Impressive in scope, and filled with details on the way the museums were designed and their collections organized and presented, this volume groups the discussion of modern and contemporary art
museums in Europe and the U.S. into two parts; those that emulated or otherwise reacted to the model of the 19th-century Mus矇e des artistes vivants (housed in the Luxembourg Palace), and those
modeled after or reacting to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Lorente (art history, U. of Saragossa, Spain) excels at contextualizing museums within the political and cultural movements of
their times, describing the people and motives behind their founding, their relationship to the urban area in which they are situated, and the trajectory of their success. The volume includes a
number of lengthy short essays on related topics in inset boxes and is beautifully illustrated with b&w drawings of museums by Francisco-Javier Hernandez Caudal. Originally published as Los
museos de arte contempor獺neo: Noci籀n y desarrollo hist籀rico in 2008 by Editorial Trea of Gij籀n, the text has been ably translated by Rosa An穩a and Noel Murphy. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc.,
Portland, OR (booknews.com)
