Totality: Abstraction and Meaning in the Art of Barnett Newman

An original and ambitious approach to understanding the creative achievements of one of the most important American artists of the twentieth century.

Totality offers a deeply researched and thoughtful account of the art of Barnett Newman (1905–1970). While Newman’s paintings are widely regarded as among the most significant statements of abstract expressionism—and emblematic of modernism at midcentury—they pose distinct challenges to formal description and historical evaluation. With this b...