On Chapel Sands

Laura Cumming’s memoir begins with a childhood abduction and expands into a meditation on memory, art, and perception. Blending personal history with reflections on painting and visual culture, Cumming explores how memory distorts and preserves truth. Her prose is lyrical and searching, attentive to the act of looking itself. The book unfolds slowly, rewarding patience with emotional and intellectual depth. It is both intimate and expansive, showing how personal trauma reverberates across a lifetime. A quietly extraordinary work.