The Independent Group: towards a redefinition

In existing accounts of British art in the 1950s, the Independent Group is often presented as the instigator of Pop Art. Erstwhile members of the Group have staked this claim on behalf of their activities but such a claim should be viewed critically. A close study of new primary sources makes it possible to see the Group, not so much in terms of its impact upon succeeding generations of painters, bu as part of an interesting pattern of British responses to modernism. The Independent Group gained a valuable insight into British attitudes towards modernism at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Because the full range of activities associated with the Institute of Contemporary Arts remains unstudied, its important role in forming the ideas of the members of the Group has yet to be appreciated. The Institute of Contemporary Art provided much more than a meeting place for the Independent Group; it was integral to its formation and provided a crucial stimulus for its discussions.
(From publisher's webpage)