Lives of the Great 20th Century Artists (Hardcover)

Amazon.co.uk Review
Just to flick through Edward Lucie-Smith's Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists is to be overwhelmed by the vibrancy and range of styles, eras and personalities that have shaped artistic and cultural perception throughout the last 100 years. Arguing that "twentieth-century artworks cannot be understood fully in total isolation", Lucie-Smith includes in each biography not only some sumptuous reproductions, but also photographs of his subjects at work, at play, posing as the Next Big Thing (Salvador Dali, 1937) or caught off- guard in relaxed mode (Naum Gabo with his wife in the south of France, 1920s). A pictorial biography divided into an impressive array of sections, Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists concentrates on every essential movement, from Fauvism, which heralded the birth of Modernism, through the varied forms of European Expressionism and American Abstract Expressionism, to British Pop Art. There some particularly effective chapters--the artists of pre and post-revolutionary Russia are studied in detail, and the final part of the book is devoted to an unclassifiable, but impressive array of artists, such as Yves Klein, Louise Bourgeois, and Jean-Michel Basquiat who "represent new approaches to the problems of making art". A fascinating record of some of the most arresting visual images of the last century, and an intimate study of some of art's greatest exponents. --Catherine Taylor

Synopsis
Contained here are the sometimes strange, sad and intriguing life stories of 100 artists who have shaped our perceptions of the 20th century. Grouped according to style and era are both the undisputed greats and the controversial, from Picasso and Duchamp to Louise Bourgeois and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The stories are illustrated by their most notable paintings, including self-portraits, and completed with a guide for further reading.

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