CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS’ BOOKS: A COLLECTION

F. A. Bernett Books is pleased to offer a substantial collection of contemporary artists’ books and related reference material.  Comprised of approximately 430 works that may be referred to as “artists’ books”, as well as approximately 150 reference works and issues of relevant periodicals, the collection provides a fine overview of developments in avant-garde art and book creation from the 1960’s onward in both the United States and Europe.  The collection includes many rare and ephemeral items not found in any American libraries.

The collection was created by Harry Ruhé, a European scholar and collector best known for his publications on the Fluxus movement and its artists.  Among his widely distributed works are 25 Fluxus Stories (Amsterdam 1998) and Fluxus: The Most Radical and Experimental Art Movement of the Sixties (Amsterdam 1979).  Ruhé started collecting material on contemporary art around 1970, and his increasing interest in artists’ books coincided with the development and maturation of the medium.  As he has noted, the great growth in the number of such publications has been matched by wide interest among art collectors, scholars and libraries. 

The collection we are offering includes works by many of the most important figures in contemporary art as well as interesting works by lesser-known artists.  Among the many artists represented are Joseph Beuys, Ida Applebroog, John Baldessari, Marina Abramovic, Ian Finlay, Dick Higgins, Robert Filliou, Dan Flavin, Richard Long, Hermann Nitsch, Gerhard Richter, Seth Siegelaub, and Daniel Spoerri.  Taken as a whole, the collection provides not only a wealth of material on and by significant figures, but also offers an overview of the history of a medium that has emerged as a central core of contemporary art and culture.

A complete catalog is available upon request.