A Catalogue of the Exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada / Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Objects and Wood-Blocks 1960-1974

Ottawa: The National Gallery of Canada, 1975. Internally fine, binding fresh, bright and solid; the jacket with a closed 1/2-in tear on the rear panel, small losses at ends of spine panel and along joints, a few indentations on front panel. The jacket is 2mm too tall, hence the rolling along the upper edge. Generally a very attractive copy of this beautifully designed book. 11 x 9 inches. xv, 319 pages. Profusely illustrated in black-and-white. Text in parallel English and French. Original cloth; printed dust jacket. First edition, first printing, the preferred cloth issue. With the scarce single-sheet errata laid-in at end. This is the only catalogue raisonne of Judd's sculpture (and was the first produced by the National Gallery), completely detailing provenance, exhibition history and bibliography. It was prepared by the curator Brydon Smith both as an exhibition catalogue and catalogue raisonne, listing a total of 355 paintings, objects, and wood-blocks made between 1 August 1960 when Judd moved into his studio on West 19th Street, and 1 July 1974. An interpretive essay by Roberta Smith considers Judd's works and development as an artist. Masterfully designed by Eiko Emori, who also designed the 1969 National Gallery show for Dan Flavin. "The heft of the Judd catalogue gives it a sculptural quality. The light cadmium-red of the cover was carefully chosen, evoking the artist's 1963-1964 solo exhibition at New York City's Green Gallery, the first to display his three-dimensional 'specific objects.' The catalogue's page layout also includes generous white space around text and illustrations, reflecting the way Judd liked his works displayed in galleries" (Ian Ferguson, "Eiko Emori, A Pioneering Graphic Designer," in: The National Gallery Magazine, 26 November 2014). A landmark of the genre.