World of Art
Author | Various authors |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Discipline | Art history |
Publisher | Thames & Hudson |
Published | 1958–present[1] |
Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
No. of books | More than 300 |
OCLC | 150179006 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/T%26H%27s_World_of_Art_covers_old_%26_new.jpg/260px-T%26H%27s_World_of_Art_covers_old_%26_new.jpg)
World of Art (formerly known as The World of Art Library) is a long established series of pocket-sized art books from the British publisher Thames & Hudson, comprising over 300 titles as of 2021.[3] The books are typically around 200 pages, but heavily illustrated. Unlike some concise or popular art books, the layout is traditional with text and pictures often on the same page, but segregated. The series was launched in 1958, and over 300 titles have been published in all; according to Christopher Frayling, former Principal of the Royal College of Art, "there are paint-stained copies in every art school in the land".[1]
The World of Art series treats all subjects concerning the arts, but mostly art history, ranging from prehistoric cave art to contemporary art, from Graeco-Roman and Viking art to Central Asian and Japanese art, from academic art to outsider art.[4] Perhaps the most classic book in the series is A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cézanne by Michael Levey (of the National Gallery in London), originally published in 1962 (ISBN 0-500-20024-6). This gives an authoritative introduction to European art history from the early use of perspective in Italy to the start of modern art at the beginning of the 20th century.
Other authors include: John Boardman, Herbert Read, Hans Richter, Edward Lucie-Smith, , David Talbot Rice, Peter Murray and Linda Murray, Germain Bazin, and Griselda Pollock.
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/07/Thames_%26_Hudson%27s_The_World_of_Art_Library_Hardcover_Edition.jpg/225px-Thames_%26_Hudson%27s_The_World_of_Art_Library_Hardcover_Edition.jpg)
The series was initially titled The World of Art Library and published with black backgrounds on the back cover and spine, the front usually taken by a large image in colour. The earliest hardbacks were published with visually striking glossy dust jackets.
The series experienced its second revamp in 2001, at the time of the publication of its 300th title. According to a Thames & Hudson spokesman, the redesigned books are glossier to make them appear less 'text book-like'.[5]
In 2020, World of Art was relaunched with a batch of new titles, the covers have been once again redesigned by Dutch design studio Kummer & Herrman, now using white as background. The design was inspired by the golden ratio.[6] In regard to the relaunch, the director of Thames & Hudson Sophy Thompson remarked during an interview with The Bookseller: 'In looking at World of Art, we were looking at the changing art market. For me, it felt that not to rethink our legacy series was a mistake: we had to keep it fresh and updated.'[7] Amongst the new titles it could be highlighted Monet by James H. Rubin, a refreshing reconsideration of the painter, and Central and Eastern European Art since 1950 by and .[8]
The earliest titles were grouped into eight categories with colour codes: Architecture (orange), Artists (pink), Galleries (green), General (yellow), History of Art (blue), Modern Movements (red), Music (white) and New Directions (grey).
In France and Spain, the series was published by Éditions Thames & Hudson and Ediciones Destino, under the titles L'Univers de l'art and El mundo del arte, respectively, which are termed collections instead of book series.[9][10] The series has been published in North America by Thames & Hudson and sometimes other publishers.
List of books in the series[]
Title | Author(s) | Year of publication |
---|---|---|
A Concise History of Art, Part One: From the Beginnings to the Fifteenth Century | Germain Bazin | 1958 |
A Concise History of Art, Part Two: From the Renaissance to the Present Day | Germain Bazin | 1958 |
Encyclopædia of Old Masters | 1958 | |
A Concise History of Modern Painting | Herbert Read | 1959 |
A Concise History of Modern Sculpture | Herbert Read | 1959 |
The Louvre | Germain Bazin | 1959 |
The Prado | Sanchez Canton | 1959 |
Albrecht Dürer | Marcel Brion | 1960 |
Dutch Museums | 1960 | |
The Arts of Man | Eric Newton | 1960 |
The Artist in his Studio | Alexander Liberman | 1960 |
Renoir | 1961 | |
The Hermitage | 1961 | |
The Art of the Ancient Near East | Seton Lloyd | 1961 |
The World of the Impressionists | 1961 | |
A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cézanne | Michael Levey | 1962 |
The School of Paris | 1962 | |
The Dresden Gallery | 1962 | |
Primitive Art | 1962 | |
Graphic Art of the 19th Century | Claude Roger-Marx | 1962 |
Surrealism | Patrick Waldberg | 1962 |
The Tate Gallery | John Rothenstein | 1962 |
Masters of the Japanese Print | Richard Lane | 1962 |
The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863–1922 | Camilla Gray | 1962 |
A Concise History of Russian Art | Tamara Talbot Rice | 1963 |
Michelangelo | 1963 | |
The Art of the Renaissance | Peter and Linda Murray | 1963 |
Art of the Byzantine Era | David Talbot Rice | 1963 |
Art of China, Korea, and Japan | 1963 | |
Impressionist Paintings in the Louvre | Germain Bazin | 1963 |
Encyclopaedia of Modern Architecture | Gerd Hatje (editor) | 1963 |
Greek Art | John Boardman | 1964 |
Roman Art and Architecture | Mortimer Wheeler | 1964 |
Elements of the Art of Architecture | 1964 | |
The Arts of Spain | José Gudiol | 1964 |
Baroque and Rococo Art (retitled Baroque and Rococo) | Germain Bazin | 1964 |
Graphic Art of the 18th Century | Jean Adhémar | 1964 |
Toulouse-Lautrec | 1964 | |
The English Garden | Edward Hyams | 1964 |
A Concise History of English Painting | William Gaunt | 1964 |
Early Medieval Art: Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque | John Beckwith | 1964 |
Dada: Art and Anti-Art | Hans Richter | 1964 |
The National Gallery Washington | John Walker | 1964 |
Ancient Arts of the Americas | G. H. S. Bushnell | 1965 |
Ancient Arts of Central Asia | Tamara Talbot Rice | 1965 |
Islamic Art | David Talbot Rice | 1965 |
European Sculpture: From Romanesque to Rodin | 1965 | |
A Concise History of Ballet | 1965 | |
A Concise History of Photography | Helmut and | 1965 |
Henry Moore | Herbert Read | 1965 |
Klee | Gualtieri di San Lazzaro | 1965 |
Chagall | Jean Cassou | 1965 |
Degas | 1965 | |
Goya | 1965 | |
Picasso | Pierre Daix | 1965 |
Seurat | John Russell | 1965 |
Van Gogh | 1966 | |
The Uffizi and Pitti | 1966 | |
Italian Gardens | Georgina Masson | 1966 |
Italian Villas and Palaces | Georgina Masson | 1966 |
Prehistoric Art | T. G. E. Powell | 1966 |
Art of the Romantic Era | Marcel Brion | 1966 |
A Concise History of Interior Decoration | George Savage | 1966 |
Rococo to Revolution: Major Trends in Eighteenth-Century Painting | Michael Levey | 1966 |
Cubism | 1966 | |
Matisse | 1967 | |
Rubens | 1967 | |
Rodin | 1967 | |
Minoan and Mycenaean Art | Reynold Higgins | 1967 |
A Companion to Painting | William Gaunt | 1967 |
A Concise History of Painting: From Prehistory to the 13th Century | David Talbot Rice | 1967 |
The Cathedrals of England | Alec Clifton-Taylor | 1967 |
Gothic Art | Andrew Martindale | 1967 |
The High Renaissance | Linda Murray | 1967 |
The Late Renaissance and Mannerism | Linda Murray | 1967 |
Impressionism | Phoebe Pool | 1967 |
American Art since 1900: A Critical History | Barbara Rose | 1967 |
Arp | Herbert Read | 1968 |
Braque | Edwin Mullins | 1968 |
Mondrian | 1968 | |
Rembrandt | 1968 | |
Barbara Hepworth | 1968 | |
The National Gallery London | Philip Hendy | 1968 |
A History of Western Art | Michael Levey | 1968 |
A Concise History of Bronzes | George Savage | 1968 |
A Concise History of the Theatre | Phyllis Hartnoll | 1968 |
The Sources of Modern Architecture and Design | Nikolaus Pevsner | 1968 |
Turner | Graham Reynolds | 1969 |
Cézanne | 1969 | |
Hawksmoor | Kerry Downes | 1969 |
Russell Drysdale | Geoffrey Dutton | 1969 |
William Dobell | James Gleeson | 1969 |
A Concise History of Irish Art | Bruce Arnold | 1969 |
A Concise History of Costume (revised and retitled Costume and Fashion: A Concise History) | James Laver | 1969 |
A Concise History of Western Architecture | R. Furneaux Jordan | 1969 |
The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance | Peter Murray | 1969 |
De Stijl | Paul Overy | 1969 |
Movements in Art since 1945 | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1969 |
Miró | Roland Penrose | 1970 |
William Blake | Kathleen Raine | 1970 |
Surrealist Art | S. Alexandrian | 1970 |
Pop Art | Lucy R. Lippard | 1970 |
The Pre-Raphaelites | 1970 | |
A Concise History of Venetian Painting | John Steer | 1970 |
The Munich Gallery: Alte Pinakothek | Wolf-Dieter Dube | 1970 |
The Art Institute of Chicago | 1970 | |
Wren | Margaret Whinney | 1971 |
African Art | 1971 | |
Metaphysical Art | (in collaboration with , , and Patrick Waldberg) | 1971 |
The Cubists | 1971 | |
The Berlin Gallery | 1971 | |
Treasures of the British Museum | Sir Frank Francis (editor) | 1971 |
Treasures of the Vatican | 1971 | |
A History of American Painting | 1971 | |
A Concise History of French Painting | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1971 |
A Concise History of Watercolours | Graham Reynolds | 1971 |
Encyclopaedia of Themes and Subjects in Painting | , introduction by John Berger | 1971 |
The Picture History of Painting (Concise Edition) | H. W. and Dora Jane Janson | 1971 |
The New York School: Abstract Expressionism in the 40s and 50s | Maurice Tuchman | 1971 |
Edvard Munch | J. P. Hodin | 1972 |
The Essential Max Ernst | 1972 | |
Symbolist Art | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1972 |
Eroticism in Western Art | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1972 |
Modern European Art | Alan Bowness | 1972 |
The Expressionists | Wolf-Dieter Dube | 1972 |
A Concise History of Opera | 1972 | |
A Concise History of Posters | 1972 | |
Art without Boundaries: 1950–70 | , Philip Thompson, John Williams | 1972 |
Science and Technology in Art Today | 1972 | |
The Origins of Christian Art | Michael Gough | 1973 |
Hieronymus Bosch | Walter S. Gibson | 1973 |
The Art of Tantra | 1973 | |
The National Gallery of Victoria | Ursula Hoff | 1973 |
Futurist Manifestos | (editor) | 1973 |
Beethoven | H. C. Robbins Landon | 1974 |
El Greco | Jacques Lassaigne | 1974 |
Environments and Happenings | Adrian Henri | 1974 |
Athenian Black Figure Vases | John Boardman | 1974 |
Athenian Red Figure Vases: The Archaic Period | John Boardman | 1975 |
Picasso | 1975 | |
Velázquez | 1976 | |
Botticelli | L. D. and | 1976 |
David Hockney | 1976 | |
English Parish Churches | Edwin Smith, Olive Cook, Graham Hutton | 1976 |
A Concise History of Indian Art | Roy C. Craven | 1976 |
Photomontage | Dawn Adès | 1976 |
Prints of the Twentieth Century: A History (retitled Prints of the 20th Century: A History) | Riva Castleman | 1976 |
Bruegel | Walter S. Gibson | 1977 |
Futurism | , | 1977 |
The High Renaissance and Mannerism: Italy, the North and Spain, 1500–1600 | Linda Murray | 1977 |
Edwardian Architecture: A Handbook to Building Design in Britain 1890–1914 | 1977 | |
Greek Sculpture: The Archaic Period | John Boardman | 1978 |
Greek Sculpture: The Classical Period | John Boardman | 1978 |
Dutch Painting | R. H. Fuchs | 1978 |
Romanticism and Art | William Vaughan | 1978 |
A Concise History of Modern Music: From Debussy to Boulez | Paul Griffiths | 1978 |
Victorian Architecture | , | 1978 |
English Architecture | David Watkin | 1979 |
Matisse | Lawrence Gowing | 1979 |
Francis Bacon | John Russell | 1979 |
Furniture: A Concise History | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1979 |
Michelangelo | Linda Murray | 1980 |
Egyptian Art | Cyril Aldred | 1980 |
Chinese Art | Mary Tregear | 1980 |
Native Arts of North America | Christian F. Feest | 1980 |
The Classical Language of Architecture | John Summerson | 1980 |
Modern Architecture: A Critical History | Kenneth Frampton | 1980 |
Industrial Design | John Heskett | 1980 |
Hogarth | David Bindman | 1981 |
Egon Schiele | 1981 | |
Photography: A Concise History | Ian Jeffrey | 1981 |
A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance | J. R. Hale | 1981 |
Dalí | Dawn Adès | 1982 |
Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance | J. R. Hale | 1983 |
Bauhaus | 1984 | |
Japanese Art | 1984 | |
Dictionary of Art Terms | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1984 |
Dictionary of Art and Artists | Herbert Read | 1985 |
Encyclopaedia of British Art | David Bindman (general editor) | 1985 |
American Architecture | David P. Handlin | 1985 |
Magritte | Suzi Gablik | 1985 |
British Art since 1900 | Frances Spalding | 1986 |
The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec | Mary Ellen Miller | 1986 |
Encyclopaedia of 20th-Century Music (retitled Dictionary of 20th-Century Music) | Paul Griffiths | 1986 |
Classical Music: A Concise History from Gluck to Beethoven | Julian Rushton | 1986 |
Romantic Music: A Concise History from Schubert to Sibelius | Arnold Whittall | 1987 |
The Impressionists at First Hand | (editor) | 1987 |
Constable | Michael Rosenthal | 1987 |
Gauguin | 1987 | |
Rembrandt | Christopher White | 1988 |
Dictionary of British Art | Nigel Morgan, David Bindman (editor) | 1988 |
Impressionism: Origins, Practice, Reception | 1988 | |
Art Deco | 1988 | |
Ballet & Modern Dance | 1988 | |
Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present | Roselee Goldberg | 1988 |
Red Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily | A. D. Trendall | 1989 |
Van Gogh | 1989 | |
Klimt | 1990 | |
Encyclopaedia of Impressionism | 1990 | |
Abstract Art | 1990 | |
Abstract Expressionism | 1990 | |
Women, Art, and Society | Whitney Chadwick | 1990 |
Fauvism | 1991 | |
Palladio and Palladianism | Robert Tavernor | 1991 |
Art and Myth in Ancient Greece | 1991 | |
Hellenistic Sculpture | R. R. R. Smith | 1991 |
The Arts and Crafts Movement | , Wendy Kaplan | 1991 |
Sexuality in Western Art | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1991 |
Art of the Celts | Lloyd and | 1992 |
Italian Renaissance Sculpture | Roberta J. M. Olson | 1992 |
Post-Impressionism | 1992 | |
Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers | Alan and Isabella Livingston | 1992 |
Aboriginal Art | 1993 | |
Victorian Painting | 1993 | |
Buddhist Art and Architecture | 1993 | |
Design since 1945 | 1993 | |
Latin American Art of the 20th Century (revised and retitled Latin American Art since 1900) | Edward Lucie-Smith | 1993 |
Art Nouveau | 1994 | |
Concepts of Modern Art: From Fauvism to Postmodernism | 1994 | |
Graphic Design: A Concise History | Richard Hollis | 1994 |
Primitivism and Modern Art | 1994 | |
Greek Sculpture: The Late Classical Period | John Boardman | 1995 |
Oceanic Art | Nicholas Thomas | 1995 |
Charles Rennie Mackintosh | 1995 | |
Manet | 1996 | |
Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present | 1996 | |
History of Film | 1996 | |
Art of the Andes: From Chavín to Inca | 1996 | |
Architecture after Modernism | Diane Ghirardo | 1996 |
Etruscan Art | Nigel Spivey | 1997 |
Art of Tibet | 1997 | |
Art since 1960 | Michael Archer | 1997 |
Black Art and Culture in the 20th Century | 1997 | |
Art in Australia: From Colonization to Postmodernism | Christopher Allen | 1997 |
Jazz | 1998 | |
Bonnard | Timothy Hyman | 1998 |
Caribbean Art | 1998 | |
Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers | 1998 | |
Italian Baroque Sculpture | 1998 | |
Early Greek Vase Painting | John Boardman | 1998 |
Mary Cassatt: Painter of Modern Women | Griselda Pollock | 1998 |
Western Architecture | 1999 | |
The Arts in Spain | 1999 | |
Maya Art and Architecture | Mary Ellen Miller, | 1999 |
Islamic Art and Architecture | Robert Hillenbrand | 1999 |
British Painting: The Golden Age | William Vaughan | 1999 |
Marcel Duchamp | Dawn Adès, , David Hopkins | 1999 |
Contemporary African Art | Sidney Littlefield Kasfir | 1999 |
New Media in Late 20th-Century Art | Michael Rush | 1999 |
Realism in 20th Century Painting | 2000 | |
Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives | 2000 | |
Scottish Art | Murdo Macdonald | 2000 |
Hindu Art and Architecture | 2000 | |
Le Corbusier | Kenneth Frampton | 2001 |
Georgia O'Keeffe | 2001 | |
The Language of Ornament | 2001 | |
Cubism and Culture | , | 2001 |
Art of the Middle Ages | Janetta Rebold Benton | 2002 |
The Gothic Revival | Michael J. Lewis | 2002 |
Gainsborough | William Vaughan | 2002 |
Five Centuries of British Painting: From Holbein to Hodgkin | 2002 | |
Italian Architecture from Michelangelo to Borromini | 2002 | |
Black Art: A Cultural History | 2002 | |
Sienese Painting | Timothy Hyman | 2003 |
French Painting in the Golden Age | Christopher Allen | 2003 |
20th Century Ceramics | Edmund de Waal | 2003 |
World Textiles: A Concise History | 2003 | |
American Art since 1945 | David Joselit | 2003 |
Los Angeles County Museum of Art | – | 2003 |
Digital Art | Christiane Paul | 2003 |
Internet Art | Rachel Greene | 2004 |
Scottish Architecture | , | 2004 |
North American Indian Art | 2004 | |
The Photograph as Contemporary Art | Charlotte Cotton | 2004 |
Art & Architecture of Cambodia | 2004 | |
Arts of Southeast Asia | 2004 | |
Dictionary of Ancient Egypt | Toby Wilkinson | 2005 |
Dictionary of Design since 1900 | 2005 | |
American Art and Architecture | Michael J. Lewis | 2006 |
Colour in Art | John Gage | 2006 |
Interior Design since 1900 | 2008 | |
The Body in Contemporary Art | Sally O'Reilly | 2009 |
Fashion since 1900 | , | 2010 |
Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries | 2010 | |
Graffiti and Street Art | 2011 | |
Sculpture Now | 2013 | |
Art and Architecture in Mexico | 2013 | |
Viking Art | James Graham-Campbell | 2013 |
Body Art | Nicholas Thomas | 2014 |
Art since 1989 | Kelly Grovier | 2015 |
Cave Art | 2017 | |
Egyptian Art | 2017 | |
Monet | James H. Rubin | 2020 |
Central and Eastern European Art since 1950 | and | 2020 |
Contemporary Painting | 2021 | |
The Art of Contemporary China | 2021 | |
Art in California | Jenni Sorkin | 2021 |
Artists' Film | , foreword by Steve McQueen | 2021 |
Graphic Design in the Twentieth Century | Richard Hollis | 2021 |
See also[]
- Livre d'art
- List of publishers
- Thames & Hudson's 'New Horizons' series
References[]
- ^ a b "Thames & Hudson — About Us: History". thamesandhudson.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Thames & Hudson is relaunching its signature World of Art series with the publication in 2020 of 20 titles on art, architecture, design, photography and fashion". World of Art. London: Thames & Hudson. 2020. p. 2.
- ^ "Thames & Hudson: A new brand identity for the illustrated book publisher". pentagram.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Malpas, James (1 April 2000). "Recent publications from Thames & Hudson and more". theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Thames & Hudson relaunch World of Art series". designweek.co.uk. 26 April 2001. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Wong, Henry (9 March 2020). "Pentagram rebrands Thames & Hudson for 'modernisation' and 'restoration'". designweek.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ Tivnan, Tom (26 August 2020). "Thompson puts stamp on T&H with new look". thebookseller.com. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ Glover, Michael (12 September 2020). "New Art Books for the New Season". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Des collections éditoriales pour mieux comprendre l'art" (PDF). bnf.fr (in French). 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ "Ediciones Destino: Colecciones". planetadelibros.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
External links[]
- Official website
- List of books in 'World of Art' series at Publishing History
- Art history books
- Books about the arts
- Series of non-fiction books
- Book series introduced in 1958
- Editorial collections
- Illustrated books