Pop! The World Of Pop Art

• Pop art is one of the most well-known movements of modern art
• Works by the likes of Andy Warhol attract record auction prices - Eight Elvises selling for $107.5 million in 2008
• Contains 15 faithful reproductions, including an early sketch of one of Lichtenstein's works, a stencil from one of Warhol's Campbell's paintings and a poster by David Hockney from his time at the Royal College of Art

This beautifully illustrated book explores Pop art's origins in modern European avant-garde movements such as Cubism and Dadaism, prior to its true beginnings in early 1950's London with the Independent Group and their fascination with American popular culture - leading to the name "Pop".

Guiding the reader through the work of some of the most well known practitioners, such as Warhol and Lichtenstein, this compelling book also travels the world to examine how Pop art influenced artists as far afield as Italy, Spain, Finland, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Key figures include Japan's Yayoi Kusama and Italy's Mimmo Rotella. POP! The World of Pop Art explains how - and why - this movement appealed to so many diverse artists on so many levels, including often overlooked female artists who were central to the Pop art scene. Finally, POP! considers the influence of Pop art on other genres, in particular as the precursor to post-modernism and contemporary forms of art. With 15 faithfully reproduced documents, including items from the studios of a number of artists, POP! The World of Pop Art gives a unique insight into this celebrated movement.

Contents: Introduction; The Precursors of Pop: The European Modernists; The British Independent Group; The Roots of American Pop Art; Pop Art and Ad Men (Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg); European Pop Ripping Up the City; From Center to Periphery: Other Pop Masters; British Pop Revisited; Body/Politics: Women as Subject and Object of Pop Art; Pop Around the World; The Legacy of Pop Art; Credits.

John Finlay studied Art History and Theory at Essex University (1989-92) and received his MA (1993) and PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London (1998). He is a historian of French history, specializing in twentieth-century modern art. He has contributed to international journals, including the Burlington Magazine and Apollo Magazine (both UK), with articles on topics including Picasso, Giacometti, Cubism and Surrealism. His previous book Picasso's World (2011) is published by Goodman Books (London) and Larousse (as Le Monde de Picasso).