Jasper Johns (b.1930) is regarded as one of the most influential American artists of the last sixty years. When he broke onto the New York art scene in the 1950s, Johns and his lover Robert Rauschenberg established a decisive new direction in an art world that had been dominated by the Abstract Expressionists. Johns´s striking use of popular iconography, such as flags, numbers and maps, rendered with a distinctive textural, painterly surface, made a colossal impact. In this handsomely illustrated study, skilled writers examine Johns´s pioneering oeuvre and offer a detailed overview of the career and international significance of this subtlest of craftsmen.