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American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America
Writing with all the brilliance, authority, and pungent wit that have distinguished his art criticism for Time magazine and his greatly acclaimed study of modern art, The Shock of the New, Robert Hughes now addresses his largest subject: the history of art in America.
The intense relationship between the American people and their surroundings has been the source of a rich...more
The intense relationship between the American people and their surroundings has been the source of a rich...more
Hardcover, 648 pages
Published
April 22nd 1997
by Knopf
(first published January 1st 1997)
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Rbt Hughes continues to inspire and reveal all the layers of everything - and I mean everything about art - with constant wit, insight and blinding, wildly crass matter of factness. He remains one of my favorite art historians/ critics of all time.
A wonderful, epic history of art in America. It is strong through most of th book, but the last chapters on recent impressionism and abstract art fall off a bit. Well -illustrated as well.
This book is an incredible addition to a humanities library. With a sweeping look at the arts in America, the thing that sets this book apart from the rest is the author's ability to give *context* to it all. You get this great feel for what was going on in America and the world at the time that made this painting or that statue so valued or memorable, even if we might think it's the ugliest thing we've ever seen. I also love that Robert Hughes isn't afraid to express his opinion about various w...more
at 648 pages, this is a bit much for even Robert Hughes worshipers, but its AN ESSENTIAL BOOK for any thinking humans out there.
Jul 02, 2007
Jason Lombardi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
art nerds
A great read for any American artist or historian wishing to place one’s self within a specific lineage of great minds. Reads smoother than any other art history text handed to me in school. Robert Hughs has a coy sense of humor and no qualms about expressing his own biases towards certain historical figures (he is not a fan of J. Audubon). The book moves rapidly from the settlers of America up until the early 19th century then gets progressively beefier with each decade. I especially like his a...more
Love this book. Well written.
SM
Very tendentious and judgmental which is typical for Hughes. I do disagree with him, especially on significance of Hopper, Winslow Homer and Wyeth, among others. My gods are Eakins and Sargent and Whister's etchings. I do like Hughes' courage to make judgments about good and bad in art however, and his send up of the NYC 80s art world as a relativistic PR machine for peddling junk to dealers. This seems to only have gotten worse. But the good news is New York's star has definitely fallen.
An illuminating book by an Australian author who also hosted the brilliant television series which this book expands on in a scholarly but accessible manner. The illustrations are vivid and very true to life, but if you get the chance rent the tv series, they're thrilling. The book is available at a very affordable price from various sites listed right here on goodreads.
This is a great book for anyone looking to understand/appreciate/learn more about American art. Robert Hughes is a talented writer and I enjoyed reading between the lines on some of non-American humor. There are some rather dry parts, but I suppose that's bound to happen in a 600 page book about art. You probably won't enjoy it all.
This is undoubtedly my most favourite book of all time, the beautiful flow of writing and insights into the world of art are astounding. Read this book!!!
Read the whole book in college, and watched the movies. They're actually quite good. I find myself still thinking about them 10 years later.
art criticism from a very knowledgeable curmudgeon.
Jan 05, 2012
Ellen Brenna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Darla and Bob
Shelves:
artanddesign
Comprehensive and elegantly written.
great overview
Jun 16, 2013
Caterina
marked it as to-read
Jun 11, 2013
Ibrahim Ramadan
marked it as to-read
Jun 07, 2013
Bochra Halloul
marked it as to-read
Jun 06, 2013
Ellen Gursanscky
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
storing-clontarf
Jun 03, 2013
Austin Haynes
added it
May 23, 2013
Diane Vermette
marked it as to-read
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Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Riverview before going on to study arts and then architecture at the University of Sydney. At university, Hughes associated with the Sydney "Push" – a group of artists, writers, intellectuals and drinkers. Among the...more
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