The Invention of British Art

T'he art historian, art dealer and co-presenter of BBC4’s Britain’s Lost Masterpieces is an elegant, insightful writer. Jargon? None. Theory? Never. Talking down? Not on your life. Grosvenor begins at the beginning with the Creswell Horse — a shard of animal bone carved with the outline of a horse’s head about 12,000 years ago — and leads us through the centuries to the great flourishing of landscape painting under Constable, Gainsborough and Turner.' - The Times

A beautifully illustrated, provocative and captivating survey of the glories of British art

Britain has produced some of the world’s most famous artists and paintings. But what made British art ‘great’? Was it the individual genius of artists like Hogarth and Constable? Or were their careers shaped by a distinctly ‘British’ society, culture and history? And if so, why has that distinctiveness been overlooked, and why have we ignored so many of the characters who helped create the story of British art?

In The Invention of British Art, Bendor Grosvenor embarks on a journey of discovery through an incredible array of artworks and artists from 10,000 BCE to the nineteenth century, revealing how the art from these isles was created, what made it distinctive, and why it took so long to emerge. From folk art to the role of female artists, from the influences of invaders to the colonised territories of the British Empire, the book embraces previously overlooked contributions to the story of British art and explores the cultural, political and economic factors that helped to shape it.

A Times and Spectator 2024 Book of the Year.

Details

• Author: Bendor Grosvenor
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Date published: October 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781783968091
• Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 20.1 cm