Spanning six decades, Retrospectrum showcases the development and range of Bob Dylan’s (born 1941) visual art in an array of mediums. His diverse creations include works made in oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, pastel, charcoal and sculpture in iron. Among the artworks presented in Retrospectrum are some of Dylan’s earliest ink sketches, first published in 1973’s Writings and Drawings, which illustrated and compiled Dylan's lyrics up to that date. These are shown alongside 2021's Mondo Scripto series, in which Dylan revisited some of his most renowned lyrics, hand-lettering and illustrating them. The book also features the iconic Train Tracks series; The New Orleans Series and The Asia Series (from 2012 and 2010 respectively), inspired by Dylan’s travels; works from his hugely popular The Beaten Path series (2015–present); and his iron sculptures created from found objects.
Published by National Portrait Gallery. Introduction by John Elderfield.
With over 500 songs, 46 albums and an astonishing 110 million record sales to his name, Bob Dylan (born 1941), now in his early seventies, is turning increasingly to another mode of artistic expression; one that has occupied him throughout his life, but for which he is much less well known. Although Dylan has sketched and drawn since childhood and painted since the late 1960s, only relatively recently has he begun to exhibit his artworks. The 12 works collected in this beautifully produced volume represent his latest foray into portraiture. In an illuminating essay and a rare Q&A with Dylan, curator and art historian John Elderfield explores the story behind these works. For Elderfield, Dylan’s paintings, like his songs, are "products of the same extraordinary, inventive imagination, the same mind and eye, by the same story-telling artist, for whom showing and telling … are not easily separated."
Bob Dylan: Face Value