‌
FairArt Logo

Non-Fiction (2022)

James McQueen's 'Non-Fiction (2022)' prints are eight mixed-media silkscreens released by Castle Fine Art in three drops through 2022. They were his first collection with the gallery, and each shows a worn vintage paperback cover with a one-line title such as 'Happiness Is Expensive' or 'You Snooze You Lose', sold individually or in sets.

All Non-Fiction (2022) Works By James McQueen (23)

Significance & Analysis

'Non-Fiction' took James McQueen's paperback paintings into print, and the 2022 releases introduced titles he has kept returning to since.

McQueen works under a pseudonym between London and New York and paints the dust jackets of old paperbacks. He builds up layers of paint and then sands them back, a step he calls integral because it gives "the impression of an aged and well-thumbed book". He openly credits Harland Miller, who began painting book covers in 2001, among his influences.

From canvas to edition

The prints reproduce that handled, faded surface through a combination of archival pigment printing and silkscreen. When the first four went on sale on 16 February 2022, McQueen said they were "like touching an original". Collectors agreed. Some titles had sold out within three weeks, Castle Fine Art returned with a new pair in July and another in October, and every portfolio set from the October release was gone on launch day.

The launch ran straight into his first solo show of originals. Sharing its title with one of the February prints, a line McQueen calls his favourite, 'You Don't Know The Half Of It' opened at Halcyon Gallery in London in March 2022 and ran until 20 April.

Where it led

The collection followed a single lockdown image that McQueen had released as a print in 2020. Its July print, 'If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Coming With You', went on to name his November 2023 solo show at Halcyon Gallery, and in 2025 the title came back in five colours as 'If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Coming With You'. The series itself continued with 'Non-Fiction (2023)', which opened with two much larger prints.

Which Prints Came Out in Each 2022 Release?

The first release, on 16 February 2022, was 'Be Careful What You Wish For', 'Happiness Is Expensive', 'I Had Fun Once It Was Awful' and 'You Don't Know The Half Of It', sold individually or as a set of four. 'If You Ever Leave Me, I'm Coming With You' and 'Meet Me at the Bottom of the Bottle' followed on 14 July with a set of two. 'You Snooze You Lose' and 'Give Me Solutions Not Fucking Problems' came on 6 October, again with a set of two.

How Many Non-Fiction (2022) Prints Were Made, and What Size Are They?

The four February prints, their set of four and the July pair were each made in an edition of 95. The October pair and its set were made in editions of 195. Artist's proofs and printer's proofs exist alongside, and 'I Had Fun Once It Was Awful' also had a separate run of 30 numbered in Roman numerals. Each print is a portrait sheet of about 101.6 x 67.3 cm on 410gsm Somerset Satin paper, about 111.8 x 78.7 cm framed. Framed and unframed copies belong to the same edition.

Are the Non-Fiction (2022) Covers Real Books?

No. Each cover is McQueen's own design in the style of a vintage paperback, a look that dates back to the 1930s, with a phrase of his choosing where the title would be. Some are everyday sayings, such as 'You Snooze You Lose'; others are his own blunter lines. He leaves the meaning open on purpose: he wants viewers "to create their own stories and make their own unique connections to each title".