Published in 1997

Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), one of the most influential German postwar artists, was renowned for his performance art, monumental installations, and drawings, as well as his teaching and participation in political discourse. Central to his production were the editioned objects or prints known as multiples. As relics of performance, documents of a thought process, or spontaneous creations, the multiples share key characteristics and meanings with other, unique, works by the artist.

With the purchase of the Willy and Charlotte Reber collection in 1995, the Busch-Reisinger Museum acquired about 380 multiples produced between 1965 and 1986, and since that time the holdings of multiples have continued to grow. In 1997 the Busch-Reisinger collaborated with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and Edition Schellmann, Munich–New York, to produce this volume, the first full English-language edition of the catalogue raisonné of multiples and prints, based on the eighth edition Schellmann published in German. The project was undertaken in conjunction with an exhibition at the Busch-Reisinger titled In/Tuition: A Seminar’s Engagement with Joseph Beuys, and the volume remains the most essential resource for the study of the artist’s editioned works.

Jörg Schellmann has published numerous multiples by Joseph Beuys. He has been responsible for the catalogue raisonné of Beuys multiples since 1972, when he produced the first edition.