Since the early 20th century, Western abstract art has fascinated, challenged, and confused audiences. Its journey towards acceptance into the artistic mainstream was slow. Anna Moszynska traces the roots and evolution of abstract art, placing it in a broad cultural context. She examines the pioneering work of Kandinsky, Malevich, and Mondrian, alongside the Russian Constructivists, the De Stijl group, and the Bauhaus artists, comparing the European geometric abstract art of the 1930s and 40s with the emphasis on personal expression after World War II. The Op, Kinetic, and Minimalist art of the post-war period is discussed and illustrated in detail, while new chapters update the narrative to the crisis of abstract art in the 1980s and its revival—in painting, fabric, sculpture, and installation—in recent years. The first edition of this book, published in 1990, was praised by critics; now, in full color and fully revised, it will serve as the best introduction to abstract art for a new generation.