Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings: Volume Six, 1998–2003
The Edward Ruscha Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings is an ongoing project by Gagosian that to date comprises seven volumes. Volume six documents the 227 paintings, and studies for paintings, that Ed Ruscha made between 1998 and 2003. The period inaugurates two major series: the Metro Plots, which diagram streets in Los Angeles and other American cities, and the celebrated mountain paintings. A third series, loosely grouped, takes books as its subject. This period is also notable for the appearance of the first of the Course of Empire paintings, with which the artist would represent the United States at the 51st Biennale di Venezia in 2005. The volume contains a comprehensive exhibition history, bibliography, and biographical chronology, as well as sketches, studies, and documentary photos. It was edited by Robert Dean and features an essay by art historian Thomas Crow.