From Publishers Weekly
Within the modest confines of this trim and attractive volume (based on a series of lectures), Columbia art historian Rosand (The Meaning of the Mark) tells the big story of how American painting grew and struggled from colonial obscurity to its stunning mid–20th-century coming-of-age. Rosand is refreshingly unapologetic about the triumph of postwar American art, which saw abstract expressionism vanquish all before it and New York replace Paris—permanently, it appears—as the world center of art. But if he chooses not to see this dominance as a State Department plot, he is adept at delineating those historical and cultural forces (from the WPA and FDR to the Mexican muralists) that helped to bring it into being. Rosand is an able practitioner of what he calls "studio history": art history not as gossip or " 'tangible evidence' for something else," but as a practice centered on the professional lives and productions of working artists. But while the often Herculean efforts of American painters, from George Singleton Copley to Arshile Gorky, to educate themselves, make a living, find worthy subjects and deal with both European influences and a hostile or indifferent public are recounted in incisive detail, Rosand does so in a way that never strays very far from an analysis of the paintings themselves, which are generously and numerously reproduced among the 96 b&w and four-color illustrations. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Readers will be reinspired, and their souls and minds reinvented...Highly recommended." -- Choice
Book Description
In this exhilarating study, David Rosand shows how America was transformed from a provincial follower of the established traditions of European painting to become one of the forerunners of artistic innovation. Pushing beyond the parochial question of "what is American about American art?" The Invention of Painting in America identifies not only the status of the artist and his or her relationship to the work of art but the larger dialogue between the artist and society as well.
About the Author
David Rosand is Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History at Columbia University. He is the author of several books, including The Meaning of the Mark: Leonardo and Titian; Painting in Sixteenth-Century Venice: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto; Robert Motherwell on Paper; Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State; and Drawing Acts: Studies in Graphic Expression and Representation.
Invention of Painting in America FROM THE PUBLISHER
In this study David Rosand shows how early American painters transformed themselves from provincial followers of the established traditions of Europe into some of the most innovative and influential artists in the world. Moving beyond simple descriptions of what distinguishes American art from other movements and forms, The Invention of Painting in America explores not only the status of artists and their personal relationship to their work but also the larger dialogue between the artist and society. Rosand looks to the intensely studied portraits of America's early painters - especially Copley and Eakins and the landscapes of Homer and Inness, among others - each of whom grappled with conflicting cultural attitudes and different expressive styles in order to reinvent the art of painting. He discusses the work of Davis, Gorky, de Kooning, Pollock, Rothko, and Motherwell and the subjects and themes that engaged them.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Within the modest confines of this trim and attractive volume (based on a series of lectures), Columbia art historian Rosand (The Meaning of the Mark) tells the big story of how American painting grew and struggled from colonial obscurity to its stunning mid-20th-century coming-of-age. Rosand is refreshingly unapologetic about the triumph of postwar American art, which saw abstract expressionism vanquish all before it and New York replace Paris-permanently, it appears-as the world center of art. But if he chooses not to see this dominance as a State Department plot, he is adept at delineating those historical and cultural forces (from the WPA and FDR to the Mexican muralists) that helped to bring it into being. Rosand is an able practitioner of what he calls "studio history": art history not as gossip or " `tangible evidence' for something else," but as a practice centered on the professional lives and productions of working artists. But while the often Herculean efforts of American painters, from George Singleton Copley to Arshile Gorky, to educate themselves, make a living, find worthy subjects and deal with both European influences and a hostile or indifferent public are recounted in incisive detail, Rosand does so in a way that never strays very far from an analysis of the paintings themselves, which are generously and numerously reproduced among the 96 b&w and four-color illustrations. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
Book Info
