Tom Wesselmann: His Voice and Vision

Tom Wesselmann was the most unabashedly sexual of the canonical pop artists. Yet the blatancy of his highly stylized figures, in their cool, slick renderings, makes them subtle and opens up his images to multiple readings. This new volume with 270 illustrations covers the richness and wit of Tom Wesselmann’s career up to his death in 2004 and brings him into the limelight he deserves. Noted author John Wilmerding captures the spirit of the artist by interviewing family members and reviewing day-to-day journals. He discusses Wesselmann’s lifelong dialogue with Matisse; like Matisse, Wesselmann was a brilliant colorist and draftsman and fused together the two great traditions of color and line.

John Wilmerding is Emeritus Professor of American Art at Princeton University. He is a trustee at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Guggenheim Museum, New York. Wilmerding’s most recent books include Richard Estes and Robert Indiana.