Alberto Giacometti: A Biography

An insightful and comprehensive biography of the great twentieth century sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

Alberto Giacometti was one of the most enigmatic and memorable personalities of the twentieth century. Born in Switzerland in 1901, he settled in Paris in 1922 where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. Giacometti’s early influences included his father—painter Giovanni Giacometti—sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, and mentors Zadkine, Lipchitz, and Laurens. When he turned from cubism to surrealism, his work earned near-instantaneous recognition, but Giacometti quickly moved on, pioneering a solitary path on the margin of contemporary trends. Today, his signature elongated sculptures are icons of art history.

The fruit of new research, this riveting biography offers a chronological look at the whole of the artist’s life and work. It is published in coordination with the Giacometti exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York (June 8‒September 16, 2018).