The Grove Dictionary of Art

This reference text has 34 volumes, 41,000 articles, 15,000 illustations, 6082 contributions from 120 countries, and 720,000 indexed entries providing coverage of the visual arts. All the visual arts are examined, painting, architecture, sculpture, photography, the graphic decorative arts. The text commands a global perspective with analysis of art of Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Pacific, as well as Europe.;The set takes into account the complete context in which art is created. Art has been part of human life from the earliest times. It is often artefacts which provide us with the clearest picture of what life was like in ancient civilizations. Throughout the world's history, art has been (and continues to be) shaped by politics and propaganda, religion and ritual, society and culture, money and the market economies.;The scope of the "The Dictionary of Art" means that its influence can extend beyond the academic world. People in the art world, including art dealers, private galleries, auction houses and professional collectors, and individuals who simply have a passion for art.;Macmillan Reference has produced a limited edition, leather-bound edition of the set. 250 individually numbered sets have been bound in Chieftain goat skin with gilt edging and marbled end papers. The full price for the set is GBP10,000.;There is an accompanying Website which provides the latest news and information and allows visitors the opportunity to experience "The Dictionary of Art" for themselves, with regularly changed sample articles and press reviews. There is also a newsletter, "Art" (also available in print form, posted each month on the site.

About the Author :
Jane Turner is a specialist in Dutch and Flemish Old Master drawings. In addition to her work as Editor of The Dictionary of Art, she is preparing catalogs of Northern drawings for the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Review :
"The most ambitious art-publishing venture of the late 20th century, The Dictionary of Art is an awesome single source on world art....It is an invaluable acquisition for any serious art lover, indispensable for libraries or schools."--The New York Times Book Review "A major triumph...the outstanding reference tool for many generations...essential for every art, academic, and large public collection."--Library Journal "As you browse it, you realize what an unprecedented effort of distilled and integrated scholarship it represents....No more complete guide to the world's art exists; this is especially true of the range of cultures outside the West, both old and modern, such as Aboriginal Australia, Oceania, or Ancient Egypt....There's no art publication in existence that gives the reader such richness of detail and coherence of organization."--Time Magazine "One of the most important publishing efforts for related disciplines such as anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, theater, and the history of culture."--Booklist "The largest and most comprehensive reference tool on the visual arts that has ever been published."--Choice