Angie Martoccio
Contact Angie Martoccio on X View all posts by Angie Martoccio October 15, 2026 Add us as a Google Preferred Source
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Joni Mitchell holds her new book of paintings titled NEWS Courtesy of Joni Mitchell On Tuesday, Joni Mitchell obtained her dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada — 62 years after living in the States. “I became a citizen so I could vote,” Mitchell tells Rolling Stone. “I’m a proud Canerican like Neil Young.” (Mitchell’s longtime pal became a U.S. citizen in 2020, 54 years after illegally crossing the U.S. border in a Pontiac hearse.)
And now that she’s officially an American, Mitchell says she has some work to do. On Nov. 4, three days before her 83rd birthday, the legend will release NEWS, a collection of 23 paintings that tackle the 24-hour news cycle. A lifelong painter, Mitchell conceived, executed, and designed the project herself, which features song lyrics, imagery, and slogans.
“Recently I retired from music in order to pursue my first love, painting,” the back cover of NEWS reads. “When [George] Bush was president and the Twin Towers in New York were attacked, I did a series of political paintings. In the current climate, I felt a need to express my concern. It is an artist’s duty to speak up.”
Mitchell added: “Picasso created ‘Guernica’ to protest the Spanish Civil War. Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator ridiculed Hitler. Mel Brooks’ comedy The Producers also took a poke at that mad man with Springtime for Hitler. NEWS is my protest song — a song not for the ears, but for the eyes. I hope that you will not be offended by the truth of it. This is not fake news!”
NEWS is available for purchase in a standard edition, as well as 500 hand-numbered and signed editions via Mitchell’s website and Julien’s Publishing (preorder begins Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. ET). Julien’s will also host NEWS: Numbered, Signed & Personalized, an exclusive auction that offers book numbers one through 10. That auction lasts from Oct. 15 through Oct. 29, with all proceeds benefiting the ACLU, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Save The Children, and ASPCA.
