The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985 Paperback – January 1, 1986

Life changing book

This is the most valuable book I have ever purchased! I am a young painter experimenting with abstraction and diving into spirituality. Although I studied many of these artists in Art History courses in college, I feel like the spiritual aspects were skimmed over. This is exactly the textbook I needed to learn more about the spirituality in abstraction. I am discovering the spiritual inspiration of many artists that I already knew which is like rediscovering them entirely! I am so grateful for discovering this book, it has fully ignited a passion in me for learning about and creating abstract spiritual art. It has changed my life!I have attached many images to give you an idea of the book, including the table of contents. The essays are incredible, but I wish all the images were in color. I particularly like the spiritual chronologies of each of the artists in the back of the book.I bought a used - very good paperback for $25, but the cover was a little scratched (as its just paper). While reading the book in bed with it propped up on my knees I was not careful and accidentally cracked the spine and binding on the Pollock page. The paperback should only be read laid out on a flat surface. This is a book I will cherish my entire lifetime as a painter so I will eventually replace it with a hardback and donate the damaged paperback to another artist or library. So save yourself the trouble and go ahead and get the hardback.

The book arrived in good time and it is in excellent condition: Much better than I had hoped it would be.It is a delight to read all the essays and the pictures of the art work are truly outstanding.I love it.

This is one of the best art books, if not the best art book, that I have purchased. I have owned one since its publication but was happy to find this hard cover copy for a friend's daughter who is an art student at the University of Chicago.

I would say this is probably an essential source for any painting student, as I've gained so much from it already. Wonderful essays and drawings from the turn of the century onward. The stereotypes of Abstract Painting are questioned in a natural and convincing way. Very refreshing. Get the hardcover. Totally worth it.

This is a rare book that was shipped in a thin hard cover with a sticky material that became embedded in the book cover and left it damaged. Further damage occurred during shipping that twisted the spine and left the front and back covers out of alignment. The damage to this high quality book could have been easily prevented with a little soft paper and a box. At least the customer service was prompt in accepting the return.

This is really more of a scholarly work than illustrative or pictorial, While some background information is of course warranted and appreciated, I wanted to see actual works of art more than read about the philosophy.

Excellent. If you're even remotely interested I would pick it up and explore the art in here. The writing in it is fantastic.