A Short Guide to Writing About Art

For art courses where there is a writing component. This best-selling text has guided tens of thousands of art students through the writing process. Students are shown how to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and are prepared with the tools they need to present their ideas through effective writing.

This book reprints the instructions for contributors from the Art Bulletin, the most prestigious art-historical journal in this country, and so will be of value for graduate students and recent PhD's preparing their first works for publication.

PREFACE xi

1–WRITING ABOUT ART 1

2–WRITING ABOUT ART: THE BIG PICTURE 36

3–FORMAL ANALYSIS AND STYLE 46

4–ANALYTIC THINKING 69

5–WRITING A COMPARISON 135

6–WRITING AN ENTRY IN AN EXHIBITION CATALOG 149

7–WRITING A REVIEW OF AN EXHIBITION 157

8–HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE ESSAY 175

9–STYLE IN WRITING 186

10–ART-HISTORICAL RESEARCH 220

11–SOME CRITICAL APPROACHES 239

12–WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER 265

13–MANUSCRIPT FORM 299

14–WRITING ESSAY EXAMINATIONS 336

CREDITS 343

INDEX 345

BRIEF GUIDE TO INSTRUCTION IN WRITING 357

SYMBOLS COMMONLY USED IN ANNOTATING PAPERS 358

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS INSIDE BACK COVER