0-9, 1960-1963
Portfolio of ten lithographs, printed in color and in black
Each print: 41 x 31 cm
Each sheet: 52 x 39 cm
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Celeste and Armand Bartos Foundation

The notion of colour as a concept rather than a matter of personal expression is underscored in 0–9, Johns' first portfolio of lithographs. Johns wanted the colours of the numbers in 0–9 to be as self-evident as the numbers themselves. But he was unable to find inks that satisfied his notion of ordinary red, blue, and so forth. In the end he had to concoct special mixes of inks to arrive at these ten seemingly basic shades.