The Observer Book of Art

The story of art is the story of humanity. It is a natural instinct for us to decorate, to record and to venerate - through images and objects - the world around us. As a species we have been mark-making in one form or another for millennia, and the galleries to which crowds of us now flock en masse are simply the next chapter in a complex, evolving tale which began when our forebears etched images into rock and bone. Today the art world is glamorous, mysterious and expensive. It seems a week doesn't go by without a record being shattered by a work at auction. The number of collectors has boomed thanks to a decade of sustained economic growth, and contemporary art in Britain is vibrant, mainstream and, crucially, a thriving popular attraction. It no longer appears to be true that as a nation we 'don't know much about art'... In this book we go inside artists' studios to find out what inspires great works, we talk to gallery owners, curators and art engineers, and we hear from a muse who sat for Picasso in the Fifties. There are biographies of great artists and a series of expert guides to some of the most important movements in art history. We show you how to look at art and how to become a collector, and we walk you through the shadowy worlds of art forgery, theft and vandalism.