ROBERT INDIANA

Austin: University Art Mueum, University of Texas, 1977. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Exhibition catalog for Indiana's works, which traveled to five museums between September 1977 at the University Art Museum in Austin and concluding at The Art Center in South Bend IN in July 1978. Folio-sixed, polished black cloth with silver stamped titles front cover, 59 pages, illustrtated in b&w, some color. With critical essays by Robert L. B. Tobin and William Katz, with interviews of Indiana by Donald B. Goodall, who also wrote an introduction. Features Indiana's The Dietary (1962), Year of Meteors (1961) and Flagellant (1963-169). With a chronology of Indiana's work. Inscribed by curator Tobin to Riva Castleman, director of printes at MoMA, on the free front endpaper: "For Riva/ With LOVE/ From RLBT/ In 1978". Distinctively,LOVE has configured LOVE into his inscription of LO over VE in homage to the signature work of Indiana. Riva Castleman, American art historian, art curator and author who is credited with promoting the mediums of printmaking and illustrated books as serious forms of fine art. From 1976-95 she was Director of the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books at the Museum of Modern Art. For MOMA, Castleman acquired works by the world's leading artists and printmakers, including Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, et al. The New York Times comcluded she "built the world's pre-eminent collection of modern and contemporary prints". She also authored several books about printmaking and art including Contemporary Prints (1973), Prints of the 20th Century: A History (1976), and books on the prints of artists Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns and Tatyana Grossman. (Source: Wikipedia). Ms Castleman's papers are preserved in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington DC. Book in fine, unused condition, except for a tiny indentation to binding lower front joint and some incidental surface wear to cover. Tobin was a friend of Indiana and avid collector of his work who lived in Texas and so organized (and inscribed the catalogue for) this exhibition at the University of Texas. A nice association between two authorities in 20th centrury American art.