Creative personalities are always fascinating, and to learn something new about the twentieth century’s greatest artists—whether eccentric or sober, outspoken or reclusive—is compelling. Here are some of the strangest, saddest, and most intriguing life stories of the century. A total of 105 artists are presented in lively short biographies, and each entry is illustrated with important works, self-portraits, and photographs.

Clearly grouped according to style and era are modern and contemporary art’s pioneers, from Picasso and Duchamp to Louise Bourgeois and Jean-Michel Basquiat. New entries on rising stars such as Marlene Dumas and Zhang Xiaogang bring the book into the twenty-first century.

Edward Lucie-Smith is a well-known poet, biographer, and writer and broadcaster on the visual arts. Here he vividly evokes the lives of these great personalities and guides the reader through the maze of different styles and movements with authority and verve.

“A ‘must have’ book. . . . A more informed, compassionate, equitable, and illuminating study of our century’s greatest masters will not be found elsewhere.”   —Bloomsbury Review

“A useful reference about the artists of modern times.”

ISBN 978-0-500-28191-8 · 8" x 11" · 288 illustrations, 112 in color · 368 pages · ART