The Age of the Avant-Garde: 1956-1972 [Paperback]

Hilton Kramer (Author), Roger Kimball (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1412808340 | ISBN-13: 978-1412808347 | Publication Date: November 30, 2008

Hilton Kramer, well known as perhaps the most perceptive, courageous, and infl uentialn art critic in America, is also the founder and co-editor (with Roger Kimball) of The New Criterion. Th is comprehensive book collects a sizable selection of his early essays and reviews published in Artforum, Commentary, Arts Magazine, The New York Review of Books, and The Times, and thus constituted his first complete statement about art and the art world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 588 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (November 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412808340
• ISBN-13: 978-1412808347
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rating Avant-garde Artists, June 2, 2003

By 

Patricia R. Andersen "redheaded booklover" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The age of the avant-garde;: An art chronicle of 1956-1972 (Hardcover)

This book is a collection of reviews and essays written by Hilton Kramer. Mr Kramer is a well respected art critic, known for his well trained eye and writing style.

So what time period is the "Avant-Garde"? Mr Kramer believes it is the period of time from 1855 to the 1950s. The reviews are divided by time periods, as well as the nationalities of the artists. The reviews are well written and don't have the snobbish point of view that some art critics use, that only the critic can decide what is art.

This book helps set different art movements in a historical perspective, so the reader can easily see what else was going on in the art world when the art was produced. The book also contains black and white photos of various art work - it's a shame they couldn't have been done in color. That is my only complaint about this book.

I recommend this book highly for old and new artists alike - or even if you're just interested in art - to see how art is put into the historical perspective as well as for the enlightenment the reviews give the reader.