ISBN The History of African Art (Art Essentials) book Paperback 176 pages

Art historian Suzanne Blier surveys over 75,000 years of African art, set against the changing history of the continent, customs and religions, postcolonial debates and the challenges of the present. Core themes in African visual and cultural expression are examined in detail, including trade, empire expansion, gender, the body and representations of power, across meaningful chapters spanning ancient art, the Middle Ages, Early Modern, the colonial era and contemporary art.

Written from an inclusive, modern perspective, focusing not only on royal traditions but also on the broader global history of the continent and its artistic practices, The History of African Art explains the complexity and multiplicity of an underexplored but essential subject of art history, and offers an indispensable introduction to the arts of Africa.

About the Author
Suzanne Blier is Professor of Fine Arts and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and a leading expert on African art, architecture and culture. Her many books include A History of Art in Africa (co-author, 2000), Royal Arts of Africa (2012), Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba (2015) and The Image of the Black in African and Asian Art (with David Bindman and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 2017).