A collection of Alberto Giacometti’s previously unpublished letters to his parents from throughout his career.

Alberto Giacometti (1901–66), one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century art, was closely attached to his family—particularly his parents, Giovanni and Annetta Giacometti—in their native Swiss village of Stampa. Regardless of his whereabouts, he wrote to his parents at least once a week to keep them up to date on everything important to him. Their entire correspondence comprises more than one thousand letters.

For the first time, excerpts from this body of documents are published together in one volume. They reveal fascinating insights into this close family relationship and core issues of Giacometti’s life and work as an artist. The letters describe his artistic education in Switzerland and early years in Paris: his studies at the art academy; encounters with the avant-garde; and his joining with and later turning away from the Surrealist movement. They also highlight his search for a new figuration between 1935 and 1946. This book provides entirely new knowledge about the evolution and circumstances of one of modernity’s great artists.