BELLAS ARTES

Early astronomers, drawn to Mars's fiery glow in the night sky, named the planet after their god of war. In the centuries since, Mars has captivated humankind as a source of endless speculation and a beacon of hope for its potential habitability. Through six decades of NASA’s pioneering research missions, the mysteries of the red planet have been gradually uncovered, revealing a world not so unlike our own that likely once supported life.

In 1965, Steve Schapiro started documenting Andy Warhol for LIFE magazine: Warhol was cementing a reputation as an important Pop artist who drew his inspiration from popular culture and commercial objects. With his sunglasses, blond wig, and bland public utterances, Warhol was enigmatic, charismatic, intensely ambitious, and aware that to become a star, you needed the presence of people to document your ascent. Schapiro, also ambitious and hardworking, who in his own words “kept quiet and smiled a lot,” was an ideal witness to Warhol’s relentless rise from cult New York artist to 20th-century icon. Ironically, LIFE never published the story, so many of these images are seen here for the first time, scanned from negatives found deep in Schapiro’s archive.

As an acclaimed interior designer and member of the AD100 and the Interior Design Hall of Fame, Victoria Hagan had achieved the highest pinnacle of success in her field. But when 2020 arrived, she found herself, like all of us, at home, seeing her life and her space with fresh eyes. The result is this book a creative manifesto and a life-affirming look at the nature of home, and how it connects and calms us, comforts and nourishes us. Beautifully designed with a luxurious oversize package that includes gatefolds, Live Now celebrates the quiet and extraordinary beauty of the everyday. Open windows beckon, through which we glimpse the ocean, its hues echoed in the interior palette. A chair for reading waits on a patio, overlooking an expanse of hills. Fresh corn and strawberries from the farmers market tumble over a kitchen table. The 12 dwellings featured in Live Now may range in style, but all share the soothing, light-filled palette, serenity of mood, and aesthetic rigor for which Hagan is renowned, as well as a deep connection to their surroundings, from Sonoma to Palm Beach, Manhattan to Martha s Vineyard.