This is an updated & expanded second edition of the seminal book first published by Thames & Hudson in 2004 featuring 107 new illustrations & over 100 new pages & completely updated throughout (including all reference sections). It introduces students to the key theoretical approaches to modern & contemporary art enabling them to understand the many voices of current approaches to the subject. A flexible year-by-year structure & extensive cross-referencing allows teachers & students to pursue a chronological approach and/or to study the currents of art since 1900 by medium theme country or region. It contains more than 120 essays (including fifteen new essays) each focusing on a crucial event in the history of art from 1900 to the present. The new essays cover subjects such as the De Stijl movement the use of mannequins & the automaton in Dada & modernist graphic design between the wars as well as discussions of the global emergence of Chinese artists in recent years the influence of gaming & social network technologies & the impact of the market on current art practice. Text boxes provide further information on key figures & issues. A new final chapter is devoted to the first decade of the 21st century. Four introductions set out & explain the different methods of art history at work in the book. There are two roundtable discussions between the authors one at mid-century the other at the close of the book. All reference material has been updated.