Artists' Books
Creative experimentations with the medium of the book
Overview
An artist’s book is a work made, or conceived of, by an artist and demonstrates the creative experimentation with the medium of the book. Our collection of artists’ books is one of the largest in the country and currently holds more than two thousand items, ranging in date from the 1960s to the present day.
The strengths of the collection lie in its comprehensive, chronological coverage and in its representation of the wide variety of forms within the genre. The emphasis is upon British artists, although not exclusively so.
Image: La Voisin by Sarah Bodman, 1999 © Sarah Bodman
Highlights of the collection include:
- Works by Ed Ruscha including Twenty Six Gasoline Stations, considered by some to be the first modern artist’s book
- Early bookworks by Dieter Roth, showing experimentation with the structure and physicality of the book
- Books in the tradition of livres d’artistes which reflect fine printing and craftsmanship, such as those created by Ron King and Ken Campbell
- Photobooks from the 1960s to the present day offering a survey of the contribution of the photo book to the genre of book art
- Concrete poetry and books with an emphasis upon typographic layout including works by Ian Hamilton Finlay, Simon Cutts, Victoria Bean and Sam Winston
- Work produced by small presses such as the Moschatel Press, set up by Thomas and Laurie Clark in the early 1970s, through to Bracketpress, set up by Christian Brett and Alice Smith in 2005
- Paper engineered books which demonstrate the use of folding and cutting techniques to create sculptural forms with examples by Deb Rindl and Mette Sofie Ambeck
- Thematic strengths, an example being the relationship between narrative and land in the work of Richard Long, Hamish Fulton, Andy Goldsworthy and Erica Van Horn amongst others
You can search the collection online using the Search link below. To view it in person, you can either drop-in to the Reading Room during our opening hours or book an appointment in advance. If you’d like to bring your students to see some of the collection, enquire about a group visit.
Access the collection
Photography and Copyright
You can photograph our collections for personal study and research only. Just ask for a Photography Permission Form when you visit.
If you’re not able to visit us in person, we may be able to send you a scan or photograph of the item instead.
Contact us if you need an image for use in social media, print or online publication, or commercial purposes.
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