Working within a predominantly abstractionist context, a group of younger artists forged a mode of representational art in the 1950s and 1960s that made use of Abstract Expressionist painterly freedom and spontaneity in order to document the life around them. Wolf Kahn, one of the leaders of this group, directed this approach toward the painting of the landscape, which he has steadfastly developed over a period of forty years.

Today Kahn's unique use of color has placed him at the forefront of American representational art, and has made him one of the most highly regarded colorists working in America today.

Wolf Kahn presents an overview of the artist's life and prolific career. Starting with the young Kahn's early years as a drawing prodigy, the author, Justin Spring, continues with the artist's study with Hans Hofmann, his early success as a latter-day Expressionist, and his ten years as a painter of austere, tonalist canvases, finally leading to the brilliant, high-keyed landscapes that have established his reputation.