Artists' serials: Introduction

This guide offers an introduction to the collection of artists' serial publications held in Tate Library's collection. It is arranged by decade, highlighting unique titles in the collection as well as trends in artist publishing in Britain and internationally from the the post-war period to the present day.

Artists' serial / periodical publications are challenging to define, and oftentimes artists producing these titles seek to disrupt established conventions around serial format, content, artistic intent, production, and distribution. This LibGuide is informed in part by the argument that artists' serials are publications that "make an aesthetic leap from what readers expect to find in a magazine or postcard to something of an entirely different artistic order. These publications claim the status of art–they are artworks before they are anything else" (In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1955, page 25).

For more information about Tate Library, to search our catalogue, and to book an appointment, please visit our website. 

To discover more about artist's publications in Tate Library (including our collection of over 10 000 artists' books), visit our page on the subject. 

This guide was made by Madeleine Ahern, Serials and Digital Resources Librarian, May 2025.
 

Display of artists' serials. Aspen Magazine (Volume 1 number 3, December 1966; cover designed by Andy Warhol), published by Phyllis Johnson 1965-1971. Photo: Tate (Matt Greenwood)