Grillo: Abstract Expressionism, the Formative Years, 1946-1948.

Vivid and stimulating, this lush monograph focuses on the watercolors that artist John Grillo created during his three years in San Francisco and his major—but heretofore unrecognized—contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. Each of the more than 60 color plates is accompanied by an artist’s statement that will give readers firsthand insight into the mind and creations of one of the finest "action painters" in the postwar West Coast scene. Art students learning about watercolor media, art historians studying abstract expressionism, and collectors of abstract expressionist art will be thrilled by this brilliant new contribution to Grillo scholarship.

Susan Landauer is an independent art curator and a writer. She is the author of Clyfford Still: The Buffalo and San Francisco Collections and is the coauthor of Obata’s Yosemite. She lives in Oakland, California.