This beautifully illustrated catalog accompanies the first major museum retrospective of the painter Norman Lewis (1909-1979). Lewis was the sole African-American artist of his generation who became committed to issues of abstraction at the start of his career and continued to explore them over its entire trajectory. His art derived inspiration from music (jazz and classical) and nature (seasonal change, plant forms, the sea).  Also central to his work were the dramatic confrontations of the Civil Rights Movement, in which he was an active participant among the New York art scene.