''Jasper Johns'' is a non-fiction

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and which can serve to inspire conversation o ...

written by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

about the artist

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

. It was originally published in 1977 by Harry N. Abrams Inc in association with the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, and a second revised edition () was published in 1994. It is his second non-fiction book. In Crichton's 1972 novel, ''

The Terminal Man ''The Terminal Man'' is a novel by American writer Michael Crichton. It is his second novel under his own name and his twelfth overall, and is about the dangers of mind control. It was published in April 1972, and also serialized in ''Playboy' ...

'', psychiatrist Janet Ross owned a copy of the painting ''Numbers'' by Jasper Johns. The

technophobic Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of, or discomfort with, advanced technology or complex devices, especially personal computers ...

antagonist of the story found it odd that a person would paint numbers as they were inorganic. Michael Crichton himself had a serious art collection, including several works by Jasper Johns. Most of them were sold at an auction in

Christie’s Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shanghai, and Dubai. It is owne ...

in 2010.

References

Books by Michael Crichton 1977 non-fiction books Coffee table books Jasper Johns {{art-bio-book-stub