"Robbins's penetrating analysis centers on mid-twentieth-century abstractionists of the New York School, diving deep into the closely argued definitions of individual 'action' put forward principally by Harold Rosenberg, and diversely exemplified by Jack Tworkov, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, and others."

Nancy Princenthal | Art in America

“In this elegant book, Robbins makes a serious intervention in the field of post-war American art, paying careful attention both to abstract painting as it was conceived originally and as it continues to be written about today. Walking readers through the formation of a small group of key painters, she reveals various views among artists and critics on issues of authorship, agency, and the role of the painterly gesture.”

Jo Applin, author of Lee Lozano: Not Working

“Artist as Author presents a bracing new account of Abstract Expressionism and its wake. Rather than accepting as given the evaluations handed down in the art-historical literature, Robbins reveals how much seemingly opposed artists (and their critics and historians) have to say to each other; the result is both refreshing and astonishingly complex. This sophisticated discussion of the critical debates about artistic authorship makes the case that painters such as Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, and Agnes Martin afford a new foundation from which to evaluate the stakes and impact of Modernist painting. This is a major intervention demanding a rethinking of received narratives.”

David Getsy, author of Abstract Bodies: Sixties Sculpture in the Expanded Field of Gender