This is the story of how the lives of British artists, from the late-nineteenth century to the present day, reflected and refracted the profound changes and historical events in the wider world. In a brilliant narrative that vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story—including Aubrey Beardsley, Damien Hirst, and Barbara Hepworth—author Michael Bird reevaluates how we look at the history of modern Britain.
Bird illuminates how British artists have been remembered, reimagined, and reshaped by a century of dramatic events. Generously illustrated, This is Tomorrow is an absorbing narrative of how history has changed—and continues to change—how artists see and are seen.
Reviews
Bird's authoritative survey is thoroughly and engagingly preoccupied with the 'nature of art's potential contribution to the cause of social progress.'
— Shelf Awareness
Contributors
Michael Bird
Author
Michael Bird is a writer, broadcaster, and curator. His books include Artists' Letters: Leonardo da Vinci to David Hockney, Studio Voices: Art and Life in 20th-Century Britain, and 100 Ideas That Changed Art. In addition, he has been the Goodison Fellow at the British Library, researching the Artists' Lives archive.
