Permanent Red by John Berger

The beloved and award-winning artist, critic and novelist John Berger's first collection of essays on art, politics and creativity When first published in 1960 Permanent Red established John Berger as a firebrand critic who was willing to broadcast controversial opinions on some of the most important British artists of the day, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Why should an artist's way of looking at the world have any meaning for us? Why does it give us pleasure? Any artwork reflects the artists intentions, but also its times: therefore all art is political. In his first collection of writing on art, Permanent Red, published in 1960, John Berger controversially argues that the contemporary artist should strive for a realism that aims for hope, to improve the world. Surveying the work of both historic figures as well as contemporary artists such as Picasso, Leger and Matisse, he explore the role of the artists and divides them into ones that struggle, ones that fail and twentieth century masters. He also argues why we should study the work of the past in order to understand the present and to rethink the future.

John Peter Berger (5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel *G.* won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism *Ways of Seeing*, written as an accompaniment to the BBC series of the same name, is often used as a university text. He lived in France for over fifty years. **Source**: [John Berger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Berger) on Wikipedia.

Permanent Red

Essays in Seeing