Artists' Books Collection (ABC) at NYPL: About

The Artists’ Books Collection (ABC) of the New York Public Library is one of the largest and most important collections in the country. To date, the collection holds more than 8,500 items. The majority of the Library’s holdings of artists’ books are concentrated in the Print Collection, which holds the best examples of this unique genre.

Following the ethos that inspired Edward Ruscha, Warja Lavater and Dieter Roth, the Artists’ Books Collection has focused on the self-published and small-edition materials. Largely democratic in spirit, if not in form, artists’ books are now appreciated as a significant vehicle of artistic expression. Today the Collection comprises works from early examples to the present and is truly global in scope, with artists' books from all around the world.

Image: Walls Paper by Gordon Matta-Clark. MEMZ (Matta-Clark) 18-1629. Photographed by Christian Erroi.