Museums and Modernity: Art Galleries and the Making of Modern Culture

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Short-listed for the Philip Abrams Memorial Prize 2003 Museums have been the subject of intense debate in recent years and their history and development raise important questions. What was 'modern' about the art museum Why did museums emerge when and where they did How were museums involved with the development of modern art worlds What was the relationship between art galleries and their audiences and who were the key people involved with their inception Focusing on the role of national art galleries in continental Europe, England and Scotland, this book explores in depth the interrelationship between artistic and exhibitionary forms, as well as between power and governance in those places where the roots of modern culture were being laid most visibly. Drawing upon debates concerning modernity, Prior investigates how the boundaries of art and culture have been determined within the museum world. In particular, he looks at the interface between the project of the nation and the gallery and how galleries were involved in making certain social groups or bodies feel 'at home' and others excluded.

Reviews

'Nick Prior's lucid and intelligent book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the contradictory dynamics characterising the relations between art museums and modernity. An essential and provoking study.' Tony Bennett, The Open University 'A timely and exciting book that makes a substantial historical as well as theoretically astute contribution to a critical field of museum and cultural studies.' Griselda Pollock, University of Leeds 'This lively, excellent and compelling study of three great national galleries of art during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is a must for anyone who is interested in museum issues ... The book is a study in the historical sociology of museums which is of profound relevance to current debates about citizenship and cultural equality.' Gordon Fyfe, Keele University 'This Bourdieu-inspired cultural/sociological history considerably expands existing understanding of the formation of the modern European art market and museum, and of the strategies deployed by its urban bourgeoisie to gain cultural dominance.' New Formations 'This is a timely book published during an era when Scottish civil society is reasserting its independence. It is all the more welcome for its clear, lucid presentation of the case of the founding of the National Gallery of Scotland within the context of the emergence of art museums in Europe and the development of the modern art world.' Marie Bourke, Keeper, Head of Education, National Gallery of Ireland in 'Museum Ireland'

Author Bio

Nick Prior is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh