Taking its title from the ground-breaking exhibition at Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1956, This is Tomorrow is the first book to tell the story of art in Britain from the late nineteenth century to the year 2000 in a single narrative. In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the long twentieth century, from the closing years of Queen Victorias reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistlers defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliassons melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times. Bird's authoritative survey is thoroughly and engagingly preoccupied with the 'nature of art's potential contribution to the cause of social progress'

Michael Bird’s latest book – this is tomorrow - follows familiar terrain, taking the reader on an entertaining ride through the history of the British Modernist art movement, from its roots in the 1870s, to the turn of the millennium.

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Michael Bird’s] pithy analysis touches upon socio-political trends, reflecting how people in Britain experienced an unprecedented pace of change, in culture and society, politics, technology and many other fields' Bird’s sinuous narrative calls up the texture of history, constructing art less as something shaped by events than as something that eddies its way through and around them'

In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the 'long twentieth century', from the closing years of Queen Victoria's reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistler's defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson's melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times. Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.By exploring the ways in which their work was influenced by class, injustice and war, [Bird] also offers a creative-tinged history of the wider forces that buffeted the nation – from the end of the Victorian era through to the heyday of the Young British Artists' An enjoyable book, one which will entertain and inform even those who consider themselves well versed in this country’s art history. Bird also writes with a witty verve' You'll meet James McNeill Whistler, embroiled in the culture wars of the late Victorian age. The stories of Barbara Hepworth, Gwen John, Pauline Boty and Mary Kelly bring to life the progress of the women’s movement. The influence of wartime dislocation and global migration is explored through artists including David Bomberg, Frank Auerbach, Magda Cordell and Frank Bowling. In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the ‘long twentieth century’, from the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistler’s defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times. InThis is TomorrowMichael Bird takes a fresh look at the ‘long twentieth century’, from the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. From the American James McNeill Whistler’s defence of his new kind of modern art against the British art establishment in the latter half of the 19th century to the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson’s melting icebergs in London, he traverses the lives of the artists that have recorded, questioned and defined our times.

In This is Tomorrow Michael Bird takes a fresh look at the 'long twentieth century', from the closing years of Queen Victoria's reign to the turn of the millennium, through the lens of the artists who lived and worked in this ever-changing Britain. Bird examines how the rhythms of change and adaptation in art became embedded in the collective consciousness of the nation and vividly evokes the personalities who populate and drive this story, looking beyond individual careers and historical moments to weave together interconnecting currents of change that flowed through London, Glasgow, Leeds, Cornwall, the Caribbean, New York, Moscow and Berlin. In this illuminating talk inspired by his new book This is Tomorrow: Twentieth-century Britain and its Artists , Michael Bird will invite you to reflect on a series of transformative moments through the lens of artists’ lives.

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Bird has fantastic access to the stories, anecdotes, and personal recollections of those who were actually there. He threads together an incredible network of artists, gallerists, designers, socialites and more, bringing a hundred years of history to life'