Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Looks at prominent sculptors of the twentieth century, discusses major movements and trends, and shows works in a variety of mediums.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Well before Cubism, sculptors like Antoine Bourdelle, who was Rodin's assistant, and Medardo Rosso had already broken away from classic concepts of space and form. Their stimulus was the discovery of archaic and prehistoric art. After reassessing the roots of modern sculpture starting with Rodin, Hammacher shows how painter-sculptors Modigliani, Nolde, Gauguin and Picasso found inspiration in African, South Pacific and other more ancient civilizations. Elie Nadelman and Jacob Epstein, operating within the magnetic field of Cubism, forged individual styles. Hammacher's personal, engrossing narrative is peppered with shrewd judgments. He shows how a sense of doom links Moore, Hepworth, Arp and Giacometti in their work done between the two world wars. Originally published in 1969 as The Evolution of Modern Sculpture and long out of print, this marvelous survey turns the history of modern sculpture into high drama. Many of the 468 plates are exceptionally beautiful. A newly added chapter covers developments since 1960, from Robert Morris's minimalist labyrinth to Niki de Saint Phalle's fantastical architectural parks. (October) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Libraries where the original edition of this massive tome-- The Evolution of Modern Sculpture [BKL O 1 69]-- has proven useful ought to consider the ``enlarged edition'' carefully. Hammacher favors modernist work-- what the person in the street regards as ``abstract art''-- over figurative and realistic pieces. He ignores, in the new chapter on post-1960s developments, the post-modernist/neoclassical work that has evoked new popular enthusiasm for sculpture. Such dismissal is of a piece with a text that generally slights non-European and topical art. Furthermore, Hammacher's rigid formalism as a commentator-- he prefers talking about space, not materials, craft, or content-- makes him tiresome to earthier, more pragmatic readers. The book's quite a product, though, an impressive ramble through modernist sculpture and its influences, decked out to the nines with 468 handsome pictures. Unfortunately for circulating purposes, the 43 colorplates are tipped in. Notes, selected bibliography, and index. RO.