Tom Wesselmann: The Great American Nude

Rizzoli and Gagosian present a conversation about leading American Pop artist Tom Wesselmann, in celebration of the first comprehensive publication devoted to his most famous body of work, the Great American Nudes (1961–73), published by Gagosian and Almine Rech, in collaboration with the Estate of Tom Wesselmann.

Featuring the book's author, curator and art historian Susan Davidson; Lauren Mahony, a publications director at Gagosian; and Jeffrey Sturges, director of exhibitions for the Estate of Tom Wesselmann.

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Tom Wesselmann: The Great American Nude is the first comprehensive publication dedicated to the artist’s most famous body of work, made between 1961 and 1973.

Written by Susan Davidson, the monograph is the first comprehensive publication dedicated to Wesselmann’s most famous body of work, the Great American Nudes (1961–73), which combines sensual depictions of the female figure with references to art history and popular culture. The book will include full-color reproductions of each artwork in the series (totaling one hundred numbered works, plus proofs, and all color variations for editioned works), as well as related drawings, studies, and relevant works from associated series.

Tom Wesselmann (1931–2004) was one of the leading American Pop artists of the 1960s. Departing from Abstract Expressionism, he went on to explore classical representations of the nude, still life, and landscape, while incorporating everyday objects and advertising ephemera.

Curator and art historian Susan Davidson is an authority in the fields of Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art. Ms. Davidson is also an accomplished museum professional with over thirty-year’s experience at two distinguished institutions: The Menil Collection, Houston, and at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. In 2018, Ms. Davidson established her eponymous firm that produces curatorial projects for international museums and galleries, works with artist’s foundations on building legacy, and provides collection management services for private collectors. In addition to the publication of Tom Wesselmann: The Great American Nude, she is also the editor for the Robert Rauschenberg Catalogue Raisonné, volume 1, 1948–1953 (forthcoming 2026).

Lauren Mahony is a director in the publications department at Gagosian, where she has worked since 2012 on exhibitions and publications devoted to Helen Frankenthaler, Brice Marden, David Reed, and Tom Wesselmann, among others. She was previously a curatorial assistant in the department of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where she worked on major monographic exhibitions on the subjects of Henri Matisse (2010) and Willem de Kooning (2011–12).

Headshot by Rob McKeever

Jeffrey Sturges is the current director of exhibitions for the Estate of Tom Wesselmann. He was hired by Wesselmann in 1989 as a studio assistant. He has worked for the Wesselmann family since the artist’s death, in 2004. He was instrumental in overseeing the artist’s first major North American retrospective exhibition tour.

Headshot by Tricia Wright

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