284 illustrations

This standard introduction to visual art since 1945 has been revised, updated and redesigned for the first time since 2001. Movements, trends and individual artists from abstract expressionism to the present day are summarized, with detailed coverage of major developments such as pop art, conceptual and performance work, minimal art, neo-expressionist and figurative painting, the YBAs and the globalized art scene of the twenty-first century. A new chapter on art since 2000 includes discussion of work by Banksy and Ai Weiwei, as well as recent trends in art from Russia and Eastern Europe. Writing with exceptional clarity and a strong sense of narrative, Edward Lucie-Smith demystifies the work of dozens of artists, revealing how the art world has interacted with social, political and environmental concerns. Nearly 300 images of key artworks range from the paintings of Jackson Pollock via graffiti from 1980s New York and land art of the 1970s to contemporary painting from China and video from Japan. The book is as global in its reach as art has become in the 21st century.

Contents List

Introduction • 1. Abstract Expressionism • 2. The European scene • 3. Post-painterly abstraction • 4. Pop, Environments and Happenings • 5. Abstract sculpture, Minimal art, Conceptual art • 6. An age of pluralism • 7. Neo-Expressionist tendencies • 8. The USA – 1970s to 1990s • 9. Issue-based art and globalization • 10. The rise of video 11. The photographic medium • 12. Post-Pop blues • 13. The present and the future

About the Author

Well known as a poet, novelist, biographer, broadcaster and critic, Edward Lucie-Smith is the author of numerous books – among them The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, Furniture, Latin American Art since 1900, Symbolist Art and Sexuality in Western Art (all in the World of Art series).