At the Time of Picasso, Mondrian and the Foundations of Modern Art

by Antony Mason

Introduces young readers to major art eras and the artists who contributed to their development

Genres: Art

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Eighty books – seems a bit excessive, really, even to me. But this is the product of more than twenty years of writing. And I have to say that some authors in my field – illustrated non-fiction – have written twice, even three times, as many.

How did I get here? Well, I worked as an editor with a couple of small publishing companies in London for about ten years (1977–87), and then I turned freelance. Whenever any writing tasks were offered to me, I took them, and so gradually I made the conversion from editor to writer – although I still do both.

I think I always wanted to be a writer, penning short stories as a child. I also have an insatiable curiosity. This is how I’ve ended up in non-fiction, where my magpie instincts to investigate virtually any area of knowledge have served me well.

My primary skill – so I’m told – is to research a subject and then convert it into clear, accessible and engaging text for a general readership, or for children.

I also translate books from French, and write website content.

For a couple of years (2008–10) I was a tutor in writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, working as a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. Latterly I have been closely involved in the Intergenerational Foundation, which aims to remind government and policy-makers of the need to think for the long-term to ensure an honourable and sustainable legacy to future generations.
Since 2011 I have also been writing as the ‘Brussels expert’ for the Daily Telegraph and the Telegraph online travel website.

Reviews

[Hattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mondrian fell out with the other members of Die Stijl over the use of diagonal lines”
If you made this stuff up nobody would believe it...

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it takes a juvenile nonfiction to give you the answers you want in a timely fashion. This was actually quite well done, nice overview of the beginning of the 20th cent and all the art movements therein.