Text as Inspiration: Artists' Books and Literature

July 30, 2011 – January 29, 2012
West Building, Ground Floor, Gallery G21

John Regis Tuska, b. 1931, *On the Cliffs* by Algernon Charles Swinburne, Lexington, KY: King Library Press, 1980, National Gallery of Art Library, Gift of Patricia G. England

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 14 artists' books in which appearance and text are creatively linked were on view in this exhibition selected from the rare book collection of the National Gallery of Art Library. The books demonstrated the variety of ways in which paper and other materials, printing, binding, drawing, paper sculpture, and fabric could be used to create a unified visual and literary whole. Most of the books were given to the library by Patricia G. England, the donor of several hundred books that form the core of its collection of artists' books.

Organization: The installation was organized by the National Gallery of Art. Lamia Doumato, head of reader services, National Gallery of Art Library, was curator.

Brochure: Text as Inspiration: Artists' Books and Literature, by Lamia Doumato. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2011.