Category: Books

World of Art is a series of small art books that can fit in pockets, published by British publishers, Thames & Hudson. They are long established and have more than 300 titles. The book has heavy illustrations with about 200 pages. World of Art is quite different from the usual art books. They have a traditional layout with pictures and texts on the very same page but are set apart. The series is known to be released in 1958, with a total of more than 300 titles published.

The series covers all the subjects related to arts; however, the target is art history. The art history ranges from popular cave art in prehistoric times to modern contemporary art. It includes Graco-Roman, Japanese Art, Central Asian Art, Viking art, academic art, outsider art, etc. Michael Levey’s ‘A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cézanne’ is the quintessential book included in the series. It was originally issued in 1962. The book gives a classic preface to the art history of Europe that starts from the initial adoption of the perspective of Italy, traveling to the beginning of the famous modern art in the early 20th century. Prominent authors in the series include Herbert Read, John Boardman, Philip Rawson, Edward Lucie-Smith, Hans Richter, Linda Murray, David Talbot Rice, Griselda Pollock, Peter Murray, and Germain Bazin.

History of the Series

The initial name of this series was The World of Art Library which was issued with backgrounds in black color on the spine and the series’ back cover. The front part usually had a large color image. The initial hardbacks had visually appealing shiny dust jackets. In 2001, the series had a second revamp. It was during the publication of the 300th title of the series. The redesigned series was glossier than the earlier books to avoid similarities with textbooks.

World of Art had a relaunch in 2020 with a group of contemporary titles. The new books’ covers were redesigned with white background by Kummer & Herrman, a Dutch design studio. The famous Golden Ratio was the inspiration for the new design. During the relaunch, Sophy Thompson, the Thames & Hudson director, said that they are finding the changes in the art market through the World of Art. They wanted to keep the spirit of the legacy series by refreshing and updating it. James H. Rubin’s Monet was a highlight among the latest titles, which was a refreshing rethinking of the mentioned painter. The Central and Eastern European Art since 1950 by Reuben Fowkes and Maja is the next important work from the new titles.

The older titles were divided into eight different categories and each of them had its color code.

• Architecture (orange)
• General (yellow)
• Artists (pink)
• New Directions (grey)
• Galleries (green)
• History of Art (blue)

• Music (white)
• Modern Movements (red)

In Spain and France, the series publication was by Ediciones Destino and Éditions Thames & Hudson with the titles El mundo del arte and L’Univers de l’art respectively. Instead of calling book series, they are named as collections in these countries. In the regions of North America, the series was published by the same Thames & Hudson, as well as by some other publishers. Crypto art is increasingly becoming popular these days. They are digital in form and can be traded on a blockchain network. Crypto investment needs the best shares to make profits. PayPal can help you to buy the best shares. Visit https://www.etf-nachrichten.de/aktien-kaufen/aktien-kaufen-paypal/ to buy shares with PayPal.