Tessa McWatt's gorgeously written debut picture book, Where Are You, Agnes?, fictionalizes the childhood of Canadian American artist Agnes Martin (1912-2004). McWatt imagines what could have inspired the abstract expressionist's paintings through tidbits from her biography and quotations from interviews. The meditative text presents the young Martin as a curious child with a strong connection to her grandfather, who encouraged the budding artist to see the beauty in the everyday. Watching a rainbow across the spare Saskatchewan plains, he covers her eyes and asks if it is still beautiful: "Agnes thought for so long that it seemed she had forgotten the question. 'Yes!' she cried. Agnes felt something tingling inside." The family moves away from her beloved landscapes and her grandfather dies. But still, Martin could often be found creating art or thinking about the beauty around her--so much so that her family often asks, "Where are you, Agnes?" to pull her away from her reverie.
The illustrations, done by Zuzanna Celej (The Map of Good Memories) in watercolor, collage and colored pencils on paper, hint at the paintings for which Martin became most famous: gridded pieces done in neutral colors and faint lines. Celej's stark whites and earthy browns capture the minimalism of the artist's work, while also injecting bright splashes of joyous reds and sharp geometric shapes in a reflection of Martin's later paintings. The philosophical narrative and nature-filled illustrations combine to create a contemplative work that celebrates an underappreciated woman artist. --Shelley Diaz, supervising librarian, BookOps: New York Public Library & Brooklyn Public Library