This course is a survey of art from the emergence of "modernism" through the radical transformations in established modes of artmaking of the postwar period. We will begin with a consideration of impressionism as a response to the style and structure of the French Academy. A study of post impressionism, expressionism, cubism, futurism and constructivism follows, culminating in a discussion of many artists' return to neoclassical styles in the late and post-World War I years. The second semester will examine Dada and surrealism and the growing impact of European art on the American scene, covering the development of abstract expressionism and pop art. Close attention will be paid to the social, political and economic contexts in which artistic styles and forms have materialized, grown or changed from the mid-19th century to the present.