这本关于1945年以来的视觉艺术的标准入门书自2001年以来，首次被修订，更新和重新设计。总结了从抽象表现主义到当今的运动，趋势和单个艺术家，详细介绍了一些重大进展，如波普艺术，概念性和表演性作品，极简主义艺术，新表现主义和具象绘画，青年艺术家协会和二十一世纪的全球化艺术界。关于2000年以来的艺术的新章节包括对Banksy和艾未未作品，以及俄罗斯和东欧艺术的最新趋势的讨论。Edward Lucie-Smith用非凡的清晰度和强烈的叙事感写作，使数十位艺术家的作品神秘化，揭示了艺术界如何与社会，政治和环境问题互动。从杰克逊•波洛克（Jackson Pollock）的绘画到20世纪80年代纽约的涂鸦，再到20世纪70年代的土地艺术，再到中国的当代绘画和日本的录像，书中包含近300张重要艺术作品的图像。与21世纪的艺术一样，这本书的影响力遍及全球。

This standard introduction to visual art since 1945 has been revised, updated and redesigned for the first time since 2001. Movements, trends and individual artists from abstract expressionism to the present day are summarized, with detailed coverage of major developments such as pop art, conceptual and performance work, minimal art, neo-expressionist and figurative painting, the YBAs and the globalized art scene of the twenty-first century. A new chapter on art since 2000 includes discussion of work by Banksy and Ai Weiwei, as well as recent trends in art from Russia and Eastern Europe. Writing with exceptional clarity and a strong sense of narrative, Edward Lucie-Smith demystifies the work of dozens of artists, revealing how the art world has interacted with social, political and environmental concerns. Nearly 300 images of key artworks range from the paintings of Jackson Pollock via graffiti from 1980s New York and land art of the 1970s to contemporary painting from China and video from Japan. The book is as global in its reach as art has become in the 21st century.