


Modern Masters Series
Series · 18
books · 1983-1996
Books in series

#1
Roy Lichtenstein
1983
Featuring close to 50 full color illustrations, this entry in the Modern Masters series demonstrates how artist Roy Lichtenstein was not only one of the most significant postwar artists, but also a perceptive, ironic commentator on contemporary Roy Lichtenstein became famous in the early 1960s for his deadpan recreations of popular imagery, particularly paintings based on war and romance comics. As this book demonstrates, Lichtenstein's interest in quoting subjects form both high and low art has continued throughout his career, producing a fascinating and varied body of work. As Lawrence Alloway's incisive text makes clear, Lichtenstein was not only one of the most significant postwar artists, but also a perceptive, ironic commentator on contemporary society. About Abbeville's Modern Masters series: With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations―approximately 48 in full color―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.

#2
Mastering Sadhana
On Retreat With Anthony De Mello
1983
About the Modern Masters
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations ― approximately 48 in full color &mdash 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.

#3
Jackson Pollock
1983
Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) revolutionized the art of this century with his famous "pouring paintings" of the late 1940s and early '50s. No artist of our time has been more controversial, and Pollock's reputation as the archetypal Abstract Expressionist has assumed mythic overtones. The balanced evaluation presented in this well-reasoned overview is long overdue.

#4
Andy Warhol
1983
About the Modern Masters series:
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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 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.

#5
George Segal
1983
Revealing commentary by the artist himself, plus newly commissioned photographs of George Segal at work, help create an insightful portrait of a fascinating artist.
George Segal has enlivened contemporary sculpture with his evocative plaster figures, cast directly from the model and often left a ghostly white. He is best known for his down-to-earth scenes of humble characters in urban environments―a butcher shop, a diner, a local cinema. The familiarity of such mundane surroundings makes Segal's work, at first glance, look deceptively simple. However, as Phyllis Tuchman persuasively explains in her lively and enlightening text, the apparent simplicity of Segal's sculpture masks a rich complexity of meaning. More recent and more colorful work―including the bronze monuments, fragments, and pastels―are also thoroughly represented in the book. About Abbeville's Modern Masters With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations―approximately 48 in full color―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.

#7
Jasper Johns
1984
An enlightening new interpretation of one of today's most influential artists featuring over 100 illustrations
For more than thirty years Jasper Johns has been making art that teases viewers with the willful obscurity of its content, while offering rich visual pleasures with the beauty of its form, color, and surface. In 1955 he painted his first Flags, which, with the Target and Numbers that soon followed, were to become his most famous work. His transformation of such common place images into art helped to shatter the dominance of Abstract Expressionism and to make possible the later innovations of Pop art and Minimalism. Johns' acclaimed recent work, which is well represented in this book, combines his continuing fascination with ready-made images with an exciting new use of illusionistic painting.
About the Modern Masters
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations ― approximately 48 in full color ― 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 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.

#8
Arshile Gorky
1985
With more than 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. Modern Masters form a perfect reference set for home, school, or library. Each handsomely designed volume presents: - A thorough survey of the artist's life and work- Statements by the artist- An illustrated chapter on technique- Chronology- Lists of exhibitions and public collections- Annotated bibliography- Index

#9
Francis Bacon
1986
With their searing colors and compelling images, the paintings of Francis Bacon are among the most powerful, and the most poignant, to be made in the twentieth century.
During his sixty-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 color—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.

#10
Hans Hofmann
1986
As a young man in Paris, Hofmann participated in the artistic revolutions before World War I, than ran an influential art school in Germany between the wars. He came to America in 1930 and established schools in New York and Provincetown that has had a profound impact on the development of American art. By presenting his life's work, from the rare landscapes and portraits of his early years to the majestic late abstractions, this vibrantly colorful book establishes Hofmann's major contribution to the art of this century.
About the Modern Masters series:
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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.

#11
Philip Guston
1986
With more than 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. Modern Masters form a perfect reference set for home, school, or library. Each handsomely designed volume presents: - A thorough survey of the artist's life and work
- Statements by the artist
- An illustrated chapter on technique
- Chronology
- Lists of exhibitions and public collections
- Annotated bibliography
- Index

#12
Constantin Brancusi
1989
This volume in the Modern Masters series is an important and perceptive study of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, whose arresting forms have exerted a powerful impact on the art of this century. By incisively evaluating the diverse influences that channeled into the artist's work—including his academic training and brief apprenticeship with Auguste Rodin, the folk art and architecture of his native Romania, Cubism, and African art—Eric Shanes has produced an insightful study that reveals how this complex artist achieved the expressive simplicity of his innovative sculptures.
An extensive "Notes on Technique" section, illustrated with evocative views of the artist's studio, illuminates Brancusi's methods of working in all media, including photography, which he used to record his own ideas about how his sculpture should be seen. The many photographs by Brancusi are complemented by sensitive color illustrations that capture the essence of his art. Written with a clarity of prose that well serves the clarity of the sculptor's own work, this much-needed book presents the fascinating story of a profoundly influential artist.
About the Modern Masters
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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.

#13
Marc Chagall
1989
With more than 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. Modern Masters form a perfect reference set for home, school, or library. Each handsomely designed volume presents: - A thorough survey of the artist's life and work- Statements by the artist- An illustrated chapter on technique- Chronology- Lists of exhibitions and public collections- Annotated bibliography- Index

#14
Georges Braque
1991
Georges Braque is one of the best-known and least-understood artists of our century. From his friends' affectionate recollections, he emerges as a cheerful and energetic dandy, renowned for his good looks, his skills as an amateur boxer, and his ability to play Beethoven symphonies on the accordion. His art suggests a different persona, however, for he was intensely serious, technically meticulous, and devoted to making thoughtful, deeply felt images—whether as a Fauve, a Cubist, or a mature painter working in his own distinctive style. Both the quiet intelligence of the man and the originality of his passionate yet elegant paintings emerge from Karen Wilkin's perceptive text and astutely chose reproductions. This invaluable study brings a new clarity to Braque's art and art making.
About the Modern Masters
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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.

#15
Lee Krasner
1993
This work chronicles the life and work of Lee Krasner, one of the most inventive Abstract Expressionist painters. Lee Kranser occupies a special place in Abstract Expressionism as a major female painter in a group of artists known for their macho individuality. Aproaching art-making as a forum for communicating her discoveries about the self, nature and modern life, she turn the process of her painting into a debate with herself and other artists, ranging from Picasso and Matisse to her husband, Jackson Pollock. Often painting in a large scale, she created canvases overflowing with colour and intensely personal content. Fearless in her readiness to explore new styles, she created an extraordinary range of works, from her early Cubist-based abstractions to ambitious late canvases related to the postmodernism of the 1980s. The abrupt changes in her style, coupled with her feuds with powerful critics, delayed critical acceptance of Krasner's art.

#16
Isamu Noguchi
1994
With more than 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. Modern Masters form a perfect reference set for home, school, or library. Each handsomely designed volume
- A thorough survey of the artist's life and work
- Statements by the artist
- An illustrated chapter on technique
- Chronology
- Lists of exhibitions and public collections
- Annotated bibliography
- Index

#17
David Hockney
1995
For a contemporary artist of serious aesthetic purpose, David Hockney enjoys immense, perhaps unequaled public the shock of dyed blond hair, the owlish glasses, and the shy, schoolboy grin are known as much through the popular press as through the journals of the art world. His engaging personality, his quirky but always enlightening ideas about art, and his inexhaustible inventiveness both of imagery and of techniques ranging from oil painting to photography to faxes are captured by Peter Clothier with clear-eyed intelligence and grace in this concise but comprehensive overview.
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 traveler 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 "If art isn't playful," he once commented, "it's nothing." This illuminating, color-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
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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.

#18
Jim Dine
1995
With more than 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—this innovative series offers a fresh look at the most creative and influential artists of the postwar era. Modern Masters form a perfect reference set for home, school, or library. Each handsomely designed volume - A thorough survey of the artist's life and work- Statements by the artist- An illustrated chapter on technique- Chronology- Lists of exhibitions and public collections- Annotated bibliography- Index

#19
Max Beckmann
1996
Even now, some forty-five years after his death, the works created by Max Beckmann exert an intense influence on contemporary art. His piercing self-portraits, his enigmatic yet compelling triptychs, his incisive prints all have earned him a well-deserved reputation as a creator of provocative work that is both emotionally and intellectually stimulating.
Born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1884, Beckmann lived an international life, studying and working in Weimar, Frankfurt, Paris, and Berlin. Successful almost from his earliest days as a professional artist, he exhibited work to acclaim throughout Europe and America. With the Nazis' rise to power, his style and his subjects became dangerously out of fashion, and he was forced into exile-first to Amsterdam, where he spent World War II, and eventually to the United States, where he died, in New York, in 1950.
Although some scholars have categorized Beckmann as a German Expressionist, he always resisted belonging to any group, asserting that "the greatest danger which threatens mankind is collectivization." He also resisted abstraction, remaining passionately committed to the figure throughout his long career. His paintings have much to say about sex, politics, and religion-which is no doubt why they so outraged the Nazis and no doubt why they have remained so absorbing to new generations of admirers.
About the Modern Masters
With informative, enjoyable texts and over 100 illustrations—approximately 48 in full color—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.
Authors
Peter Selz
Author · 4 books
Peter Selz was a German-born American art historian who specialized in German Expressionism.
Eric Shanes
Author · 7 books
Eric Shanes was a professional painter, independent art historian, and lecturer who was a leading expert on Turner. The vice president of the Turner Society, he authored many books on the artist.

Peter Clothier
Author · 2 books
Peter Clothier is an internationally-known writer who specializes in writing about art and artists. He believes in avoiding the jargon that obscures much current writing about art, and in writing simply, clearly, in language that the lay person can readily understand. He seeks to achieve a harmony of mind, heart, and body in his work, and looks for this quality in the artists he writes about. A reformed academic, now fifteen years in recovery, he has returned in recent years to teaching, in mostly non-traditional ways: in workshops, continuing groups, and individual coaching and mentoring for artists and writers.
Richard Francis
Author · 9 books
The idea for writing TEAM came after the 9/11 attacks when search and rescue dogs were used to find victims and possible survivors in the rubble. Why not have a dog help find the hostages and rescue them with his handler. On hikes and walks I would carry a note book and write down ideas for the story. And of course my inspiration and co-worker LT. has been to all my booksignings and also signs the book.