This course surveys artistic production in Europe and the United States in the postwar period, from the atomic bomb and the liberation of the camps to the student protests of the late sixties (1945-1969).  Beginning with Abstract Expressionism, we will place major artists and movements (Color Field Painting, Pop, Independent Group, Happenings, Arte Povera, Cobra, Conceptual Art, Minimalism, Performance, and Earthworks) in their broader cultural and sociopolitical context.  Across Europe, the reconstruction was marked by purges and denazification, ambitious rebuilding programs and the impact of the Marshall Plan, the creation of UNESCO, the painful process of decolonization.  Did New York “steal” the idea of modern art?  How did American artists engage with and respond to the Cold War, Existentialist philosophy, the rise of a consumer “culture industry,” the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war?  Course readings combine art historical accounts with artists’ own writings and art criticism from the period.  Particular attention will be given to reception.