Opinion is divided among artists, critics and fans alike as to whether Andy Warhol was the greatest artist of the second half of the 20th century. But there is greater agreement that few, if any, rivaled his influence—much like Marcel Duchamp in the first half of the century. The discussion, perhaps foolish to begin with, is nevertheless complex.
It has long been thought that the artists Francis Bacon, Alberto Giacometti and Jean Dubuffet raised painting from near death in the years after World War II. Pablo Picasso did not die until 1973, and his late work has recently won high regard. In Germany, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter and, to a lesser extent, Anselm Kiefer, are formidable contenders. In the United States, Abstract Expressionism was supplanted by Warhol’s Pop, soon to be followed by Minimalism, language-based conceptual art, Neo-Expressionism and now—whatever.
