Required Reading

This week: the Louvre reopens the room where it happens, a Texas artist’s outdoor collection, Nancy Drew in the public domain, Rachel Cusk and Natalie Portman have beef, and more.

Michael Agresta reports for Texas Monthly on the curious "wonderland" of 75-year-old artist John Dilandro, whose massive front-yard collection has become a treasure box of creativity despite its dismissal as "folk art":

Moira Donegan reflects on a new book about the life and work of artist and activist Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, who tragically passed away earlier this year. For Bookforum, Donegan writes:

Colombian novelist Ingrid Rojas Contreras writes movingly in Time about her father, whom she recognizes in 26-year-old Joan Sebastián Guerrero and other fathers who have been killed by ICE this year:

Jia Tolentino, whose 2019 "Instagram face" essay gave language to a new era of beauty standards, is back in the New Yorker to investigate plastic surgery's impact on desirability and self-image:

Author Ellen O’Connell Whittet ponders the fate of the Nancy Drew and Miss Marple books for the Los Angeles Review of Books, considering their evolving role now that they have entered into the public domain:

For JSTOR Daily, April White digs into the archives of Johnetta Brazzell, who recorded firsthand stories of the Great Migration — some of which you can listen to in the article:

Frontline's Martin Smith conducted an excellent interview with Saudi exile Saad Aljabri about Trump's relationship with the nation:

Artist Adrianne Wortzel, who has strabismus and cannot see in three dimensions, explains how she renders depth and perception in her paintings:

Rachel Cusk is apparently writing a book based in part on Natalie Portman, who seems to be less than thrilled with the portrayal — I'm sat:

The price we pay for a hot girl summer …

Required Reading is published every Thursday afternoon and comprises a short list of art-related links to long-form articles, videos, blog posts, or photo essays worth a second look.