# Suggest a good art history book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757 "2013-01-01T17:01:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/1 "2013-01-01T17:01:53Z")
I took two art history classes in college and really wish I still had the textbook. I joined the Art Institute of Chicago and I plan to visit often this year. What would be a good art history book I can pick up for a reasonable price. Perhaps a college textbook that I can find a used edition? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/2 "2013-01-01T17:36:54Z")
While it’s not strictly art history, Simon Schama’s [The Power of Art](http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Art-Simon-Schama/dp/0061176109/ref=pd_cp_mov_3) is an interesting take of paintings and their place in history. The cheapest copy is $12. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/3 "2013-01-01T17:49:59Z")
Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art is a classic - it’s available for $24 new on Amazon US. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/4 "2013-01-01T17:53:42Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art is a classic - it’s available for $24 new on Amazon US. I WAS JUST COMING TO POST THAT! Damn, people here are fast. > **[The Story of Art: Gombrich, E.H.: 9780714832470: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Story-Art-H-Gombrich/dp/0714832472)** > > The Story of Art \[Gombrich, E.H.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Story of Art Well at least I brought a link with me. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/5 "2013-01-01T19:47:15Z")
Gombrich is the obvious answer. But if you plan to be visiting the Art Institute of Chicago regularly, it might be worth investing in a copy of its [_Essential Guide_](http://www.artic.edu/art-institute-chicago-essential-guide). It is true that, world-class though they undoubtedly are, the Art Institute’s collections - and therefore the _Essential Guide_ - are too uneven for a balanced overview, but this would help place the highlights into their wider context. My recollection is that it’s quite a good example of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/6 "2013-01-01T21:36:26Z")
“History of Art” by H.W. Janson has always been my bible. [This](http://www.amazon.com/History-Art-survey-history-present/dp/0810910942/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357076014&sr=1-9&keywords=history+of+art+janson) is the edition I have, but there are many others. In all the decades since I bought it, I’ve never seen anything better. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/7 "2013-01-01T23:38:20Z")
Not a general history of art, but a book with lots of interesting background on images in Western art (mostly religious painting) that you might consider obtaining through inter-library loan is Sally Fisher’s _The Square Halo and Other Mysteries of Western Art: Images and the Stories that Inspired Them_. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/8 "2013-01-02T00:22:20Z")
[Art - A New History](http://www.amazon.ca/Art-New-History-Paul-Johnson/dp/0060530758) is on my shelf and very often pulled out. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/9 "2013-01-02T02:01:56Z")
I have a handbook called _History of Art_ that’s small enough to fit into a backpack or purse. Kirsten Bradbury, Antonia Cunningham, Luinda Hawksley and Laura Payne are the contributors, printed by Parragon Publishers. It’s set up in such a way to make a quick “find” easy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/10 "2013-01-02T02:40:04Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > “History of Art” by H.W. Janson has always been my bible. [This](http://www.amazon.com/History-Art-survey-history-present/dp/0810910942/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357076014&sr=1-9&keywords=history+of+art+janson) is the edition I have, but there are many others. In all the decades since I bought it, I’ve never seen anything better. My wife tells me Janson is mostly western art and male artists. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/11 "2013-01-02T04:16:06Z")
Janson’s new editions are better than they used to be (the case for all of the textbooks-- much more woman/ non-white, etc included these days). Other good surveys (which usually include some chapters on non-European traditions) include “Gardners’ Art through the Ages” (editors vary-- now Tansey and Mayima?) and Stokstad’s “Art History”. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/12 "2013-01-05T03:05:40Z")
> [@APB](#): > > Gombrich is the obvious answer. > > But if you plan to be visiting the Art Institute of Chicago regularly, it might be worth investing in a copy of its [_Essential Guide_](http://www.artic.edu/art-institute-chicago-essential-guide). It is true that, world-class though they undoubtedly are, the Art Institute’s collections - and therefore the _Essential Guide_ - are too uneven for a balanced overview, but this would help place the highlights into their wider context. My recollection is that it’s quite a good example of the genre. I’m going to buy the Essential Guide tomorrow at the bookstore. I think I’ll get the Gombrich book next. Thanks for all the suggestions, I’ll probably end up reading them all. I’m really looking forward to my membership at the Art Institute. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-good-art-history-book/645757/13 "2013-01-05T05:25:23Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Not a general history of art, but a book with lots of interesting background on images in Western art (mostly religious painting) that you might consider obtaining through inter-library loan is Sally Fisher’s _The Square Halo and Other Mysteries of Western Art: Images and the Stories that Inspired Them_. The CPL has a couple of copies, so inter-library loan is not necessary if the OP lives in Chicago or a suburb with reciprocal borrowing. The CPL may also have some of the other books mentioned in this thread.