Pop Art epitomized the free spirit of the 1960s, blending carnival-like qualities with bold colors and monumental scale, but based on a tough, no-nonsense, no-refinement standard appropriate to its time. Renowned art critic and curator Lucy Lippard's classic, contemporaneous study enriches our understanding of this groundbreaking art movement.

Across three chapters, the author first outlines the phenomenon of Pop Art, its antecedents and related styles ranging from folk art, Surrealism and Dada as well as the work of key artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. She then focuses on Pop Art in New York, discussing key iconic figures including Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselmann, who appropriated advertising, comics, and the conventions of commercial art and its specific techniques. Finally, Lippard provides an extensive overview of Pop Art's impact and evolution across Europe, particularly in France, Germany, Italy, and Canada, and so touches upon the work of Christo, Mimmo Rotella, and many others, including Niki de Saint Phalle and Joyce Weiland, whose work are now experiencing a resurgence of interest.