For all their organizational necessity, the taxonomic practices of the art museum cannot fully articulate the flux, loss, and multiplicity that mark the lives of artists. Titles, dates, and cultural or geographic affiliations are affixed to the gallery wall in what museums aptly dub a “ tombstone ” — a little label commemorating the end of an informational lifespan. When an artist’s name is available, all the better. Yet while names can be powerful, the seductions of biography can also lead us astray, tempting us to project assumptions around intentionality and purpose where none can be discerned. In The Many Names of Anonymity: Portraitists of the Canton Trade (2026), art historian Winnie Wong embarks on a fascinating endeavor to unpack the crisis of naming and agency as it arises in the creative worlds of artists in southern China who created works for foreign clientele.…