Artists of World War Two

Barbara McCloskey

Greenwood Publishing Group, Jan 1, 2005 - Art - 214 pages

The first global survey of art in WWII, this volume features selected biographies of artists and detailed discussions of war-era art worlds in China, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Spain, and the United States. Readers can compare and contrast artists' experiences of war in these different countries. They will observe the artists' wide range of responses to war, from producing art works that actively supported the war effort, to criticism of death and destruction.

Chapters begin with short synopses of the art worlds in each of these countries leading up to World War II. Following this are approximately five detailed biographies of selected artists whose works exhibited a wide range of responses to the war efforts of their nation. Their works cover a range of artistic styles, from traditional to modern, and demonstrate the blurred boundaries of art and propaganda during this period. The influence of their works on World War II and how their communities, and the world, responded to those works, gives readers a unique view on the powerful influence of art in war.

Contents

• Artists in China Between War and Civil War: 1
• Artists in France Between Collaboration and Resistance: 17
• Artists in Germany Constructing the ThousandYear Reich: 41
• Artists in Great Britain Creating Art as Propaganda during the Blitz: 69
• Artists in Italy Shaping a Fascist Culture of Consensus: 87
• Artists in Japan Relating Tradition and Modernity to the Art of Holy War: 111
• Artists in the Soviet Union Defending Communist Utopia: 127
• Artists in Spain Waging a Media War: 151
• Artists in the United States Selling War and Peace in the American Century: 171
• Remembering World War II: 197
• Index: 203

About the author

BARBARA McCLOSKEY is an associate professor of art history at the University of Pittsburg. She is the author of "George Grosz and the Communist Party: Art and Radicalism in Crisis, 1918 to 1936.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Artists of World War Two; Artists Of An Era, ISSN 1541-955X
• Author: Barbara McCloskey
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005
• ISBN: 0313321531, 9780313321535
• Length: 214 pages
• Subjects: Art / General; Biography & Autobiography / General; History / Military / World War II