Imagine walking through a museum where each room is in contradiction with the next. The first might whisper of European tradition, the next may shout about revolution, the next hums with a super modern energy. That’s the story of American art, a centuries-long debate about identity, beauty, and freedom, all declared in various colors and contradictions.
In 1999, Phaidon published The American Art Book, then the definitive survey on American artists. Now, on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, a newly updated and revised edition will re-present this wildly popular survey, with more than 140 artworks new to this edition. (Main image above Wendy Red Star, Spring, 2006. Picture credit: Courtesy the artist and Sargent’s Daughters. Archival pigment print on Sunset Fiber rag, 21 × 24 in., 53.3 × 61 cm).
Arranged in the same accessible A–Z format as the original, this all new The American Art Book features the work of 500 artists from over 350 years, showcasing young artists who are newer to the art world, artists who have become well-known since the release of the last edition, and historic artists who have gained more recognition in recent years. All are linked by the fact that they were born in, or spent significant time in, the US.
This updated version takes a much wider view on America’s rich history of art, pushing into new media among other disciplines and bringing the story up to the present day.
A team of advisors from across the US informed the overall selection of 500 artists and artworks for the book, ensuring a compelling range and placing both well-known names alongside the rising class of great American artists.
Ana Mendieta, Flower Person, Flower Body, 1975. Picture credit: © Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Licensed by DACS, London, 2025. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co color photograph
Among this esteemed panel of curators, writers, and scholars are David Breslin, Curator in Charge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator of Native American Art at Portland Art Museum; and Leslie Umberger, Curator of Folk and Self-Taught Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
The most recent artist in the book is Rose B. Simpson from New Mexico who was born in 1983, and whose clay and multi-media works are created in context with the craft traditions from her Santa Clara Pueblo community. Among the most historic artists in the book is Henrietta Johnston, who was born around 1670 and is the earliest recorded woman artist working in the colonies.
All the giants of American art are here, including Mary Cassatt, Thomas Cole, Helen Frankenthaler, Keith Haring, Jacob Lawrence, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol.
There are names you’ll recognize from Phaidon artist monographs and Artspace editions: Anni and Josef Albers, Sam Gilliam, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Yoko Ono, Catherine Opie, and Sarah Sze.
Sarah Sze, Shorter than the Day, 2020. Picture credit: Courtesy the artist. Commissioned by LaGuardia Gateway Partners in partnership with Public Art Fund. Photo: Nicholas Knight. Powder-coated aluminum and steel
New additions to the book include Emma Amos, Laurie Anderson, Ruth Asawa, David Drake, Elaine de Kooning, Carmen Herrera, Arthur Jafa, Maya Lin, George Platt Lynes, Gordon Parks, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, among others.
Many of the featured artists use their work to explore themes such as race, sexuality, gender, activism, and the history of the US. Others delve into the materiality of painting, sculpture, and photography in innovative and sometimes challenging ways.
A roster of experts contribute new 180-word texts that offer engaging introductions to the artist and the work illustrated. Meanwhile, consultant editors have updated texts from the original book to bring the scholarship up to the current day.
George Bellows, Stag at Sharkey’s, 1909. Picture credit: © Cleveland Museum of Art, Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 × 48 1/4 in., 92 × 122.6 cm
The book includes classic styles and movements associated with the country – Abstract Expression, the Ashcan School, Fluxus, Harlem Renaissance, Hudson River School, Land art, Minimalism, Pop art, Pictorialism, and Surrealism – and features a glossary to help readers navigate and understand all these terms.
All the above make for a substantially broader telling of American art history than other accounts. It is part of Phaidon’s successful “The Art Book” family and follows Latin American Artists and the Great Women series.
Wrapped in a stunning cover worthy of its subjects, this survey tells the history of a country through its most vital artists. Buy The American Art Book.
Paul Thek, Untitled (Hand with Ring), from Technological Reliquaries series, 1967. Picture credit: © Estate of Paul Thek. Courtesy Pace Gallery. Photo: Richard Gary. Wood, plaster, paint, and metal, 7 3/8 × 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 in., 18.7 × 11.4 × 11.4 cm
