John Clieff

A well-written overview of the history of American art, from Puritan origins through civil war, growing prosperity, modernism, depression, war, and rampant capitalism at the end of the twentieth century. Hughes views much post-1980s art as market-hyped rubbish. He doesn't care for artists who lack technical drawing skills. He emphasises the importance of good artistic training, noting that art was bad when artists were untrained or when they had no good models to observe (such as the early days of the colonies). He chronicles the gradual shift of the art world epicentre from Paris to New York (and ultimately, beyond) over the course of the 'American Century'. He concludes that excessive capitalistic speculation has damaged the American art scene, perhaps irreparably.… (mehr)