Art

Mary Ellen Matthews, Lorne Michaels (foreword)

The electric spirit of Saturday Night Live as captured by longtime resident photographer Mary Ellen Matthews

Andy Samberg in a giant martini glass. Billie Eilish peeking out of a pile of snow. Kevin Hart writing his own cue cards. Paul Rudd as Paul McCartney. Sarah Silverman dusting the NBC marquee. Alec Baldwin as the Godfather.

These are just a few examples of Matthews's bold, dynamic, and playful celebrity portraits that for over two decades have artfully highlighted the hosts and musical guests who help bring the show to life.

Week after week, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews makes magic happen on Saturday Night Live with her inventive, irreverent, and truly original photography for the “bumpers”—portraits of the host or musical guest that transition the show to and from commercial breaks.

Published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of SNL and exquisitely designed by Pentagram, this book is the first collection of Mary Ellen’s remarkable body of work as well as a celebration of America’s longest-running comedy TV show.


* More than 200 color portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs
* A foreword by SNL founder and executive producer Lorne Michaels
* Mary Ellen Matthews in conversation
* A thumbnail index of all the images with captions by the photographer

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2025

Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
Published: March 4, 2025 by Harry N. Abrams
ISBN: 9781419782534 (ISBN10: 1419782533)
Language: English

The Short Story of Art is a pocket guide to key movements, works, themes and techniques – a new and innovative introduction to the subject of art. Simply constructed, the book explores 50 key works, from the wall paintings of Lascaux to Damien Hirst installations, and then links these to sections on art movements, themes and techniques.

The design of the book allows the student or art enthusiast to easily navigate their way around key periods, artists and styles. Accessible and concise, it simplifies and explains the most important and influential concepts in art, and shows how they are connected. The book explains how, why and when art changed, who introduced certain things, what they were, where they were produced, and whether they matter. It demystifies artistic jargon, giving readers a thorough understanding and broad enjoyment of art.

Format: 224 pages, Paperback
Published: May 2, 2017 by Laurence King Publishing
ISBN: 9781780679686 (ISBN10: 1780679688)
Language: English

The Short Story of Modern Art explains the how, why and when of modern art – who introduced certain things, what they were, where they were produced, and why they matter.

Simply constructed, the book explores 50 key works – from the realist painting of Courbet to a contemporary installation by Yayoi Kusama – and then links them to the most important movements, themes and techniques. Accessible, concise and richly illustrated, the book reveals the connections between different periods, artists and styles, giving readers a thorough understanding and broad enjoyment of modern art.


Format: 224 pages, Paperback
Published: March 5, 2019 by Laurence King Publishing
ISBN: 9781786273697 (ISBN10: 1786273691)
Language: English