Most people outside of the art world view art as something that is foreign to their experiences and everyday lives. A People's Art History of the United States places art history squarely in the rough-and-tumble of politics, social struggles, and the fight for justice from the colonial era through the present day. Author and radical artist Nicolas Lampert combines historical sweep with detailed examinations of individual artists and works in a politically charged narrative that spans the conquest of the Americas, the American Revolution, slavery and abolition, western expansion, the suffragette movement and feminism, civil rights movements, environmental movements, LGBT movements, antiglobalization movements, contemporary antiwar movements, and beyond. A People's Art History of the United States introduces us to key works of American radical art alongside dramatic retellings of the histories that inspired them. Stylishly illustrated with over two hundred images, this book is nothing less than an alternative education for anyone interested in the powerful role that art plays in our society.
"This latest addition to the New Press's People's History series, with a preface by Howard Zinn (A People's History of the United States), is both readable and instructive. Rather than writing a comprehensive history of social-justice-movement art, Lampert, an activist artist himself, focuses on 'examples that were complicated, where the decisions made by artists were controversial and confounding
Publishers Weekly
"A much welcome, fresh view of American political art."
Paul Buhle, editor of A People's History of American Empire
"This is an important first volley in what I hope is an ongoing fusillade of people's art histories. There are many more stories to tell, here and abroad. Those relayed by Nicolas Lampert offer models for an art that actively engages in and helps change the course of history."
Lucy R. Lippard, author of Get the Message? A Decade of Art for Social Change
