Art of the Extreme 1905-1914

Philip Hook

Hardcover | 15.8 x 3.6 x 23.8 cm | 432 pp

Profile Books | 2021 | 9781788161855

The ten years leading up to the First World War were the most exciting, frenzied and
revolutionary in the history of art. They were the crucible of Modernism, when - to the horror of the conventional majority -Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism and Abstract Art all burst forth in quick and shocking succession. Simultaneously the old master market boomed, and art itself was politically weaponised in advance of approaching war.

This book re-examines the period from a series of new and revealing angles. What was the conventional art against which Modernism was rebelling? Why did avant-garde artists become so obsessed with themselves? What persuaded a few bold collectors to buy difficult modern art? Why did others pay so much money for old masters? What was the changing view of the purpose of museums?

Philip Hook, until recently director of Sotheby's modern art department, knows the period intimately. Over a quarter of a century he handled the sale of many of its greatest masterpieces (and some of its less distinguished productions, too). He brings to bear a unique perspective on the art of a unique and extreme decade.

'Hook...writes suavely and racily ... has a fabulous ear for anecdotes ... his entertaining book has a Wodehousian tone that makes even the most heinous act it describes glint with comedy' - Waldemar Januszczak, Sunday Times

'Fascinating and elegantly written...both wise and timely' - William Boyd, Guardian

'Fascinating ... Hook writes with honesty and wry detachment' - Robert Eustace, Telegraph

'A pleasure to read' - Michael Prodger, Times