Realist art of the twentieth century is striking for its diversity. It has no shared style or manifesto of intention. Yet a common thread in realist art is a commitment to the modern world and to things as they are. This book examines realism in Europe and America, beginning with its roots in the aims of Gustave Courbet in nineteenth-century France. The realist outlook is exemplified in the work of Georg Grosz in his observations of urban life in...