Strange Case of Edward Gorey

The Strange Case of Edward Gorey by Alexander Theroux
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While I find Edward Gorey very interesting and like his books and artwork, this book is as much about the author (Theroux) and his opinions as it is about Gorey.  After awhile, while the anecdotes were interesting, the style just grated.  I'd recommend other works about Gorey first.


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Art Attack

Art Attack: A Brief Cultural History of the Avant-Garde by Marc Aronson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not a lot of new information here for me, but it's an excellent introduction to the avant garde in the arts during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Written with teens & young adults as the target audience, it would also be appropriate for any layperson looking for a place to start on this subject. Very readable. Aronson has done well - the only way it would be better would be if the illustrations were in color.

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Annotated Art

Annotated Art: The World's Greatest Paintings Explored and Explained by Robert Cumming
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good for both people new to art & art history and for those who know a bit already. The author discusses the artists' techniques, why the paintings are significant, materials used, and symbolism. There is a lot of information packed into the little annotations! For teens with art assignments, this would be a good place to start researching if the artist or movement is represented within (it covers most of the main developments in painting).

Recommended to people curious about art and who don't want to be intimidated by a longer book. :)

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Exploring World Art

Exploring World Art by Andrea Belloli

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book groups works of art together on a topic regardless of where they were created or when. This is useful for a very general introduction to art history, but does not provide much depth. The descriptions of each work provide information about the time, place, and culture in which the object was created. This is a very visual book - a bit like the Eyewitness books from DK press - only with more depth on each particular picture. Overall, an interesting book for young people (6th grade +) interested in art or history, but not a useful book for an assignment (not enough depth on any one thing).



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The Story of Art

I have a lot of catching up to do - we'll see how far I get tonight. :)

The Story of Art by Ernst Hans Gombrich is a readable overview of the history of world art. As is the case with many introductory art history texts, this book also mostly focuses on art developments in Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and United States. As an introductory text, however - especially for a layperson interested in the topic, this is a very self-explanatory book. Someone with more background in art history probably will be familiar with most of the concepts, but may enjoy it for its readability-factor. Gombrich moves from one artist, period, or technique to the next without jarring breaks or a lot of dry jargon.

I highly recommend The Story of Art especially for lifelong learners interested in rounding out their education and for high school or college students who want an idea of what all this art stuff is about!

Ascending Peculiarity

Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey edited by Karen Wilkins. This book is a compilation of interviews people have conducted with Edward Gorey over the years. It's very interesting to see how described himself to others (regardless of how much of that description is "put on"). As is the nature of interviews, many people ask similar questions, so some of the transcriptions in the last quarter of the book are repetative, but still interesting.

Unless you're an Edward Gorey fan, you probably won't be interested.