New York-based artist Peggy Preheim is well-known for her minutely detailed, miniscule graphite drawings on otherwise blank sheets of paper, creating a mood and atmosphere specific to her work. Her drawings are influenced by the small sixteenth century panel paintings of the Low Countries, while their lush black-and-white tonalities evoke early found photographs on which they are often based.

Published on the occasion of Preheim’s first retrospective, which originates at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, this monograph is the artist’s first and features rich reproductions of works from throughout her 20-year career, including sculpture and photography.

Noted designer Daphne Geismar’s elegant design perfectly captures the uncanny qualities of Preheim’s style. The volume includes essays by curator Carter Foster and critic Gregory Volk, as well as a collection of poems and imaginary letters written in response to selected works by Aldrich Director Harry Philbrick.

This stunning publication is certain to expand Preheim’s passionate following and clearly establishes the significance and importance of her singular artistic achievement.

Peggy Preheim is published in collaboration with The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum on the occasion of Preheim’s retrospective at The Aldrich, Peggy Preheim: Little Black Book, curated by Harry Philbrick, August 10, 2008 – February 8, 2009, www.aldrichart.org.

The exhibition will travel to the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma (May – August, 2009) and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (October 31, 2009 – January 3, 2010).