These essays on abstract painting by eleven of its most incisive critics trace the development of such critical issues as hard-edge painting, deductive and serial structure, monochrome abstraction, the psychological analogy, regionalism, and the "death of painting" in Postmodernism. The introduction and commentary by Frances Colpitt situates the essays historically and examines their philosophical sources and influences, from formalism and phenomenology to structuralism and poststructuralism. What emerges is a coherent and optimistic picture of abstract painting--the definitive contribution of modern art.

In this important work, Frances Colpitt chronicles the Minimal art movement of the 1960s. Maintaining the original spirit of the period--enthusiasm for innovation and a passionate commitment to intellectual inquiry--Colpitt provides an excellent documentary history that is both thorough and nonpartisan. Using a metacritical approach that embraces critical writings of the artists themselves, interviews by herself and the others, and a generous sampling of illustrations, Colpitt sets foth the issues and arguments and identifies key concepts that are crucial to an understanding of Minimal art. These include the frequent use of industrial materials and techniques; nonrelational principles of composition; and theoretical issues of scale, presence and thatricality. Also discussed are issues of abstraction, illusion, and reductionism as revealed in the writing and artistic productions of such leading innovators as Frank Stella, Donald Judd, and Robert Morris, among others. An appendix lists major exhibitions and reviews.