As the twenty-first century unfolds, notions of our cultural past and how our history has influenced our present shift almost daily. Within this, accepted artistic trajectories are being questioned and new connections made. In this wide-ranging and thought-provoking publication, experts in their field address specific aspects of British art of the twentieth century. Presenting new perspectives on established narratives, subjects range from British Surrealism and the rise of corporate and private patronage, to nationality and British identity. Complemented by a range of striking images, this publication succeeds in showing the strength of the British artistic tradition while also encouraging the reader to rethink and explore the existing narrative.

Focussing on the period from 1930 to 1960, this fascinating publication considers the transition of Victor Pasmore (1908-1998) from one of Britain's leading figurative painters to one of its foremost exponents of abstract art. From Pasmore's own writings and those of his contemporaries, a fascinating picture emerges of the years in the late 1940s and early 1950s when lyrical landscapes - incorporating increasingly suggestive formal structures - were suddenly superseded by abstract paintings and collages, and then by constructed reliefs. Seeking to explore these decades and later years, the book's visual narrative traces a path from the artist's earliest canvases through to his engagement in the 1960s with the controversial Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee, County Durham. This important publication will renew interest in an important period in British art history and shed new light on a crucial stage in Pasmore's long career.