Ed Ruscha presents Christmas gift to the nation

Tate and other museums around the UK will be able to stage comprehensive exhibitions of Ed Ruscha’s extraordinary works on paper, after the artist committed to donating one impression of all the prints he creates for the rest of his life.

Ruscha is widely regarded as one of the world’s most important living artists, with a career spanning six decades. Born in 1937 in Nebraska, US, he came to prominence in the 1960s as part of the pop art movement.

The donation has begun with a selection of 18 recent works which reveal Ruscha’s inventiveness as a printmaker, as well as reflecting his interest in signs and signage, his engagement with his hometown of Los Angeles, and his humorous approach to language. They add to the 111 Ruscha prints already in the Tate collection.

Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate said: ‘This is rare and generous commitment, not to mention a wonderful Christmas present to the whole nation. Ruscha’s work has been much admired as it travelled the country in one of the ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions organised by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland using the collection donated by Anthony d’Offay. These works on paper will be a wonderful resource for future exhibitions here in the UK.’

Ruscha said: ‘It is a great honour to know that Tate will be a home to a collection of my editioned works.’