Want a better understanding of art?

Would you like to gain a better understanding of art? Do the of myriad schools, trends, movements, etc. mystify you?

I just discovered a wonderful history of modern art published by the National Gallery that is free to download on the Web. It is called Art Since 1950, and it is a concise and easily understood explanation of trends in visual art from the advent of abstract expressionism to today's pluralistic, post-modernist art scene written in language anyone can understand. It is written for young students but it can also be quite a refresher course for people who have studied art. Find it on the National Gallery's education pages at http://www.nga.gov/education/index.shtm

Also, at the risk of sounding immodest and beating my own drum too loudly, my book, As If Art Matters, is also a good primer on modern art and includes reviews of many of the best shows to come to the Puget Sound region in the past decade, ranging from big shows of internationally known artists such as Vincent van Gogh to reviews of local artists in Tacoma and Olympia. As If Art Matters can be purchased on my website at http://www.alecclayton.com/AsIfArtMatters.html