Since its inception in Europe some 80 years ago, abstract art has had a profound influence on the ways we perceive the world. In this cultural history, Kramer looks at the abstract art movement, arguing that its status in our cultural life has become increasingly problematic.

Tracing modern abstract art from its origins in a fascination with the occult and utopian spirituality, to its eventual merger with progressive and revolutionary ideologies, to the inner explorations of surrealism, automatism and expressionism, "Abstract Art" illuminates the relationship between high art and the battle of ideas in the 20th century.