Selected Works
Robert Indiana was born as Robert Clark in 1928, in New Castle, Indiana. Died in 2018.
Robert Indiana, one of the preeminent figures in American art since the 1960s, played a central role in the development of assemblage art, hard-edge painting, and Pop art. A self proclaimed “American painter of signs,” Indiana created a highly original body of work that explores American identity, personal history, and the power of abstraction and language, establishing an important legacy that resonates in the work of many contemporary artists who make the written word a central element of their oeuvre.
Robert Indiana was born Robert Clark in New Castle, Indiana on September 13, 1928. Adopted as an infant, he spent his childhood moving frequently throughout his namesake state. His artistic talent was evident at an early age, and its recognition by a first grade teacher encouraged his decision to become an artist. In 1942 Indiana moved to Indianapolis in order to attend Arsenal Technical High School, known for its strong arts curriculum. After graduating he spent three years in the U.S. Air Force and then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in Maine, and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.
EDUCATION
1920
University of Edinburgh
Summer. Studies at Skowhegan with Henry Varnum Poor
1944
Studies at Arsenal Tech with Sara Bard
EXHIBITIONS
1960
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, New Media—New Forms I, June 6–24.
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, New Media—New Forms II, September 28–October 22.
Old Chapel Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, New York, Recent American Art: Two Sides, November 20–December 17.
1961
Studio for Dance, New York, Premiums: Stephen Durkee, Robert Indiana, and Richard Smith, March 25–April 22.
David Anderson Gallery, New York, Indiana / Forakis, April 1–13.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Art of Assemblage, October 2–November 12. Traveled to Dallas Museum for Contemporary Arts and San Francisco Museum of Art.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Recent Acquisitions: Painting and Sculpture, December 19, 1961–February 25, 1962.
1962
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Penthouse Exhibition: Sculpture, February 26–April 16.
Stubbing and Greenfield Gallery, Mamaroneck, New York, Indiana / Natkin, March 24–April 14.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Penthouse Exhibition, October 8–November 11.
* Stable Gallery, New York, Robert Indiana, October 16–November 3.
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, International Exhibition of the New Realists, October 31–December 1.
Dwan Gallery, Los Angeles, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, November 18–December 15.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Recent Acquisitions, November 20, 1962–January 13, 1963.
Pace Gallery, Boston, Stock Up for the Holidays: An Anthology of Pop Art, December 10, 1962–January 2, 1963.
1963
Art Institute of Chicago, Sixty-Sixth Annual American Exhibition: Directions in Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, January 11–February 10.
Andrew Dickson White Museum of Modern Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Assemblage, January 31–February 21. Traveled to Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Hackley Art Gallery, Muskegon; Indiana University, Bloomington; Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans; Tucson Art Center; Washington University, St. Louis; San Francisco State College; University of Oregon, Eugene; University of South Florida, Tampa; and Detroit Institute of Arts.
Allan Stone Gallery, New York, Exhibition and Sale of Works Donated by Artists to the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, February 25–March 2.
Kootz Gallery, New York, Recent Acquisitions: The Gevirtz-Mnuchin Collection and Related Gifts, March 26–30. Traveled to Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham.
Brooks Memorial Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee, Art Today, March 31–April 28.
Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, Found Objects, Accumulations, Constructions, April.
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, Exhibit of Contemporary Modern Art, May 6–11.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Coins by Sculptors, May 7–August 28.
Centre Culturel Américain, Paris, De A à Z 1963: 31 peintres américains choisis par the Art Institute of Chicago, May 10–June 22.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Americans 1963, May 22–August 18. Traveled to National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Artists’ Guild of St. Louis; Toledo Museum of Art; Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center; San Francisco Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum; and Detroit Institute of Arts.
FILMS
2007
Robert Indiana: American Dreamer, DVD. Directed by Eric Breitbart. New York: Eric Breitbart Productions and Muse Film and Television
2008
Robert Indiana Portrait. Directed by John Huszar. 1973. Film transferred to DVD. Chatham, New York: FilmAmerica
2009
A Visit to the Star of Hope: Conversations with Robert Indiana and Installing Indiana. DVD, 2 discs. Directed by Dale Shierholt. Rockland, Maine: Acadia Moving Pictures in association with the Farnsworth Art Museum
MONOGRAPHS AND SOLO EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
Bonet, Juan Manuel, and Adrian Dannatt. Robert Indiana: Paseo de Recoletos y Paseo del Prado. Madrid: Aqualium, 2006. Exhibition catalogue.
Celant, Germano. Robert Indiana a Milano. Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2008. Exhibition catalogue.
Cladders, Johannes. Robert Indiana: Number Paintings. Krefeld, Germany: Museum Haus Lange, 1966. Exhibition catalogue.
Dannatt, Adrian. Robert Indiana: Paintings and Sculpture, 1961 to 2003. London: Waddington Galleries, 2004. Exhibition catalogue.
Dannatt, Adrian. Robert Indiana: Wood. New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery, 2005. Exhibition catalogue.
Dannatt, Adrian. Robert Indiana: Hard Edge. New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery, 2008. Exhibition catalogue.
Dannatt, Adrian, and Robert Indiana. Robert Indiana: Peace Paintings. New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery, 2004. Exhibition catalogue.
Depotte, Hélène. Hommage à Indiana. Paris: Galerie Denise René, 2001. Exhibition catalogue.
Foster, Stephen C. Robert Indiana. Shanghai: Shanghai Art Museum, 2002. Exhibition catalogue.
Gallant, Aprile, Daniel E. O’Leary, and Susan Elizabeth Ryan. Love and the American Dream: The Art of Robert Indiana. Portland, Maine: Portland Museum of Art, 1999. Exhibition catalogue.
Haskell, Barbara, René Paul Barrilleaux, and Sasha Nicholas. Robert Indiana: Beyond LOVE. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2013. Exhibition catalogue.
Homer, Valerie Vadala. Robert Indiana: The Story of Love. Scottsdale, Ariz.: Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, 2004. Exhibition catalogue.
Katz, William, and Robert Indiana. Robert Indiana: Druckgraphik und Plakate, 1961–1971 / The Prints and Posters, 1961–1971. Stuttgart and New York: Edition Domberger, 1971.
Indiana, Robert, William Katz, and Simon Salama-Caro. Robert Indiana: Early Sculpture, 1958–1962. London: Salama-Caro Gallery, 1991. Exhibition catalogue.
Kernan, Nathan. Robert Indiana. New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery, 2003. Exhibition catalogue.
Krause, Martin, and John Wilmerding. The Essential Robert Indiana. New York: Prestel, 2013.
Lin-Hill, Joe, Robert Hobbs, Douglas Dreishpoon, and Aaron Ott. Robert Indiana: A Sculpture Retrospective. Bielefeld, Germany: Kerber Verlag, 2019. Exhibition catalogue.
Lust, Herbert. Robert Indiana. Paris: Galerie Natalie Seroussi, 1989. Exhibition catalogue.
Maynes, Bill, and Marisa del Re. Robert Indiana—Decade: Autoportrait. New York: Marisa del Re Gallery with Becker Graphics, 1990. Exhibition catalogue.
McCoubrey, John W., and Robert Indiana. Robert Indiana. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Institute of Contemporary Art, 1968. Exhibition catalogue.
Mecklenburg, Virginia M. Wood Works: Constructions by Robert Indiana. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1984. Exhibition catalogue.
Oh, Hyun-Mee, and Adrain Dannatt. Robert Indiana: A Living Legend. Seoul: Seoul Museum of Art, 2006. Exhibition catalogue.
Péladeau, Marius B., and Martin Dibner. Indiana’s Indianas: A Twenty-Year Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Robert Indiana. Rockland, Maine: William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, 1982. Exhibition catalogue.
Pincuss-Witten, Robert. Robert Indiana: Letters, Words and Numbers. New York: C & M Arts in association with Simon Salama-Caro, 2002. Exhibition catalogue.
Pissarro, Joachim, and Hélène Depotte. Robert Indiana: Rétrospective 1958–1998. Nice: Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, 1998. Exhibition catalogue.
Pissarro, Joachim. Robert Indiana: Rare Works from 1959 at Coenties Slip. Zurich: Galerie Gmurzynska, 2011. Exhibition catalogue.
Rattemeyer, Volker, and Annette Tietenberg. Robert Indiana: The American Painter of Signs. Edited by Jörg Dauer. Wiesbaden: Museum Wiesbaden, 2008. Exhibition catalogue.
Robert Indiana. New York: Stable Gallery, 1962. Exhibition catalogue.
Robert Indiana Sculptures. London: Waddington Custot Galleries, 2012. Exhibition catalogue.
Ryan, Susan Elizabeth. Robert Indiana: Figures of Speech. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000.
Ryan, Susan Elizabeth, and William Ganis. Love and Fame: Works by Robert Indiana and Andy Warhol. Terre Haute: Indiana State University Art Gallery, 2012. Exhibition catalogue.
Sheehan, Susan. Robert Indiana Prints: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1951–1991. New York: Susan Sheehan Gallery, 1991.
Sogbe, Beatriz. Los Estados Unidos bajo la Optica de Robert Indiana. Caracas: Galería Ateneo de Caracas, 2001. Exhibition catalogue.
Storr, Robert, Thomas Crow, Jonathan D. Katz, Kalliopi Minioudaki, and Allison Unruh. Robert Indiana: New Perspectives. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2012.
Tobin, Robert L. B., William Katz, and Donald B. Goodall. Robert Indiana. Austin: University of Texas, 1977. Exhibition catalogue.
van der Marck, Jan, and Gene R. Swenson. Robert Indiana. Minneapolis: Dayton’s Gallery 12, 1966. Exhibition catalogue.
Weinhardt, Carl J., Jr. Robert Indiana. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1990.
Wilmerding, John, and Michael Komanecky. Robert Indiana and the Star of Hope. Rockland, Maine: Farnsworth Art Museum, 2009. Exhibition catalogue.
Wilmerding, John, Joachim Pissarro, and Robert Pincus-Witten. Robert Indiana. New York: Rizzoli, 2006.
Wilmerding, John. Robert Indiana Sign Paintings 1960–65. New York: Craig F. Starr Gallery, 2015. Exhibition catalogue.
COLLECTIONS
Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York
The National Gallery of Art
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo
New York
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The Menil Collection in Houston
The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester
New Hampshire, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne
Germany
The Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven
The Netherlands
The Museum Ludwig in Vienna
Austria, the Art Museum of Ontario in Toronto
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem