Modern Masters – serie

From his theatrical early canvases to his more recent photographic collages and operatic set designs, Hockney has tackled the challenge of space on a grand scale. At the same time, much of his work has been devoted to the things most dear to him-friends, family, home, and studio. An intellectual of wide-ranging erudition and a world traveller who makes his home in Hollywood, he still cherishes his roots in Bradford, the northern British town where he was born in 1937.Invention, the driving force behind Hockney's art, is in good part play: "If art isn't playful," he once commented, "it's nothing." This illuminating, colour-rich volume conveys with vivid clarity Hockney's serious delight in making art that gives pleasure to both its creator and its audience.About the Modern Masters series:With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations - approximately 48 in full colour - this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artist's life and work, as well as statements by the artist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museumgoer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all.

During his 60-odd years as a painter Francis Bacon fearlessly tackled the unruly imagery of life, remaining defiantly committed to giving this purposeless existence a meaning. His insistence on depicting the mysteries of human experience had been rare in an age dominated by abstraction. Now, with the international resurgence of figurative imagery, the pivotal importance of his work has become more obvious than ever before. The power and magnitude of his life's work are vividly conveyed by this thorough evaluation written by Hugh Davies and Sally Yard. Born in Dublin, as a teenager Bacon moved to London, where he worked as an interior designer and taught himself to paint. Responding to influences as diverse as Michelangelo and the photographer Muybridge, he has created a motion-filled style uniquely his own. Fascinated by the challenge of capturing what he calls the mysteries of appearance, Bacon confronts us with emotional images that demand an emotional response.  About Abbeville's Modern Masters series:  With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations-approximately 48 in full colour-this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artists life and work, as well as statements by the artist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museum goer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all.

With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations — approximately 48 in full colour — this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artist's life and work, as well as statements by the artist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museumgoer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all.

Many of Krasner's male colleagues - including her husband, Jackson Pollock - developed a unique "signature" style that identified them throughout their careers. Krasner, however, experimented with one style after another, from her early geometric abstractions (created while she was one of Hans Hofmann's most talented students), through her large-scale organic images of mid-career, to the hard-edge compositions of her late years. Certain elements recur throughout - most notably, her distinctive sense of colour, her affinity for swelling forms inspired by nature, and her fearlessness in experimenting with new techniques.Krasner's unwillingness to stick to one style, her readiness to put her career aside to focus on Pollock's, and her feuds with some of the period's most powerful critics all reduced her visibility in the art world. She has been the subject of exhibition catalogs, but this is the first monograph devoted to her work, and it brings to light all the intriguing complexities of her approach to making art. Dr. Robert Hobbs skillfully explores the twists and turns of her career, offering new information and insight about one of the most intriguing painters of the postwar era.About the Modern Masters series:With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations - approximately 48 in full colour - this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. The authors are highly respected art historians and critics chosen for their ability to think clearly and write well. Each handsomely designed volume presents a thorough survey of the artist's life and work, as well as statements by the artist, an illustrated chapter on technique, a chronology, lists of exhibitions and public collections, an annotated bibliography, and an index. Every art lover, from the casual museumgoer to the serious student, teacher, critic, or curator, will be eager to collect these Modern Masters. And with such a low price, they can afford to collect them all.

This work on Georges Braque depicts the man and the artist, drawing out the contrasts they throw up. The man was cheerful, good looking, an amateur boxer and a player of Beethoven; the artist was serious and meticulous, whether as a Fauvist, Cubist (with Picasso) or in his own style.

This text describes the work of David Hockney covering his contribution to 20th-century art.