Great Themes in Art

Different art history intro texts have either made the mistake of giving too much information, or imposing artificial organizational criteria that leave students scratching their heads. Dr. Walford's Great Themes in Art provides an intro text that spares both blunders. Walford avoids information overload by using his teaching gifts to give the forest for the trees at many junctures, evoking the longed for "Ohhhh, so that's why..." in the mind of the student throughout the text. Secondly, by organizing the material not only chronologically but holisitcally - using the fourfold headings of Spirituality, the Self, Nature, and the City - Walford has found an effective (and hitherto unattempted) way of classifying an enormous amount of material. Furthermore, because the text deals with both prehistoric and non-Western art in more than token fashion, it is not only a great introduction to the history of Art, but to the history of civilization itself. Highly recommended, and considering the wealth of well-chosen images, quite worth the investment.