From Library Journal
Publishers of lavish coffee-table books favor the history of American art as a topic. This offering wins high marks for its 305 glorious illustrations, all in color, of "benchmark" paintings ranging from the 17th century to the present. The problem lies in the text, which consists of 34 mini-essays with such titles as "Portraits of the New Republic," "Dark Passages: Luminism Reversed," and "Pop and Media Art." The essays, employed as introductions to related groups of paintings, are aimed at novices, yet the writer casually throws out names of art movements and European artists without definition or suitable explanation. His comments appear off-handed and are not concise. An outstanding pictorial resource, the book offers little more.- Kathleen Eagen Johnson, Historic Hudson Valley, Tarrytown, N.Y.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The story of the rise of American painting from a fledgling art form to a dominant force in world culture, told through an eclectic collection of canvases by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Andy Warhol, and others. Spanning the history of painting in the United States from the colonial era to the startling innovation of the present day, here are portraits, landscapes, and historical scenes; primitive styles, Impressionist works, and abstract canvases; and an array of masterpieces from popular artists like Norman Rockwell to avant gardists like Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns. 11" x 14. Color illus.

SYNOPSIS

The story of the rise of American painting from a fledgling art form to a dominant force in world culture, told through an eclectic collection of canvases by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Andy Warhol, and others. Spanning the history of painting in the United States from the colonial era to the startling innovation of the present day, here are portraits, landscapes, and historical scenes; primitive styles, Impressionist works, and abstract canvases; and an array of masterpieces from popular artists like Norman Rockwell to avant gardists like Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns. 11" x 14. Color illus. 319pp.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal