLorna Simpson is a multimedia artist known for her pioneering approach to conceptual photography. In 1993 Simpson was the first African-American woman ever to show in the Venice Biennale and to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.  This landmark book documents Simpson's   career in its entirety, up to her most recent work - Simpson's portrait of Rihanna for the January 2021 cover of Essence has been deemed as one of the most iconic fashion images ever made by a panel of experts in The New York Magazine. In doing so, it sheds light on the remarkable path that Simpson paved to global critical acclaim and art-world stardom. The first edition of this sell-out volume has been thoroughly revised and updated, including a new essay by the superstar curator and recently appointed Guggenheim Deputy Director Naomi Beckwith.  

Thelma Golden is Director of the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York.

Naomi Beckwith is Deputy Director and Senior Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Chrissie Iles is a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Kellie Jones is Hans Hofmann Professor of Modern Art in the Departments of Art History & Archaeology, and African American & African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University.