History of Modern Art : Painting, Sculpture, Architecture & Photography [Hardcover]

H. H. Arnason (Author), Maria F. Prather (Author), Marla F. Prather (Author), H. Horvard Arnason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

A study of the artistic roots, styles, schools, and works of twentieth-century painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When the late H.H. Arnason wrote the first History of Modern Art, he gently guided his readers through such comforting realms as impressionism and pointillism, eventually to deposit them in the unfamiliar territory of cubism, surrealism, and even--help!--abstract expressionism. Now, with the fourth edition of this groundbreaking book, Marla F. Prather, curator of 20th-century art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., brings readers all the way into the l990s, a decade with precious few "isms" to serve as signposts. It's a long, long trip, one that should not be undertaken without this 850-page guidebook.

The thoughtful, readable, always illuminating text, which begins 150 years ago with Bouguereau's soupy pictures of cherubim, now ends with a haunting video-sound installation by Bill Viola. Although H.H. Arnason modestly wrote, "It must always be recognized that the words of the interpreter are at best only an approximation of the visual work of art," History of Modern Art has always done a terrific job helping the art-loving and art-curious alike understand what they're seeing. This edition, like its predecessors, is picture-packed, with 500 new illustrations joining the nearly 1,000 that have appeared before. --Peggy Moorman --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

[Prather] has clearly rethought and comprehensively updated the entire History of Modern Art and the chapter on Cubism--for which she was personally responsible--has both crispness and cogency. The individual summaries of living artists are fuller and more evidently fair-minded than is usual in books of this sort. -- The New York Times Book Review, John Russell --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 856 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810934396
• ISBN-13: 978-0810934399
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #492,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History of Modern Art, January 13, 2000

By 

M DeLaurentis (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Modern Art : Painting, Sculpture, Architecture & Photography (Hardcover)

This is the best and most definitive, detailed history of modern art in print. Readable as it is thorough. Tons of glorious color prints. An absolute must for art historians. Full histories and philosophies of every conceivable school, with multiple appearances of artists -- many, naturally -- who fall within more than one school, by self-acknowledgment or not, e.g., Picasso.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and Necessary Tool, May 25, 2000

By 

Sheresa Edgington - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Modern Art : Painting, Sculpture, Architecture & Photography (Hardcover)

I encountered this text in my recent 20th Cent. Art course and found it extremely helpful. It's wonderfully readable and provides the student with lots of color illustrations to make late-night study sessions more bearable. Its mass is threatening, but in relation to its subject matter it successfully encompasses the most important aspects of modern art, and its various components.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very informative, but ponderous tome, August 30, 2001

By 

K. Hansen (Columbia, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of Modern Art : Painting, Sculpture, Architecture & Photography (Hardcover)

I like the previous review that said this was a metric ton of a book. Yes, it is -- I carried it around for a semester when I was taking a 20th century art class. Lots of color plates and tons of black and white illustrations, and it is printed on very high quality paper (which is why it's so heavy.) It provides a good, reasonably readable survey of what was going on in art from just before the modernist movement up to almost the present day. If you want to acquaint yourself with a broad survey of modern art including all the media, this would be a good one to consider.