Hilma af Klint: The secret paintings

Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings will be published in association with a major survey of the remarkable work of this visionary Swedish-born artist (1862-1944) drawn from the Hilma af Klint Foundation in Sweden. Af Klint is now widely regarded as one of the world’s pioneers of 20th-century abstract art.

Hidden from view for decades, as stipulated in her will, the startling re-discovery of af Klint’s work has captured the imagination of contemporary audiences, with a 2019 exhibition of af Klint’s work at the Guggenheim taking New York by storm. No one had created paintings like hers before - so monumental in scale, with such radiant colour combinations, enigmatic symbols and other-worldly shapes. In an era of limited creative freedom for women, af Klint’s secret paintings became an outlet for her prodigious intelligence, spiritual quest and ground-breaking artistic vision.

The book with include over 110 artworks ranging from her large canvasses to small watercolours (many of which have not been shown or published before) and pages from her beautifully detailed notebooks, as well as a selection of photographs and other images. Five essays and an illustrated chronology - written by curators, her biographer and other specialists - reveal new research on af Klint and her practice and her place in art history.