Popular Art and the Avant-Garde: Vincent van Gogh’s Collection of Newspaper and Magazine Prints

When Vincent van Gogh picked up his pencil and set out on his artistic career, it was not with the intention of becoming a leader of the avant-garde art world. Rather, his aims centred on earning a reasonable wage and living within the middle-class norms of his family. His hope was to become an illustrator of magazines and newspapers. He collected more than 2000 black-and-white prints, predominantly from English publications.

Vincent Alessi reveals for the first time how van Gogh’s collection acted for him as both inspiration and manual. These popular images are shown to have palpably shaped his art, throughout his career, and to discover new understandings of a life and body of work that continue to intrigue and inspire.

Popular Art and the Avant-Garde: Vincent van Gogh’s Collection of Newspaper and Magazine Prints
Author: Vincent Alessi
Publisher: Monash University Publishing
Rights held: World
Email: sarah.cannon@monash.edu
LBF stall: 6A 109

Category: Think Australian Title Preview