Marking an important moment in the Art Institute of Chicago's 136-year history, this book documents an exceptional gift to the museum: the Edlis/Neeson Collection, consisting of 44 stellar works of contemporary art. Among the highlights are major paintings by some of the 20th century's best-known artists, including Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol. Also included in the gift are paintings, photographs, and sculptures by icons of contemporary art such as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, and Cindy Sherman. This catalogue places the Edlis/Neeson Collection in direct dialogue with works already in the Art Institute's holdings. An essay by James Rondeau situates the gift in the context of the museum's history and uses it to illustrate the growth and development of Pop Art. Most importantly, this book celebrates a transformative gift that allows the Art Institute to claim the most important collection of modern and contemporary art in any encyclopedic institution in the world. Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago

Limited to 1,000 copies, each numbered and signed by the photographer. A decade after his first TASCHEN book, Deux ex Machina, Ralph Gibson is back, with an extensive collection of nudes, including his best recent work as well as an interview by Eric Fischl. Strikingly contrasted and meticulously composed, Gibsons photographs pay tribute to some of the mediums greatest practitioners, such as Man Ray and Edward Weston, while venturing into uncharted waters. Says Gibson: A photographer once said that beauty in women is endless. Perhaps it was I who said it. In fact, I remember distinctly having done soand the thought persists to this day. We stare in the psychological mirror of the human body with a fascination that endures indefinitely. At least art history indicated this to be so. The Willendorf Venus is said to date from 25,000 BCthat is a old enough for me to believe in the subject. I love photographing women and could say that the form of the female body is absolute and perfect.