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Collecting
Basics: Further Reading |
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Where do I go to find out more?
We've listed many of the books we used in developing the educational content of this site below. As valuable as books are, nothing replaces getting out in the world and looking at as much art as you can. Although it may seem intimidating, don't be shy about asking questions. Most large cities have Open Studio projects that are great fun and allow you to visit lots of artists in their studios.
Art history
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The literature of art is almost as vast as art itself, and, once you start reading, you will always be able to fine well-written, beautifully illustrated books about all aspects of art. Once the territory of specialists, writing about art is now accessible to everyone. The meteoric rise in the popularity of museums over the last few decades has attracted to them the best and the brightest art historians. The catalogues that they write about museum collections and special exhibitions are generally clear, comprehensive, and meant to be read by the general public. As you pursue your own path as a collector, make sure to visit museums, exhibitions and bookstores, so that you can experience the art first-hand, and then choose which of it you want to learn about.
Theory & criticism
Art theory and criticism is generally more difficult reading. The former is, by its nature, philosophical and conceptual, while the latter is often on the cutting edge of our thinking about art, and challenging to our preconceptions. Your first stop is the column written by the art critic for your local newspaper, because her or she will be writing about work that you can easily see. Your second stop is the New York Times, especially the Friday and Sunday Arts sections, whose staff of critics has a well-deserved reputation for excellence.
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Many of the ideas in the Collecting Basics section of Art Smart were developed from the writings of Rudolph Arnheim, for many years a professor at Harvard University. His Art and Visual Perception (University of California Press, 1974) breaks down the complex processes of how we perceive art into its most basic units, in a manner that appeals to common sense.
The entire approach of Art Smart relies upon the essays of Theodore Wolff, art critic for the Christian Science Monitor. These essays are gathered into his book, The Many Masks of Modern Art (Boston, 1989). Wolff sought to bridge the gulfs between various schools of art in our century and find the areas of commonality that make great art great, whether figural or abstract, traditional or avant-garde.
The basis of the Quality sections of Art Smart is Sir Kenneth Clark's essay What is a Masterpiece? (New York, 1975). The first art historical media superstar (for his televised BBC series Civilization), Clark distills the question of why great art so moves us into a few simple, but profound points.
Other books referenced by our staff for Art Smart include:
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Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements and Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present, by Roberts Atkins. New York: Abbeville Press, 1990 & 1997.
Artspoke: A Guide to Modern Ideas, Movements and Buzzwords, 1848-1944, by Robert Atkins. New York: Abbeville Press, 1993.
Avant-Garde and After: Rethinking Art Now, by Brandon Taylor. New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1995.
Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary, by Terry Barrett. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1993.
How to Look at Modern Art, by Philip Yenawine. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1991.
Reflecting on Art, by John Andrew Fisher. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1993.
Puzzles About Art, Battin, Fischer, Moore, and Silvers. Boston: St. Martins Press, 1989.
Technique: The basics
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Walk into an artist's studio and you're likely to find a battered copy of Ralph Mayer's A Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques (New York, 1975). As you glance at his pages of definitions, you may wonder how any one person could understand so many techniques so well, and explain them all so simply and clearly.
If you want to learn more about the specialized world of original printmaking, start with the ingenious handbook by William Ivins, How Prints Look (Boston, 1943), and then move on to any of a number of more modern volumes on printmaking. One of the best of these is Kathan Brown's ink, paper, metal, wood (San Francisco, 1996), a history of Crown Point Press, one of the nation's leading fine art print publishers.
For reference, we always keep a copy of the Oxford Dictionary of 20th Century Art, by Ian Chilvers (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) close at hand. We also like Art Fundamentals; Theory and Practice for an overview of a studio course in art.
Next: ArtSpeak Glossary
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