Modern Art, Art of the 1980s and 1990s

Visions Of the Modern

Name: Visions Of the Modern
Author: John Golding
ISBN: 9780520087927

by John Golding

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Overview

John Golding is one of the most highly regarded living writers on modern art. Visions of the Modern assembles many of his most important essays: some long out of print, others first published in journals inaccessible to the average reader, still others which started life as lectures. Taken together they create an authoritative, deeply informed and original account of this century's art. A distinguished painter in his own right, John Golding taught for many years at the Courtauld Institute in the University of London and at the Royal College of Art. He brings to his scholarship a particular understanding of the way in which the pioneering giants of artistic modernism - Picasso, Matisse, Leger, Malevich, Brancusi, Duchamp and others - faced challenges and achieved their individual goals. An appendix to the book, in the form of a dialogue between Golding and the philosopher Richard Wollheim, casts new light on the origins and aims of abstract art. Visions of the Modern presents some of the most astute critical analyses of contemporary art ever made. For anyone seeking to fully comprehend the radical artistic upheavals of the twentieth century, it is utterly indispensable.

About the Author, John Golding

John Golding is a painter and renowned art historian who has written widely on twentieth-century art. He taught for many years at the Courtauld
Institute in London and the Royal College of Art. His own work is in major museums and private collections in Europe and North America.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Renowned British painter, critic, and art historian Golding has written various substantive books on Cubism, Fauvism, and key pioneer modernists (e.g., Cubism: A History and Analysis, Harvard Univ. Pr., 1988. 3d ed.). Here he compiles 17 essays, spanning three decades, that evaluate modern art according to the activities of groundbreaking movements and figures. Golding's critical evaluation process has been much emulated; for example, his commentary on Apollinaire, Matisse, and Picasso, among others, has become an accepted part of contemporary art historical thought. Consequently, these writings will be of great interest to specialists in the field. Also of interest is the dialog between the author and philosopher Richard Wollheim on the nature of abstract art, which is reproduced in the appendix. These essays are particularly thought-provoking in their survey of the circumstances that birthed modern art. Recommended for academic and specialized art collections.-Paula A. Baxter, NYPL