Why Abstract

New York, NY: J. Laughlin, 1945. Hardcover. G+ (book shows wear at corners, particularly at bottom of spine and some spots of fading, all pages clear and intact - dust jacket (if present) shows significant age toning and discoloration and also chipping and a few tears. Gray cloth boards with blue spine lettering 100 pp. "'Why abstract?' That is the question constantly put to modern painters by laymen astonished by the trends of modern art. Hilaire Hiler, himself an abstract painter and a color theorist, answers that question in plain, non-technical language which anyone can understand. Hiler than takes up a number of other important problems which confront the modern painter: the role of the creative artist in our social economy; the influence of scientific discoveries on the technique of painting; the relation of painting and politics; and others. Henry Miller and William Saroyan join Hiler in the discussion. Saroyan is particularly interested in the nature of what we call 'genius' in a painter. Miller's narrative recounts his experience as a student artist in Hiler's Paris atelier. Why Abstract? is a book which will stimulate much controversial but constructive thinking about modern art among laymen and artists alike." - dust jacket description.