A lucid8213at times, even poetic8213summary of five hundred years of Mexican art. The illustrated works of art are well-chosen and beautifully integrated into Oles8217s text. Indeed, it feels as if his words emanate from the art itself.8221 8211Donna Pierce, Denver Art Museum This new interpretive history of Mexican art from the Spanish Conquest to the early decades of the twenty-first century is the most comprehensive introduction to the subject in fifty years. James Oles ranges widely across media and genres, offering new readings of painting, sculpture, architecture, prints, and photographs. He interprets major works by such famous artists as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, but also discusses less familiar figures in history and landscape painting, muralism, and conceptual art. The story of Mexican art is set in its rich historical context by the book8217s treatment of political and social change. The author draws on recent scholarship to examine crucial issues of race, class, and