Art History category: 15294 books

The story of the most important art show in U.S. history. Held at Manhattan’s 69th Regiment Armory in 1913, the show brought modernism to America in an unprecedented display of 1300 works by artists including Picasso, Matisse, and Duchamp, A quarter of a million Americans visited the show; most...

Stephen Zeifman, artist and teacher of studio art and art history, and the founder of Mill Road Studio, discusses his unique approach to art. He talks about being an artist, and about the importance of having a focus driven not by commerce but rather by the challenges of engaging in a creative practice.  The...

An innovatory exploration of art and visual culture. Through carefully chosen themes and topics rather than through a general survey, the volumes approach the process of looking at works of art in terms of their audiences, functions and cross-cultural contexts. While focused on painting, sculpture...

In this elegantly written and beautifully illustrated book, Nico Israel reveals how spirals are at the heart of the most significant literature and visual art of the twentieth century. Juxtaposing the work of writers and artists—including W. B. Yeats and Vladimir Tatlin, James Joyce and Marcel Duchamp,...

A highly entertaining read for anyone with even a passing interest in art and art history. This myth-busting book takes you on a great ride through the lives of starving (and not so starving) artists, unusual exhibitions and painting blunders throughout history. In the intriguing, outrageous...

Art critic, historian and journalist Anita Brenner (1905-1974) is acknowledged to be one of the most important and perceptive writers on the art, culture, and political history of Mexico. Idols Behind Altars is her influential historical and critical study of modern Mexican art and its roots. It was...

Many people fall in love with the antique art pieces. In fact, in every artifact, you can find a beautiful meaning that is portrayed in the form of a painting. Basically, modern art was produced during the year 1870 to 1970. There are many artists who love to do modern art. In fact, there are many...

"A volume of great value to the admirer of Chinese art that also contains much practical advice for the student." ― Library JournalWhen this book was first published, there were few if any important studies dealing with Chinese brushwork and its crucial role in Chinese art. The present volume, by...

The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting is a new critical translation of René Brimo’s classic study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century patronage and art collecting in the United States. Originally published in French in 1938, Brimo’s foundational text is a detailed examination of collecting...

In revolutionary France the life of things could not be assured. War, shortage of materials, and frequent changes in political authority meant that few large-scale artworks or permanent monuments to the Revolution’s memory were completed. On the contrary, visual practice in revolutionary France...

Traditional quilts serve many purposes over the course of a useful life. Beginning as a beautiful bed covering, a quilt may later function as a ground cover at picnics until years of wear relegate it to someone's ragbag for scrap uses. Observing this life cycle led authors John Forrest and Deborah Blincoe...

What do we mean by 'art'? As a category of objects, the concept belongs to a Western cultural tradition, originally European and now increasingly global, but how useful is it for understanding other traditions? To understand art as a universal human value, we need to look at how the concept was constructed...

In recent years, Laura Cottingham has emerged as one of the most visible feminist critics of the so-called post-feminist generation. Following a social-political approach to art history and criticism that accepts visual culture as part of a larger social reality, Cottingham's writings investigate...

Photography: History and Theory introduces students to both the history of photography and critical theory. From its inception in the nineteenth century, photography has instigated a series of theoretical debates. In this new text, Jae Emerling therefore argues that the most insightful way...