QUEER THING, PAINTING

This is a difficult book to analyze. It is not autobiographical -- and yet it might be described as Walter Pach's adventures encompassing modern art. We read of his own awakening, his growing conception of new meanings in art, his years in Europe exposed to the new influences of Van Gogh, Cezanne, etc. Then, through his study of the contributions made by artists, critics, collectors, connoiseurs of art, one gets an amazingly rounded conception of the varied activities, the tentacles of growth, the progress in appreciation and understanding in the art world today. His survey of the men themselves is a study of concepts, not of personalities. For this reason, the book is definitely addressed to those already aware and interested -- not to the man in the street. Pach has a definite following. There will be some controversy over omissions, but no book can include everyone, and this book is a definite contribution to the subject.