Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 4: Digital Era (1960s)

1968

The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth

Publication

Green-and-white 1968 brochure announcing Fundamental Algorithms as the first volume of The Art of Computer Programming.
Donald E. Knuth, The Art of Computer Programming, volume 1, 1968: original Addison-Wesley publisher’s brochure. Donald E. Knuth / Addison-Wesley. Original brochure preserved on Knuth’s Stanford website; brochure photographer and designer not identified. Image source.

The first volume of a foundational seven-volume series of books seeks to “train the reader in various skills that go into the programmer’s craft.” Knuth continues publishing additional volumes to this day, as the series is still incomplete; the most recent is Volume 4B (2023). This consequential series helped to establish the theoretical ground on which programming was based.

Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.

Sources

People

Donald E. Knuth

Movements

computer art, generative art

Filed under

Ideas
computation, computing history, generative art
Technologies
algorithms, computer art, programming
People
Donald E. Knuth
Works
The Art of Computer Programming

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