In the 19th century artists flocked to Colorado, drawn to the world-renowned styles such as realism and impressionism, but their successors in the early 20th century were resistant to another
Old World invention abstraction. However, in the 1930s, some Colorado artists would begin to turn toward abstraction so much so that by the 1950s, this aesthetic mode was well entrenched and
came to dominate the visual arts in the state. In the 1960s and 1970s, abstract artists in Colorado set a national standard. Today, in the first decade of the 21st century, the abstract
sensibility is alive and well among the state's most accomplished painters and sculptors.
With more than 200 color plates, this lavishly illustrated book begins with Michael Paglia's overview of the history of abstraction in Colorado, commencing with the generation of artists from
the first half of the 20th century, and concluding with the late modernists from the end of the second. This historic discussion is followed by individual essays by Chandler, spotlighting the
careers of more than fifty artists currently creating abstract works in Colorado.
