A poetic immersion into the life and art of Joan Mitchell, the great American abstract expressionist painter

A contemporary of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell is not as well known as her male counterparts, not only because she was a woman but also because she spent most of her working life in France. Still, in 2013 Bloomberg listed Mitchell as the best-selling female artist of all time.

When asked to talk about her paintings, Joan Mitchell often responded, “If I could say it in words, I’d write a book.” Here is her book. At once unique and universal, Blue Territory is at its core an exploration of love and life, and what it means to love—and live—what you do. Meticulously researched and lyrically written, it will appeal to anyone interested in passionate engagement with the world.