The importance of American artists in the history of modern art iswell-documented, but surveys often exclude artists working in thefirst half of the twentieth century, who were instrumental for thedevelopment of modernism - including Arthur Dove, Stuart Davis,Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O´Keeffe and John Marin. This book argues for a continuity between this period and the artists whowent on to become celebrated internationally, such as Arshile Gorky,Edward Hopper, Helen Frankenthaler, Willem de Kooning, Morris Louis,Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Donald Judd. William C. Agee´sground-breaking account of American modernism unites pre- andpost-1945 art in a continuous narrative spanning four generations ofartists. He also integrates the work of certain European artists whowere central to modern American art. Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse,Marcel Duchamp and Piet Mondrian as well as Josef Albers and HansHofmann became influential teachers. Their work had a strong impact on several American artists not previously compared-or connected to theEuropean art canon. As a re-evaluation of art history from the earlytwentieth century to the late 1960s, this brilliant survey of American modernism is a must-read for enthusiasts and students of art as wellas for all those interested in modernism and its wider culturalhistory.
