David Park: A Painter's Life (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780520268418)

David Park (1911-1960), transplanted Bostonian turned ground-breaking West Coast painter, led the way in creating what became known as Bay Area Figurative Art--a daring move during the post-World War II years when abstract expressionism held sway. In this beautifully illustrated biography, compiled from comprehensive and sweeping interviews, Nancy Boas traces Park's resolute search for a new kind of figuration, one that would penetrate abstract expressionism's thickly layered surfaces and infuse them with human presence. Boas changes our understanding of Park as a painter, highlighting his strong influence on Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff, and other artists at the California School of Fine Arts and the University of California, Berkeley. She plunges us into the lively 1940s and 1950s Bay Area art scene, pointing to Park's work as a bold alternative to the abstractions of Clyfford Still. As the book deepens our admiration for Park's figurative paintings, it affirms his stature as a major figure in American art, one who spurred the figurative impulse across the United States and abroad.

Author: Nancy Boas
ISBN-10: 0520268415
ISBN-13: 9780520268418
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 03/17/2012
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.28lbs
Size: 10.21h x 7.47w x 1.19d

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 03/02/2012 pg. 16