I hate to be the one to say this, but this book is useless. Read tries to name what makes art, and begins with this: "But all artists have this same intention, the desire to please; and art is most simply and most usually defined as an attempt to create pleasing forms." You may wish that were true, but thanks to Duchamp it hasn't been for a hundred years--nearly two decades before this book was written. Everything that follows is just as outdated, and hence as pointless. On the plus side, the illustrations are great. ( )

First published in 1931, revised in 1949 and reprinted by Penguin as a "Pelican" blue paperback reference for many years. Our copy has 64 black and white photographic plates. Sir Herbert Read was a distinguished English professor of Fine Arts in many university posts, a former curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a published poet as well. In this book he wrote a useful guide to the understanding and "appreciation of pictures and sculpture by defining the elements which go to their making". He presents "fundamental terms such as 'beauty', 'harmony' and 'pattern'" so viewers and critics of art may "use them with precision in their judgements".

"A large part of the book is devoted to a compact survey of the world's art, from primitive cave drawings to Jackson Pollock; an exposition designed to show the persistence of certain principles and aspirations throughout the history of art." Read summarizes "the essence of such movements as Gothic, Baroque, Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism and Tachism." - from the Penguin jacket notes

While a little dated, this book is a classic for university students of art and art history, and like most Pelican guides, it's a good starting point for non-artists who wish to learn about this field from an expert.
Many other art history books are more lavishly illustrated and readable, but this is still an excellent academic introduction. ( )

Cover design by Herbert Spencer