Conceptual Revolutions in Twentieth-Century Art

David W. Galenson is Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His other published works include Painting Outside the Lines (2001) and Old Masters and Young Geniuses (2006).

• Introduction; 1. The back story of twentieth-century art; 2. The greatest artists of the twentieth century; 3. The most important works of art of the twentieth century; 4. The greatest artistic breakthroughs of the twentieth century; 5. The greatest women artists of the twentieth century; 6. Creating new genres: conceptual artists at work and play in the twentieth century; 7. And now for something completely different: the versatility of conceptual innovators; 8. You cannot be serious: the conceptual innovator as trickster; 9. Painting by proxy: the conceptual artist as manufacturer; 10. Co-authoring advanced art; 11. Language in visual art; 12. Portraits of the artist: personal visual art in the twentieth century; 13. The rise and (partial) fall of abstract painting in the twentieth century; 14. The globalization of advanced art in the twentieth century; 15. Artists and the market: from Leonardo and Titian to Warhol and Hirst; 16. The state of advanced art: the late twentieth century and beyond.

“To Mr. Galenson markets are what make the 20th century completely different from other eras for art. . . . [B]reaking the rules became the most valued attribute. The greatest rewards went to conceptual innovators who frequently changed styles and invented genres.” – Patricia Cohen, The New York Times