A critical study of the life of art criticism in the 1970s, the book traces the evolution of art and art criticism in a pivotal period in post-war British history.

Criticism, Art and Theory in 1970s Britain The Critical War explores how art critics and the art press attempted to negotiate new developments in art, faced with the challenges of conceptualism, alternative media, new social movements and radical innovations in philosophy and theory. This is the first comprehensive study of the art press and art criticism in Britain during this pivotal period, seen through the lens of its art press, charting the arguments and ideas that would come to shape contemporary art as we know it today.