Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990

This final project of the Washington Arts Museum (WAM) looks back at a seminal half- century in the city's cultural history -from federal arts projects and the influx of newcomers in war and post-war times to heady acclaim for the Washington Color School and ambitious experimentation in the 1960s, from artists' mobilizing on behalf of social and political causes in the 1970s to diversity and exuberant optimism of the 1980s. Authors Jean Lawlor Cohen (editor, independent curator, arts writer), Elizabeth Tebow (art historian) and Sidney Lawrence (artist, writer and critic) create a lively history of the art, personalities and social scenes. Benjamin Forgey, drawing from many years as art and architecture critic for The Washington Star and The Washington Post, contributes an afterword assessing the more recent years. Based on primary sources, the art press and personal interviews, their accounts are illustrated with, in many cases, rarely seen candid photographs of artists, art openings, installations, and parties.Washington Art Matters serves as capstone for WAM, whose primary mission during its 10 years as a nonprofit organization brought attention to Washington art. May this book be a valuable addition to the city's historical record and an inspiration for future scholarship.