The American Dream, 1997

The American Dream is one of the most important printed retrospectives of Robert Indiana’s career, bringing together the artist’s iconic visual language of words, numbers, signs, and vibrant color. This limited-edition volume presents a comprehensive survey of Indiana’s work from the 1960s onward, highlighting the evolution of his distinctive Pop vocabulary.

The book includes 30 color silkscreens, printed on fine, acid-free paper, six of which are hand-signed by the artist. Accompanied by poetry from Robert Creeley and texts by Susan Elizabeth Ryan and Michael McKenzie, the edition offers both a visual and literary exploration of Indiana’s themes: American identity, autobiography, symbolism, and the intersection between commercial imagery and personal myth.

Among the works featured are several of Indiana’s most celebrated compositions, including The American Dream, LOVE, The Metamorphosis of Norma Jean Mortenson, Highball Redball Manifest, One Indiana Square, and Picasso. Each image reflects Indiana’s mastery of turning typography, numerology, and bold geometric forms into a powerful artistic language.

More than a portfolio, The American Dream functions as a true anthology—celebrating Indiana’s lifelong project of transforming the symbols of Americana into a poetic and spiritual meditation on memory, identity, and the promises and contradictions of the American experience.