Now available for the first time in English, this publication marks a significant moment in the study of modern art, performance and the life of one of the 20th century’s most enigmatic geniuses.

'Coyote' was the first attempt to capture a performance by Joseph Beuys in book form. Since its first appearance in 1976, it has become one of the most sought after documents of its kind, representing an important landmark in the way his art has been received. Beuys’s most famous Action, I Like America and America Likes Me, took place in May 1974, when he spent seven days and nights in a room with a wild coyote.

The artist’s activities during his confinement with the coyote followed a repeated pattern. He employed a number of objects: felt, a walking stick, gloves, a flashlight and the Wall Street Journal – fifty copies were delivered daily.

Over the period of a week, man and beast developed a mode of wordless co-existence, a two-sided performance that became rich with assumed meanings. Caroline Tisdall, a longstanding friend of the artist, who has written extensively on Beuys and has directed films about him, took most of the photographs and wrote the accompanying text.