{"product_id":"theme-and-improvisation-kandinsky-the-american-avantgarde-19121950","title":"Theme and Improvisation: Kandinsky \u0026 the American Avant-Garde  1912-1950","description":"\u003cp\u003eVassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a seminal figure in the art and thought of the twentieth century. His paintings and theories about art delved into spirituality and music  all the while providing the world with some of the earliest abstract images ever seen. In Europe  his influence has long been acknowledged through his tenure at the Bauhaus  his cofounding of the Blaue Reiter group  and his important writings. Only in recent years  however  has Kandinskys enormous impact on American painting come to be recognized and studied. Theme \u0026amp; Improvisation is both a tribute to Kandinsky and an examination of the exquisite works of American art that demonstrate his influence. While he never visited North America  by the time of his death and the traveling memorial exhibition of his works presented in the United States (1945)  Kandinskys work had become widely recognized and appreciated in America. This countrys major introduction to the Russians work had come through the 1913 Armory Show and by means of Alfred Stieglitzs 291 Gallery  which was devoted to the work of avant-garde artists. Subsequently  several artists who spent time in France and Germany were fortunate to get to know this master  seeing his work and discussing his theories firsthand  among them Marsden Hartley  Albert Bloch  and Konrad Cramer. But an even more persuasive argument for the extent of his influence is found in the work of those Americans who never met this innovator but nonetheless began to experiment with non-objective painting. Documentary evidence demonstrates how deeply influenced were such New York-based artists as Georgia OKeeffe  Arthur Dove  and Ilya Bolotowsky as well as artists working far from Manhattan  including Emil Bisttram  Ed Garman  Raymond Jonson  and Agnes Pelton. An important final chapter explores the impact of Kandinskys ideas and art on such Abstract Expressionists as Jackson Pollock  Arshile Gorky  and Hans Hofmann. Resulting from a groundbreaking  four-venue exhibition  Theme \u0026amp; Improvisation features exquisite color reproductions of works from Kandinskys abstract oeuvre as well as of works by thirty-eight remarkable American artists - some world-renowned  others less well known. Based on important new research into the art of the American avant-garde  and illustrated with many beautiful  often revelatory works of art  this book points the way to a new interpretation of the art of the first half of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44974319009845,"sku":"ByrdShop_0821219219","price":91.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780821219218.jpg?v=1770653612","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/theme-and-improvisation-kandinsky-the-american-avantgarde-19121950","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}