Artists in Britain since 1945 / David Buckman.

"This updated and considerably extended edition of David Buckman's classic reference work contains throusands of revisions and approximately 4,000 completely new biographies - many of contemporary young, cutting-edge artists deploying the newest technologies - bringing the total number of entries to around 14,500. The book is cumulatively the outcome of almost 18 years detailed research and writing (running to around 2 1/4 million words) by a single author. Much of the information has been obtained from the artists themselves and other primary sources. The outcome is far and away the most comprehensive and accurate source of biographical information about the artists working in Britain in the past 60 years. It covers painters, sculptors, printmakers, mural painters and performance, installation and video artists. At one extreme, artists prominent in the 1920s and 1930s who were still active post-World War II are included; at the other, some of the hottest properties on London's vibrant art scene. From Duncan Grant to Sam Taylor-Wood and beyond; from painterly certainties to edgy ambiguity. The dictionary includes many artists from abroad who worked or settled in Britain, plus others better known in other disciplines, such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, David Hemmings, Tommy Steele and Ronnie Wood. The new dictionary's extended coverage makes it all the more essential reading for professionals and collectors trying to keep up with Britain's dynamic, ever changing art scene. Many thousands of letters and questionnaires, telephone calls and visits to galleries and studios have proved necessary to ensure the highest degree of accuracy. The information is presented in a readable, easily assimilated form. Basic biographical facts are supplemented by associative material, notes on artists' styles, teachers, preferred media and major exhibition venues. In 2006, the dictionary was part of a special display at the Hyman Kreitman Research Centre, Tate Britain, of books researched there which they considered of 'significant importance to scholarship'."--Provided by the publisher.