In 2008, a year after the artist Sol LeWitt died at the age of 78, I began work on his biography. I was under no illusions about the need for a biography, but perhaps I underestimated the obstacles. I would not have imagined that even in death LeWitt would remind me of what it takes to overcome them. LeWitt was widely known for his huge and vibrant wall drawings, his other indoor and outdoor installations, his support of other artists, and his disdain for nose-in-the-air attitudes about creativity. He argued that the idea of a work of art is more…