Edward RuschaAmerican, 1937Hand Showing Book Cover
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Hand Showing Book Cover” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Groundbreaking conceptual artist Ed Ruscha became known for photobooks depicting mundane American subjects in series: palm trees, swimming pools, parking lots. Here a hand, belonging to fellow artist Joe Goode, holds the first of these books, Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), whose title mimics Ruscha’s deadpan “what you see is what you get” approach to image making. Even though the volume is slim and filled with two-dimensional images, this photograph brings out its sculptural quality.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 2011.60
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Edward Ruscha
The whole life1961
Seven months in Europe with his mother and brother
He travels through Europe for seven months with his mother and brother, coming upon more works by Johns and Rauschenberg, R. A. Bertelli's “Head of Mussolini” and “Ophelia” by Sir John Everett Millais. The photographs from this trip mark the start of his photography.
1962
“New Painting of Common Objects” in Pasadena
Ruscha takes part, with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Dowd, Phillip Hefferton, Joe Goode, Jim Dine and Wayne Thiebaud, in “New Painting of Common Objects” at the Pasadena Art Museum, curated by Walter Hopps. It is regarded as one of the first Pop Art exhibitions in America.
1963
“Twentysix Gasoline Stations” is published
The first of sixteen small artist's books produced between 1962 and 1978; the photographic books present precisely what their titles describe.
1963
First solo exhibition at Ferus Gallery
His first solo exhibition takes place at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, around which a group of artists has gathered, among them Robert Irwin, John Altoon, John McCracken, Larry Bell, Ken Price and Edward Kienholz.
1965–1969
Layout designer at Artforum as “Eddie Russia”
After college he worked as a layout artist for the Carson-Roberts advertising agency in Los Angeles, and from 1965 to 1969 as layout designer for Artforum magazine under the pseudonym “Eddie Russia”; in 1969 he was a visiting professor of printing and drawing at UCLA.
