Sweeping through the triumphs, miseries and peculiarities of world art in the 20th century, this collection introduces the reader to artists whose personalities are as striking, and occasionally as startling, as their work. There are colourful recollections of Picasso, Braque and Derain fighting poverty and obscurity amidst the gaiety of Paris and of Suzanne Valadon, Modigliani and Utrillo sampling the Bohemian life on Montmartre. But there are darker tales too - of Edvard Munch's struggle with the ghosts of his family; the austere secret life of L.S.Lowry, and the tragic suicide of Arshile Gorky. This anthology attempts to convey the passion, and occasional violence, that has informed the century-long disagreement about how to paint and sculpt.