Art 101: From Vincent van Gogh to Andy Warhol, Key People, Ideas, and Moments in the History of Art (Adams 101 Series)

As someone who not only enjoys art, but has gone to school for it, I can't say I enjoyed this book at all. It's unorganized, scattered in a matter that has the reader jumping from timeline to timeline, biography to practical lesson, art period/movements to elements. It just doesn't work. I'm fully aware that the "101" series from AdamsMedia is organized in such a way that features colored pictures in the middle of the book, but that's exactly why "Art 101" should not have even been written. Art is exactly that, a visual representation. If not visual, it's auditory, and since this is a book, that sense is unrelated. There's no pictures. I know, I know, most readers are left to imagination, but are we really going to talk about color and only feature black and white hand drawn photos until a cluster page of tiny graphics in between page 128 and 129? Is that sensible? Honestly, out of all the "101" series, this is the one I'm mostly disappointed by. I adore books, and I adore owning them even more, but I do regret this purchase. I don't recommend buying, I would recommend checking out at a library, if anything.

arrived quickly and in great condition, good book, easy to read, succinct summary of important art subjects

It was informative and gave examples of how to draw or paint. With detailed art history as well. Thanks Amazon.

Good info but dry and not organized. All pictures at end like an afterthought. Feels very lazy. Would be good if organized and photos in the relevant places. Would be like 2 hours of work. Ruin a good book for that little extra effort?

Brilliant value product

Who is this book for? In my opinion, someone who knows little about art history, but wants to get a basic foundation of knowledge. This book does not pretend to be exhaustive, but it is an excellent place to start for someone who wants to learn the "least one needs to know." ART 101 can also serve as a refresher course of art history for those who want a review.With the exception of the section on color theory, this book has no illustrations. At first, that would seem absurd for a book on the basics of art, but we live in the digital age. I just searched for the topics online as I read about them-- names of artists, names of paintings, names of art movements-- and I got treated to way more graphics than the typical art history book supplies. This book wouldn't have worked fifteen, twenty years ago, but now it's perfect for those who feel comfortable using search engines like Google to supplement their reading. In fact, I enjoyed it more because of this.Again, this book does not go into every aspect of art, but it does the job of getting the basic information to the reader in a quick manner. Not sure I understand the order of the topics, but I walked away a satisfied customer after reading this book. Makes me want to research some of the artists and art movements in more detail

Used this as a refresher to take a licensing exam as a teacher in a new state. I'm ready now.

I was interested in that book. it is a real 101 and it is well explained and written. I am studying art history at Oxford and it is a great companion to have as a quick and small reference on general topics.

It's a great book. It explains the philosophy of each of the western art movements precisely. I would say it makes sense for any body willing to get a hang on the strange way of art to go through this book.