Inspired by the 1976 exhibition Drawing Now at The Museum of Modern Art, Drawing Then investigates revolutionary developments in the practice of drawing that emerged in the United States during a decade of radical social and political upheaval. With more than 70 works by 39 artists–almost half of whom were not represented in the 1976 exhibition–Drawing Then includes works by Josef Albers, Mel Bochner, Chuck Close, Dan Flavin, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg and Ed Ruscha, among other greats.

The volume also includes newly commissioned work by poet Mei-mei Berssenbrugge in addition to rare archival material, artists’ biographies and a comprehensive chronology linking developments in the art world with the larger social and political events of the decade.