-- Helps readers learn how to appreciate art, distinguish quality from junk, and eventually acquire enough knowledge and self-confidence to start their own collection
When Jeanne Frank was made director of a department store gallery in the 1960s, the self-taught art enthusiast was new to the art world -- not to mention exhibiting and selling. This is the book that Frank wishes had been available when she started.
According to Frank, beginners should start by viewing art in museums rather than in galleries, noting artists whose work appeals to them. Frank also explains museum space, how individual galleries within museums are arranged, and where to find answers to a newcomer's most likely questions. She defines the difference between Modern and Contemporary art, as well as between Expressionism, Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism, explains the meanings of Abstract and Figurative art, and gives examples through the work of Kline, Miro, Kandinsky, van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, and de Kooning.
Most of all, Frank's philosophy empowers readers to trust their own judgment, and not assume that everything in a museum is great art simply because it's in a museum. Taste in art -- like all tastes -- is personal; and it continues to change throughout our Fives based on repeated exposure and widening experience.
Renowned art collector Gertrude Stein once remarked: "When in a museum, walk slowly but keep walking". With discovering Art, Jeanne Frank guides the reader one step at a time.
"Strips away the mystique of the art world, and offers the newcomer everything he or she needs to know.... I recommend the book highly".-- James Goodman, President, Art Dealers Association of America
