History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
History of Modern Art has long been recognized as the authoritative, encyclopedic history of painting, photography, sculpture, and architecture from the mid-19th century, when modern art emerged, to the present day. Revising author Marla F. Prather’s contributions to the new Fourth Edition include:
More biographical information about each artist.
An entirely new chapter on Cubism.
A lively sense of social and historical context.
Coverage of work in nontraditional mediums, such as video, installation, and performance art.
More than 30% new illustrations and text and nearly twice the number of color illustrations as in previous editions.
A culturally diverse selection of artists and a much broader selection of works by women.
Chronological reorganization of the text, an updated bibliography, and a complete index.
Marla F. Prather is curator of 20th-century art at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The late H. H. Arnason was a noted art historian and museum administrator.
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(out of 9 reviews)
List Price: $ 85.00
Price: $ 150.65
Review by M DeLaurentis for History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
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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.
Review by Sheresa Edgington for History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
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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.
Review by K. Hansen for History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
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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.
Review by for History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
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“History of Modern Art” is, in my opinion, the very best general overview of modern art (i.e., the last 125-150 years or so) published to this date.Although it is intended to be a textbook, the format and writing make the tome sufficient as a great general reference and a very good read. The illustrations are excellent, although I wish there were more color reproductions.Anyone who enjoys fine art should have this book in their personal library.
Review by Mike G for History of Modern Art (Trade Version) (4th Edition)
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I just completed a 20th century art course here in Southern California with this book as the chosen textbook. I would consider it at the medium to advanced level. It was much cheaper on Amazon than the college bookstore or the museum store! Like the title of this review suggests, the authors were pre-occupied with their knowlege of uncommon words in the English Language. I would never encourage the “Dumbing down of America” but the word usage in this book is to the point of distraction. The new Oxford Essential Business and Office Dictionary makes it a point in it’s forward to point out that usage like this is superfluous. Er, I mean needless. The reproduction is outstanding and the physical structure is very good. I have every intention of making this book part of my permanent collection. And yes, agreeing with the other reviewers above, it is heavy. But hey, with a few extra sit-ups and one or two extra laps and you’ll be just fine.
Mike