Iconic French novelist, playwright and essayist, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) is widely recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, whose work has remained relevant and thought-provoking through the decades. The Seagull Sartre Library now presents some of his most incisive philosophical, cultural, and literary critical essays in twelve newly designed volumes.

Sartre was a prodigious commentator on contemporary art, as is evident from the short but incisive essays that make up this important volume. Sartre examines the work of a wide range of artists here, including recognized masters such as Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder and André Masson, as well as unacknowledged greats like French painter Robert Lapoujade and German painter-photographer Wols.