
Eleven Painters Start a War
The Story of a Group of Abstract Painters
Tom Smart(Author)
Biblioasis (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 4. June 2026
Book
Hardback
469 pages
978-1-77196-696-2 (ISBN)
Description
By the early 1950s, art societies and academies held a tight grip on what could and could not be shown in their annual public exhibitions. Their juries were conservative tastemakers and rabid anti-modernists. Abstract art was rarely selected for display, thus robbing innovative painters of opportunities to have their work seen, reviewed, and purchased. With no outlets to show their art, ambitious, impatient painters sought alternative exhibition venues as a means of advocating for changes in the status quo.
In Eleven Painters Start a War, Tom Smart tells the story of the "Painters Eleven," a group of abstract painters whose anti-establishment ethos was defined by a respect for diversity, creative freedom, abstraction, and contempt for aesthetic complacency. He charts their paths through the 1950s and early 60s as they fight for the acceptance of abstract painting in Canadian art galleries, the critical press, and in the public imagination. Through their interactions and steadfast belief in the promise of abstract art to contribute to a better society, the Painters Eleven managed to change attitudes toward this new way of painting, but not without facing the vitriol of the art establishment who accused them of "starting a war."
In Eleven Painters Start a War, Tom Smart tells the story of the "Painters Eleven," a group of abstract painters whose anti-establishment ethos was defined by a respect for diversity, creative freedom, abstraction, and contempt for aesthetic complacency. He charts their paths through the 1950s and early 60s as they fight for the acceptance of abstract painting in Canadian art galleries, the critical press, and in the public imagination. Through their interactions and steadfast belief in the promise of abstract art to contribute to a better society, the Painters Eleven managed to change attitudes toward this new way of painting, but not without facing the vitriol of the art establishment who accused them of "starting a war."
Reviews / Votes
Praise for Palookaville: Seth and the Art of Graphic Autobiography"Tom Smart turns his trained eye to the art and worldview of Canadian cartoonist and graphic novelist Seth . . . Palookaville is a fascinating source of insight into the work of an excellent and ambitious cartoonist."
-Foreword Reviews
"Informed and informative, profusely illustrated, impressively insightful, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Palookaville: Seth and the Art of Graphic Autobiography is a 'must' for the legions of Seth fans."
-Midwest Book Review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Emeryville
Canada
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
125 full color images; 26 b&w portraits
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 165 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-77196-696-2 (9781771966962)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Author, art gallery director, curator, and consultant, Tom Smart has written award-winning, critical biographies, catalogues, and books as well as curated exhibitions on Canadian and international artists, including painters Mary Pratt, Christopher Pratt, James Simon Mishibinijima, Alex Colville, Tom Forrestall, graphic novelists Seth, George Walker, and many others. He has worked in art galleries and museums across Canada and the United States among them the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Frick Pittsburgh, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He has lectured at universities in Canada and the United States and was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University.