From the Great Depression to World War II, the lives and work of British artists intersected with a world in crisis. A compelling group biography, Comrades in Art explores the political forces that shaped the development of modern art in Britain, tracing how artists set aside aesthetic differences to mobilize on an unprecedented scale to resist fascism and campaign for cultural freedom and democracy.
Featuring some of the best-known names in British, European, and American art, such as Barbara Hepworth, Paul Nash, David Bomberg, Pablo Picasso, Oskar Kokoschka, Henry Moore, Stuart Davis, and Diego Rivera, Comrades in Art explores the lives of its diverse and talented protagonists. Taking the first ten years of the Artists International Association (AIA) as his point of focus, author Andy Friend brings to life the captivating drama of the organization as it rapidly grew to attract the support of a majority of Britain’s aspiring and established artists, offering new insights into art and culture during this decade of political extremes. By situating the AIA within a global context, and uncovering connections with Moscow, New York, Paris, Barcelona, and elsewhere, including the New Deal Federal Art Project, this impressive work of research and scholarship is a revealing read for anyone seeking to understand the dynamic interplay of politics and art during one of the most turbulent periods in modern history.
Reviews
This study by Andy Friend sets into relief a network of artists and critics united—despite dissimilar styles, agendas, and aesthetic allegiances—in the fight against fascism's early rise… Friend charts the efforts of internationally renowned individuals like Picasso and Diego Rivera in parallel with work by Paul Nash, David Bomberg, Barbara Hepworth, and others in linking networks of anti-fascist resistance, whether with New Deal America or other groups in Europe.
— Ara H. Merjian, Art in America
A stirring, deeply researched history of artists' response to crisis.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
An exemplary case study in the importance of social scenes to art history.
— Art in America
Contributors
Andy Friend
Author
Andy Friend is an author and curator of Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship and John Nash: The Landscape of Love and Solace.
Frances Spalding
Foreword By
Frances Spalding is an art historian, critic, and leading authority on twentieth-century British art. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between Two World Wars.
