Book Description

Clyfford Still (1904-1980), best known for his compelling abstractworks with jagged fields and powerful expanses of color, stands among the giants ofpost-World War II art. Together with his peers Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, andBarnett Newman, Still helped shape the new vision of art that came to be called AbstractExpressionism. This vividly illustrated book presents more than thirty of Still's greatestworks, paintings that represent the full flowering of his style.

The contributors to this volume explore various aspects of Still's art, hisaccomplishments, and the Abstract Expressionism movement. David Anfam presents anoverview of Still's career from the 1930s through 1950s. Brooks Adams examines Still'sartistic legacy and influence on succeeding generations of artists. And Neal Benezra'schapter focuses on a provocative, unexplored element of Still's studio practice: his habitof painting replicas of many of his own works.

This book accompanies an exhibition at theHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., from 21 June through 16 September, 2001.The exhibition will offer an unprecedented opportunity to view outstanding examples ofStill's work, many of which have not been on public display for decades. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

From a Recent Still Convert
A few of my favorite painters are contemporaries of Still, so I saw it as my duty to see the Hirschhorn exhibition. Well, I picked a dead day and had the show to myself and simply put I am now a fan. The book is great and David Anfam's addition to the book is especially enlightening about the work of Still.

From a new Clifford Still fan:
I am a painter who has largely avoided Clifford Still but this book has turned me into a great admirer. Particulary influential was the contribution by David Anfam, the art historian who was responsible for the magnificent, award-winning Mark Rothko catalogue raisonne. Anfam's essay is insightful, far-reaching, beautifully written with poetic underpinnings, a pleasure to read. All you'll ever need to know about Clifford Still, his work, and his place in art history is covered in this essay. The color plates are also wonderful and, even as reproductions, offer a great chance to appreciate the paintings.

Clyfford Still
Clyfford Still is one of the giant figures of the art world and this book puts his paintings in a proper perspective. The book contains many color reproductions of his large non-objective canvases. Still himself wrote the book and gives us a very good insight into his life and thinking process. He discusses what went into his paintings and how his unique canvas numbering system worked absent dates and titles to identify his work. It is also a journey through his body of work. His paintings were skillfully balanced with positive and negative spaces and his unparalleled use of color is well documented. This book is a must for any art lover in general and for students of American art in particular. I liked this book not only for the well reproduced paintings in color but also because it let's us into the painter's mind to get a glimps of his true genius. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on October 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2935 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Clyfford Still: the importance of being earnest.(abstract expressionism)
Author: Daniel Kunitz
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2001
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 20Issue: 2Page: 39

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