Nick Cave: Mammoth

In keeping with the artist’s eclectic style, this lavishly illustrated catalogue features a mix of poetic, narrative, and scholarly perspectives on Nick Cave’s Mammoth.

Accompanying a landmark exhibition, this publication is a creative excavation of shared and personal memory. Contributions from Sarah Newman, Cherise Smith, Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, and J Drew Lanham engage themes of identity, environmental crisis, and institutional critique. The catalogue also features a sketchbook-style exploration of Cave’s studio and mind, including in-process photography, artist sketches, and handwritten notes.

This wide-ranging book represents a significant contribution to scholarship on the artist, and will be a lasting resource for artists, art historians, and general readers.

Accompanies the exhibition Nick Cave: Mammoth at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, February 13, 2026–January 3, 2027.

Author biographies

Sarah Newman is James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Cherise Smith is professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Art History at the University of Texas, Austin.

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is associate professor of History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania.

J Drew Lanham is professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow.

Table of Contents

• Director’s Foreword by Jane Carpenter-Rock
• Ghosts of the Future: Nick Cave’s Mammoth by Sarah Newman
• Nick Cave’s Mammoth Insights by Cherise Smith
• My Mammoth by Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw
• Mammoth: The Sketchbook by Nick Cave
• Mammoth: The Installation
• Mammoth Memory: An Interrogative Invocation for Immensity and Elephantine Remembrance by J Drew Lanham
• Biographical Chronology
• Selected Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Image Credits

Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum in association with GILES, an imprint of D Giles Limited

Exhibition Schedule

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

February 13, 2026 – January 3, 2027

Specifications:

• Published: June 2, 2026
• Format: Hardcover
• Page count: 240 pages
• Measures: 6 ¾ x 9 ½ in