A cultural and social history of conceptual art by the leading art historian of the movement, this book covers the origins from the 60s (articulated by artists like Dan Graham, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Lawrence Weiner) through the early 1970s and a discussion of the dealer/curator/writer Seth Siegelaub, who was instrumental in marketing the careers of many conceptual artists. It concludes with a discussion of Siegelaub’s Artist’s Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement, which he wrote between 1969 and 1971, a document that was intended to articulate a critical position vis-à-vis the market.