“Mr. Shahn sets forth his views on both the practice and the purposes of art with a clarity, cogency, and incisiveness that any professional writer might envy, and he manages to interweave with this a good deal of interesting material about his own development as an artist, as well as a running summary of his opinions on contemporary painting in general… The book is highly controversial…also highly stimulating. " A modern painter discusses meaning and form in contemporary painting and offers advice to aspiring artists.