Art books for the people : the origins of the Penguin Modern Painters / David Trigg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trigg, David, author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in publishing and book culture, 2514-8524.

Cambridge elements. Elements in publishing and book culture, 2514-8524

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penguin (Firm)--History--20th century.

Penguin (Firm).

Art publishing--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Art publishing.

Painting, Modern--20th century--History.

Painting, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (89 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

The Penguin Modern Painters (1944-1959) was a groundbreaking series of British art monographs designed to promote the work of contemporary artists to a general readership. In examining the factors that influenced the wartime conception and development of the series, this Element makes a contribution to the understanding of the relationship between publishing and the visual arts during the Second World War. The study argues that the emergence of The Penguin Modern Painters was inextricably linked to the aims of British wartime cultural policy and the ideology of the pre-war adult education movement. The key personalities involved are identified and their multiple and often conflicting motives analysed to provide new insights into the shifting perspectives of Britain's elites regarding the way that art was presented to the public in the 1940s. This Element provides a foundation on which further study of twentieth-century art publishing in Britain might be developed.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Imprints page

Art Books for the People: The Origins of The Penguin Modern Painters

Contents

Introduction

1 Propaganda and Publishing: A Pre-History of The Penguin Modern Painters

1.1 The War Artists' Advisory Committee

1.2 The Books and Pamphlets Programme of the Ministry of Information

1.3 The Road to Penguin

1.4 War Pictures by British Artists

2 Hatching a Penguin: The Birth of The Penguin Modern Painters

2.1 The Popularity of Wartime Exhibitions

2.2 The Wartime Demand for Art Books

2.3 Penguin's Wartime Success

2.4 Allen Lane and the Road to Illustrated Books

2.5 W. E. Williams: Editor-in-Chief

2.6 A General Editor for The Penguin Modern Painters

2.7 Overcoming Production Challenges

3 Penguin and the People: Identifying an Audience for The Penguin Modern Painters

3.1 W. E. Williams and The New Social Consciousness

3.2 Pelican Books and the Arts

3.3 Williams and the Adult Education Movement

3.4 Pelicans and the 'Man in the Street'

3.5 Art for the People

3.6 Expanding Art for the People

3.7 Contradicting Williams

3.8 Clark's Audience and the Market for Art

3.9 Mass-Observation and Penguin World

3.10 Williams's Disillusionment

Conclusion

References

Acknowledgements.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Jul 2025).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-009-57817-0

1-009-57818-9

1-009-57816-2

OCLC:

1574122445