Sebastian Smee Books
Sebastian Smee is an Australian-born art critic and author. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 for his work at The Boston Globe and has written extensively on modern and contemporary art.
Known for: The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
Books by Sebastian Smee
The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
The Art of Rivalry explores the complex relationships between pairs of modern artists—Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, and Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet. Through these intertwined stories, Sebastian Smee reveals how friendship and competition fueled their creativity and shaped the course of modern art.
Read SummaryKey Insights from Sebastian Smee
Degas and Manet: The Realist’s Push and Pull
In Paris of the late 19th century, the friendship between Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet represented a turning point in the story of realism. Both sought truth in everyday life, yet they approached that truth through different temperaments. I aimed to show how Degas, the meticulous observer of moveme...
From The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
Matisse and Picasso: Color and Form in Combat
When Matisse and Picasso entered each other’s orbit in the early 20th century, modern art was still finding its vocabulary. Their meeting in Paris initiated one of the greatest rivalries—yet also collaborations—in art history. Matisse was calm, deliberate, a master of color as a vehicle for serenity...
From The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
About Sebastian Smee
Sebastian Smee is an Australian-born art critic and author. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 for his work at The Boston Globe and has written extensively on modern and contemporary art. Smee is known for his insightful and accessible writing that bridges the gap between artists and au...
Read more
Sebastian Smee is an Australian-born art critic and author. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 for his work at The Boston Globe and has written extensively on modern and contemporary art. Smee is known for his insightful and accessible writing that bridges the gap between artists and au...
Sebastian Smee is an Australian-born art critic and author. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 for his work at The Boston Globe and has written extensively on modern and contemporary art. Smee is known for his insightful and accessible writing that bridges the gap between artists and audiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sebastian Smee is an Australian-born art critic and author. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 for his work at The Boston Globe and has written extensively on modern and contemporary art.
Read Sebastian Smee's books in 15 minutes
Get AI-powered summaries with key insights from 1 book by Sebastian Smee.
