The Story of Art

A beautifully compiled Art book with sharp and colourful illustrations, written by a very informative and entertaining author. This book would be a great starting point for anyone interested in the world of art and includes examples of many different artistic styles. Others have already adequately stated the books shortcomings so I will not repeat these.

Excellent book, wonderful images, interesting text. Needed this for my college course and uses it for quotes in essays. Great!

This is an immensely readable book, packed with interesting observations about art from prehistory to the second half of the 20th century. It is a great introduction to the history of art and helps give an overview of the subject, though for detail on artists and art movements you need to look elsewhere. The illustrations are high quality and generally arranged on the page to which they refer. There are also some glorious colour fold outs of iconic artworks. If I have one criticism, it is that Gombrich totally ignores female artists. When talking about Jackson Pollock, for example, he discusses possible sources for his inspiration for drip paintings whilst not once mentioning Lee Krasner (wife of Pollock who was producing drip paintings before they even met). Over all, though, a good read.

Pretty much the go to textbook for all levels,students,enthusiasts a life choice for those seeking the answers and origin of Art as a journey. Complete bargain as was a second hand version in fine condition.Marvellous value. Must have item in any home or study.

Bought used from World of Books and is in as new condition. Just over £4 and worth every penny.

For myself as a late starter to studying and appreciating Art, this book is very readable and I am so pleased it was recommended to me.

This renowned volume is a compelling and fascinating tour through history (and pre-history) of how Art got to be Art. It has sold 8 million copies and in its 16th edition so that tells you just how good it is! But my review is really about choosing (see above photo for size difference) between the glossy, big format edition and the 2001 pocket format. I bought the pocket edition first. I loved it so much that I thought I would treat myself to this full size version. I’m glad I did. The full size version is for the coffee table or sitting up and reading at a desk. It’s a beautiful book with every art work mentioned shown in very high quality photographs alined with the relevant text. Ie in contrast to the pocket edition, there’s no need to flip pages to a separate part of the book to get to the matching illustration. ✅✅ worth the extra cost.But it’s not a book that I could read in bed as the glossy paper and size means that it’s a rather heavy handful.So I’m very glad I also have both editions. However if I had to get only 1 then I would choose the pocket version. All the text and all the colour illustrations and cleverly managed with much less weight.

This book was given to my husband many years ago as a school prize. Our 19 year old grandson is studying an Art course so we bought this latest version of a book we have both loved and enjoyed. My grandson and his father are really appreciating the thoroughness and comprehension of the work covered. I would recommend this book to all students and art lovers alike. It is clear, well written and very easy to understand with wonderful illustrations. A joy to read and refer to for many years.