Andy Goldsworthy - Fifty Years

Andy Goldsworthy - Fifty Years

Discover the journey of Andy Goldsworthy, one of the world’s most celebrated land artists, in this new book. Published to accompany a major retrospective at the Royal Scottish Academy from 26 July 2025 to 2 November 2025, Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years offers an insight into the artist’s career, told in his own words.

Working with materials such as clay, stones, reeds, branches, leaves, snow and ice, he has, over a fifty-year period, created a unique body of work that speaks of our relationship with the land. 

This book features an extensive illustrated interview with the artist. He discusses his life and work and how he prepared for a major retrospective exhibition organised by the National Galleries of Scotland and staged at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.

Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire, England and lives in Scotland. He has undertaken commissions in the Australian rainforest and on the New Zealand coast; in Rio de Janeiro and New York City; in the New Mexico desert, the mountains of central Spain and on the fells of Dumfriesshire. He has exhibited in the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Palacio di Cristal. Among his recent publications are Ephemeral Works 2004–2014 (Abrams, 2016) and Projects (Abrams, 2017).

Patrick Elliott, Chief Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, has published extensively on contemporary artists, including Grayson Perry and Joan Eardley. Tor Scott, Assistant Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, has written and lectured on British Surrealism. Additionally, David Kirkpatrick, a long-time farmer in Dumfries and Galloway, provides a unique perspective on Goldsworthy’s deep connection to the landscape.

Whether you are a long-time admirer of Andy Goldsworthy or new to his work, this book is an essential addition to any art lover’s collection — a testament to five decades of creativity, exploration and artistic evolution.