Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925: How a Radical Idea Changed Modern Art

This publication accompanies the exhibition Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925 (December 23, 2012-April 15, 2013). In 1912, in several European cities, a handful of artists-Vasily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Francis Picabia, and Robert Delaunay-presented the first abstract pictures to the public. The Inventing Abstraction catalogue, published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, celebrates the centennial of this bold new type of artwork. It traces the development of abstraction as it moved through a network of modern artists, sweeping across nations and across media. This richly illustrated publication covers a wide range of artistic production-including paintings, drawings, books, sculptures, film, photography, sound poetry, atonal music, and non-narrative dance-to draw a cross-media portrait of these watershed years. An introductory essay by Leah Dickerman, Curator in the Museum’s Department of Painting and Sculpture, is followed by focused studies of key groups of works, events, and critical issues in abstraction’s early history by renowned scholars from a variety of fields. Winner of the Association of American Publisher’s PROSE Award for Excellence, named Best Thematic Exhibition Catalogue of 2012 by the American Association of Museum Curators, and awarded Best Exhibition Catalogue of 2012 by the Dedalus Foundation.