Publishing the Selected Works of Hans Hess
The following books are available in paperback and hardback and with volumes as audiobooks too. The remarkable insights of Hans Hess into the evolution and actuality, meaning and implications of art are gathered in three volumes of his selected writings.
Get it at £45 pb
HANS HESS: SELECTED WRITINGS VOLUME ONE - ART IN 19TH CENTURY
Manifesto Press is proud to publish Hans Hess: Selected Writings Volumes 1 presenting the Marxist art historian’s long-overlooked history of 19th century art. From advertising copywriter to York Art Gallery curator, Hess—exiled by the Nazis—applied his working-class perspective to challenge postmodern dogma. His analyses of Grosz, Feininger, and visual culture, shaped by anti-fascist activism and museum work, offer workers and Marxists a vital materialist critique of art’s ideological role.
Get it at £45 pb
HANS HESS: SELECTED WRITINGS VOLUME TWO - ART IN 20TH CENTURY
Hans Hess's Marxist analysis traces art's evolution from communal expression to commodified object, arguing 20th century modernism severed art from social purpose. The exiled German scholar - curator, Bauhaus expert and political activist - combined rigorous art historical scholarship with lived experience of fascism and capitalism. His writings expose how artistic forms serve power structures while offering tools for their critique, making his work indispensable for understanding culture's class dimensions today.
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HANS HESS: SELECTED WRITINGS VOLUME THREE - ART AND IDEOLOGY
Art & Ideology (Volume Three of Hans Hess's works) examines art's historical role as both ideological mirror and weapon—from prehistoric symbols to modern abstraction. Hess, the Marxist art historian, traces how Egyptian, Christian, Renaissance and Baroque art served power structures before capitalism reduced art to mere commodity. His sharp analysis, forged through exile and activism, challenges orthodox art histories while revealing art's enduring ties to social forces. This collection revives Hess's radical voice, offering a materialist critique of aesthetics from cave paintings to the Bauhaus.
Also available on Audio
All audio books are narrated by Rochelle Anne Swanson, with Natasha Raskin Sharp and Adele Allen. Listen and join the debate.
Hans Hess Selected Writings Volume 1: Art in the 19th century first published in print by Manifesto Press in 2024 is now available in audiobook format across all your preferred audio streams.
Hans Hess Selected Writings Volume 2: Art in the 20th century was published in print by Manifesto Press in 2025 and is now available in audiobook format across all your preferred audio streams.
FREE from Manifesto Press - get Hans Hess's 'Modern Art in One Hour'.
His most famous lecture is yours to download from your preferred audio platform. Hans Hess, an antifascist exile from Nazi Germany of Jewish heritage, tackles the problem of modern art, which he argues is the problem of our very attitude towards the world.
Hans Hess Selected Writings Volume 2: Art in the 20th century was published in print by Manifesto Press in 2025 and is now available in audiobook format across all your preferred audio streams.