The Two Art Histories

Many museum professionals today believe that university-based art history focuses too much on theory and the social agency of art, neglecting the aesthetic dimensions of the art object. Conversely, many academics feel that museums have become preoccupied with the quest for money and audiences, making them an increasingly unlikely source of innovative scholarship. In this provocative book, seventeen eminent figures from both sides of the art world--museum professionals and university scholars--explore the questions underlying the often tense relationship between the two main branches of the discipline.