By Timothy Hyman
This book is a great introduction to modern art if you're not only interested in abstract expressionism (AbEx). As a newbie to art history, I found it fascinating and very informative, though at times I had to look at some artists' works online to compare past paintings to those included in the book.
Artists included in this book are varied in background, gender, race, and nationalities. Some are 'outsiders' who painted outside of the art world. Others had gained their name as AbEx, but realized they needed more, and as a consequence were shunned by the art scene when they switched to figurative. Different periods in the 20th century are discussed in the context of art. It's beautiful to see all the different ways artists find to express their ideas and thoughts in an era that doesn't appreciate seeing recognizable figures in paintings, and, later on, paintings in general. Many of the artists mentioned here I haven't heard of, and it's not completely due to my ignorance. They were literally erased from art history books. I'm glad things are changing now. [256 pp., including bibliogrpahy, illustration list, and index]
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