30,000 Years of Art

Each page of this monumental 1,063 page book features one color plate of one work of art.

The artworks come from all six inhabited continents, and they are arranged in chronological order. The first item is a sculpture in mammoth ivory carved circa 28,000 B.C. The last item is a 1995 abstract painting.

The chronological arrangement of the book lets you see exactly what was going on in different cultures during the same period. For instance, if you turn to the first century BC, you will see three completely different sculptures of human beings: the familiar Greek marble statue of the Venus di Milo; a man-shaped clay pipe made by one of the mound-building peoples of North America; and a Chinese bronze lamp, gracefully shaped like a kneeling servant. It is fascinating to see the different styles of art produced in different places at approximately the same time.

30,000 Years of Art is a delight to browse through, a treasure trove for serendipitous flipping. Check it out!