Alastair Sooke

Pop Art is the most important 20th-century art movement. It brought Modernism to the masses, making art sexy and fun with Coke cans and comics. Today, in our age of selfies and social networking, we are still living in a world defined by Pop. Full of brand new interviews and research, Sooke describes the great works by Warhol, Lichtenstein and other key figures, but also re-examines the movement for the 21st century and asks if it is still art. He reveals a global story, tracing Pop's surprising origins in 19th-century Paris to uncovering the forgotten female artists of the 1960s.

A Colourful History

Pop Art

Henri Matisse by Alastair Sooke - an essential guide to one of the 20th century's greatest artists 'One January morning in 1941, only a fortnight or so after his seventy-first birthday, the bearded and bespectacled French artist Henri Matisse was lying in a hospital bed preparing to die.' Diagnosed with cancer, the acclaimed painter, and rival of Picasso, seemed to be facing his demise. Then something unexpected happened. After a life-saving operation that left him too weak to paint, and often too frail to even get out of bed, Matisse invented a ground-breaking and effortless new way of making art. The results rank among his greatest work. In an astonishing blaze of creativity, he began conjuring mesmerising designs of dazzling dancers and thrilling tightrope walkers, sensuous swimmers and mythical figures falling from the heavens. His joyful and unprecedented new works were as spontaneous as jazz music and as wondrous as crystal-clear lagoons. Their medium? Coloured paper and scissors. This book, by art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke, focuses on Matisse's extraordinary final decade, which he called 'a second life', after he had returned from the grave. Both a biography and a guide to Matisse's 'cut-outs', it tells the story of the valedictory flourish of one of the most important and beloved artists of the twentieth century. Published in time for a major Tate Modern retrospective. 'Sooke is an immensely engaging character. He has none of the weighty self-regard that often afflicts art experts and critics; rather he approaches his subjects with a questioning, open, exploratory attitude' Sarah Vine, The Times 'His shows are excellent - clever, lively, scholarly, but not too lecturey; he's very good at linking his painters with the world outside the studio, and at how these artists have affected the world today' Sam Wollaston reviewing 'Modern Masters', Guardian Alastair Sooke is art critic of the Daily Telegraph. He has written and presented documentaries on television and radio for the BBC, including Modern Masters, The World's Most Expensive Paintings, Treasures of Ancient Rome and, most recently, Treasures of Ancient Egypt. He is a regular reporter for The Culture Show on BBC Two. He is the author of Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art was Saved by Donald Duck.

A Second Life

Henri Matisse

Whaam! Roy Lichtenstein - architect of Pop art, connoisseur of the comic strip, master of irony and prophet of popular culture. From exhilarating images of ice-cool jet pilots in dog fights, to blue-haired Barbie dolls drowning in scenes of domestic heartache, Lichtenstein's instantly recognisable paintings, with their Ben-Day dots and witty one-liners, defined the art of a generation. But how did a jobbing, unassuming painter of the Fifties become a world-famous Pop artist whose work today sells for millions? What do his paintings really tell us? And what is his legacy? This book, which can be read in two hours or less, is a perfect introduction to the artist and his work. Spanning Lichtenstein's career, and explaining his unique style, it is a journey through the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest artists.

How Modern Art Was Saved by Donald Duck

Roy Lichtenstein

Stephen Feeke

In 1991, when Anthony Caro's (1924-2013), Sea Music was officially launched by Lord Palumbo, completion of Antony Gormley's, Angel of the North was seven years away. Sea Music may be seen as a forerunner of this and other iconic public sculptural projects.However, only thanks to the extraordinary generosity and determination of a group of committed individuals and organisations did this major site-specific work by one of the greatest sculptors of the late twentieth century find its way onto the quayside in the town of Poole on the South coast of England.The fascinating story of how this happened is told here in Alastair Sooke's illuminating essay, and recalled by Caro himself in a previously unpublished note written in 1991.The reason for publishing this book now is that, after over 25 years of standing up to Poole's harsh maritime climate, Sea Music has been conserved and repainted and is being justly celebrated through a programme of art and heritage activities.This catalogue celebrates the restoration of Caro's, Sea Music sculpture in Poole (revealed in spring 2017), and is also published to coincide with an exhibition of the artist's, Concerto Series at Poole Museum (13 May - 15 October 2017).

Alastair Sooke

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