The best Art History texts to read

ARTNEWS ass­emb­led a list of 11 must-haves books that cover art history, from class­ical antiquity to now. Art history is a flexible discipline, subject to revisions as things change. Below I have included the books I know and found excellent.GombrichThe Story of Art1. Penelope JE & Davies et al, Janson’s History of Art For 60+ years, Horst Janson’s large book was the key text for first Art History courses, promising a sweep­ing overview of painting, sc­ulpture and architecture from earliest civilisation to now. For the most part, only women artists were side-lined and criticised. $250.However a 2006 revision basically wrote Janson out of his own book, though his name was still in the title. Works cited as masterpieces eg James Whistler Whis­t­ler’s Mother (1871) were ignored, while ignored disciplines (photography, decorative arts) were added. As were female artists. More-over it replaced Janson’s focus on the male artist as genius with a more comprehensive reading that considers…