We think of the twentieth century as the beginning of a new period and the ending of the old, but this is really a paradox of statements. History cannot end, it can evolve or change directions but as long as man is on earth, history will exist. Admittedly, a social 'epoch' was coming to an end and with it, a change in conventions, especially those referred to as "artistic".

The decades of 1870 to 1931 were a time of extreme clashing contrasts. As the Industrial Age approached, technology took the upper hand. Cars replaced carriages, mass-produced items replaced hand-made goods, and industry was squeezing out artisans and craftsmen. In society, money could seize aristocracy and all the while, Sigmund Freud was exposing the very soul of the human brain. All these phenomena created an enormous amount of tension, which made its way into the 'new age' of the twentieth century across Europe.

And then along came the postcard era. Only those over age of seventy-five would remember any part of those days but history bears evidence that the world during the time of the postcards was in as much (if not more) turmoil as it is today.

Along with the social issues of the day, as the 19th century came to a close, Italy engaged a war with Ethiopia. France, Germany, and Belgium made deals to divide Africa. King Leopold II of Belgium exploited a region of Africa known as the Congo, killing an estimated 12 million natives in his quest for the industrialized world's need for rubber. In Russia, the last of the Czars came to power with great opposition. Meantime, France was busy setting up shop in Laos while Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico were taken over in a war with Spain.

In the United States, the stock market crashed, the war against the Native Americans ended, and the Supreme Court upheld segregation laws. The government also had additional problems when a million white citizen workers went on strike.

Back in Europe, as the century turned, Queen Victoria died and an anarchist assassinated King Humbert I of Italy. Inflation and political unrest plagued Germany, World War I began and a worldwide influenza epidemic claimed 30 million lives. Russia executed the last Czar and his family causing a civil war to erupt. In Asia, China had a revolution. While that was underway, another revolution erupted in Mexico, ultimately overthrowing President Porfirio Diaz. The United States sent military forces, forever changing the nature of U.S-Mexican relations.

By 1920, just as the "Roaring Twenties" were being ushered in, the United States banned the sale of alcohol, sparking a wave of violence, unlike any other, across the country.

Meanwhile, back in Europe, the Ottoman Empire crumbled and a dictator, Benito Mussolini took power in Italy. England was up to its eyeballs in woes with Ireland and the Middle East. In Germany, a young criminal, Adolph Hitler, went to jail and wrote a book that, ultimately, forever changed the landscape of the world.

By the end of the decade, the American stock market crashed again, marking the beginning of the "great depression". The seeds for another world war were planted across the earth.

Then as now, escape from the daily grind was given a high priority. So, while all these events were taking place, the artists of the world, busily created new escapes, in conditions far more hellish than our own. And those creations became the great art of the twentieth century.

What will history write about us?

A Commentary by P.K. Hobbs