‘Almost A Square’: The Photographic Books of Francesca Woodman and Their Relationship to Surrealism

Almost A Square is an essential resource for art historians, photography enthusiasts, and everyone who admires the work of American photographer Francesca Woodman (1958–1981). Alison Dunhill's groundbreaking 2012 thesis was the first full-length study of Francesca Woodman's Artist's Books — intimate works in which the artist layered her haunting black-and-white photographs and handwritten interventions onto found objects like old schoolbooks and diaries. This in-depth analysis places Woodman's handmade books within the broader context of 20th-century surrealism, examining how they echo and extend surrealist traditions. These intimate and revealing works extend the visual and conceptual language of self-portraiture, identity, and memory through photographic and material experimentation. Although Woodman's photographs are widely exhibited and celebrated, her Artist's Books remained largely overlooked until the 2023 publication of Francesca Woodman: The Artist's Books (MACK), a comprehensive, high quality facsimile edition which brought them to wider attention. Dunhill's study now provides a timely and necessary companion, and offers into their construction, meaning, and significance. A vital companion for anyone exploring Woodman's legacy, the photobook as art object and the intersection of photography, text and surrealist thought.