- Publisher
- Thames & Hudson
- Published
- 2003
- Shelf
- culture: Africa
- ISBN
- 9780500203644
Africa
African Art
Frank Willett
The standard single-volume introduction to the art of the African continent, by an archaeologist who excavated at Ife.
Why read it
Willett insists this is art with a history (Nok terracottas, Ife bronzes, Benin plaques) made by named traditions across centuries, not the timeless "tribal" category invented by European collectors. Correcting that framing is most of the book's value.
Why own it
It is the World of Art volume that stays in print because nothing has replaced it as a first map. A reference you can hold beside a museum label is the difference between looking at something and knowing what you are looking at.
Who it is for
Anyone whose art history began in Europe.
Opens a search on AbeBooks, a network of independent and antiquarian sellers, which is where a good part of this shelf has to be found, because it is out of print.
Read next
Chosen because they argue with this one, not because a machine noticed they share a category.
