The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning [Paperback]

Dore Ashton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0520081064 | ISBN-13: 978-0520081062

With the emergence of Abstract Expressionism after World War II, the attention of the international art world turned from Paris to New York. Dore Ashton captures the vitality of the cultural milieu in which the New York School artists worked and argued and critiqued each other's work from the 1930s to the 1950s. Working from unsifted archives, from contemporary newspapers and books, and from extensive conversations with the men and women who participated in the rise of the New York School, Ashton provides a rich cultural and intellectual history of this period. In examining the complex sources of this important movement--from the WPA program of the 1930s and the influx of European ideas to the recognition in the 1950s of American painting on an international scale--she conveys the concerns of an extraordinary group of artists including Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, Philip Guston, Barnett Newman, Arshile Gorky, and many others. Rare documentary photographs illustrate Ashton's classic appraisal of the New York School scene.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"On structural grounds alone, Ashton's book is a marvel, compared with the one-eyed speculation of most art history. She is so determined to place the New York School in a broad cultural context that at times her book seems as much a study of literature and politics as of art during the 1930s and 1940s."--Douglas Davis, Newsweek -- Review

About the Author

Dore Ashton is Professor of Art History at The Cooper Union, New York, and the author of many books on modern art.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520081064
• ISBN-13: 978-0520081062
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine history, June 20, 2007

By 

Erstwhile (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning (Paperback)

Dore Ashton doesn't disappoint with this interesting history of the New York school of art. Ashton has been there, done that, and writes with a clear, readable style.

This book is a must for every artist, art student, and anyone interested in art and the art world. Buy the paperback and enjoy.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE CLASSIC, June 13, 2010

By 

Linda Lockard Roth (New York State) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New York School: A Cultural Reckoning (Paperback)

This is a must read classic for anyone interested in contemporary American art. The author, Dore Ashton was one of the most highly respected authorities of the New York School. Before the New York School the art world existed in Europe. The book describes the exciting cultural environment that encouraged artists in America to create new forms of painting and sculpture that would become one of the most significent AH HA! moments in art history. This is a must have for any library of books on art.