Following on from Phaidon’s bestselling The Art Book, published in 1994, 30,000 Years of Art was conceived by Phaidon editors as a companion volume. First published in 2007, the book offered an original and accessible way of looking at art and the story of human creativity.

Great works from all periods and regions are arranged in chronological order in a book designed for a general readership. The resulting timeline leads to compelling browsing: surprising juxtapositions offer intellectual pleasure and a sense of wonder and discovery. Each work is presented with key caption information and a short text providing an accessible critical review, explaining its contribution to the development of the history of art.

Celebrating the vast range of human artistry, the book presents art in a way different from other art history compendia, revealing the huge diversity, or in many cases similarity, of artistic achievements around the globe. Moreover, the selection of entries for an individual culture will comprise an abbreviated history of the art of that people. Thus, while artworks from ancient Greece or the European Renaissance or pre-Columbian Americas will be interspersed with contemporaneous works created in Africa, India or Japan, an extraction of the Greek or Renaissance or American works could stand alone as an essential abridgement of the finest art of that period or culture.

An illustrated timeline, full index and extensive glossary of schools and movements make 30,000 Years of Art, an indispensable volume in any art library.

Praise for the original volume:

‘This book has delightful curiosity value, there is plenty to fascinate’ - The Times

‘A bold new publishing event’ - The Daily Telegraph

‘An essential addition to any library’ - The Bookseller

‘This is a book art-lovers and cultural anthropologists-scholars and laypeople alike-are guaranteed to cherish. -Publishers Weekly

'A museum of masterpieces made for a coffee table.’ - NPR

‘It is an invitation to browse and stare for hours on end’ - The New York Times