TAKE A LOOK

In lucid detail that will be easily comprehended by middle- grade children and novices of all ages, a survey of art's styles, techniques, and symbols through the ages; the social, economic, and philosophical reasons underlying them; and how viewers' experiences affect their response to art. Davidson (a gallery owner and former director of Cambridge University Press's educational publishing division) begins with a brisk discussion of this relationship, bringing in diagrams (including one viewer's eye movements over a painting), a Quentin Blake illustration, and numerous other works of art to illuminate her points. Covering such subjects as ``What's Art For?'', storytelling in art, the revelations of ``Body Language,'' the human yen to decorate, and more, she combines an intelligent, abundantly informed text with a wealth of well chosen illustrations (including several by children); lengthy captions capably supplement the text. (In fact, Davidson's well-organized, logical sequence is an excellent demonstration of how the Eyewitness series' technique of scattershot, loosely related facts frequently falls short.) The color reproduction, occasionally, seems amiss, and there is a lamentable lack of full citations, although the author often mentions dimensions, owners, etc. Nonetheless, a splendidly inviting, comprehensive, and rewarding introduction. Brief but select list for ``Further Reading''; index. (Nonfiction. 10+)