Art Firsts, Nick Trend
Art Firsts, Nick Trend
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Art Firsts
The Story of Art in 30 Pioneering Works

Author: Nick Trend

Narrator: John Sackville

Unabridged: 3 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/15/2023

Categories: Nonfiction, Art

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

When was art's first kiss? Who painted the first ever smile and the first self-portrait? When did Western art first depict a Black person or approach feminism? And why were each of these firsts so important? This book answers all these fascinating questions and more.

Art Firsts explores 30 groundbreaking works to piece together an original approach to looking at and appreciating art, as well as understanding where it has come from and how it relates to you. Each first is approachable and engaging, while each work is simply and satisfyingly explained. Every work is also fully illustrated, and its significance is shown through images of the subsequent artists directly inspired by them.

This book offers a refreshing and fascinating narrative for those curious about why so-called 'masterpieces' are so important and how the story of art can be boiled down to flashes of fascinating brilliance.

About Nick Trend

Nick Trend is a journalist and art historian. As Chief Culture Editor for the travel desk of the Daily Telegraph, he has spent nearly three decades writing about the world's art treasures and has produced guides to many of the greatest museums and art collections. He has also worked on the curatorial staff at the National Gallery in London and has a degree in English Literature from Cambridge and a PhD in Art History from the University of East Anglia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ryan on November 27, 2023

This was a decent quick hitter on some art history; however, I wish that there was a tad more study and examination of the works highlighted within. It felt a bit too "Wikipedia" in the end. I did enjoy some of the categories the author chose, and I have to say I learned a few things a long the way.......more

Goodreads review by Tabish on June 09, 2023

Art history books have a tendency to be informative but rather dry. This one bucks the trend by keeping it snappy with a few pages on each topic - telling the history of art from the first kiss depicted in art through to the first anti-war painting and the first portrait of a Black person in Western......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on August 07, 2025

A fun concept. I came in knowing 0 things about art history and felt like I learned a lot and enjoyed doing so. I was confused why they bothered to include 1 or 2 of the pieces... because there came too big of an emphasis on the disclaimer that it wasn't actually "the first".......more

Goodreads review by Julie on June 24, 2023

Excellent book on a short excursion through art history.......more