What's the Point of Art?

Ages 9 to 12, Grades 4 to 7

Get your paints and canvases ready for a fun-filled journey through art! Explore how artists get ideas and bring them to life, how art can affect the way we think and feel, and why people throughout history loved it so much.

Why is art important? What’s so great about it? In this illustrated book, you’ll see the world through famous artists’ eyes, and what inspired them to make art. And you’ll use their techniques to produce your own masterpieces. 

Did you know that early humans spent a great deal of time on their cave paintings? Before cameras and smartphones were invented, people had paintings and drawings made of them to keep a record of what they looked like. Many artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo, used art as a language to express their feelings, thoughts, and emotions in ways that words couldn’t. Explore techniques you can use to create art, and you don’t have to be good at drawing and painting to do it. If you want to learn why art has the power to be beautiful, shocking, entertaining, and even political, What’s the Point of Art? is the place to start. 

This book is about how art has changed the world, one artistic movement at a time, and it is guaranteed to inspire, surprise, and entertain everyone who picks it up.

Series Overview: Hand-drawn illustrations and attention-grabbing storytelling combine in this series to demystify some of the most daunting school subjects. Each spread features a "What's the point of...?" question, which is then answered by explaining the story of how each topic developed, and why. Real-world examples display the relevance of each topic, and "try it out" boxes give readers a chance to carry out some hands-on activities linked to the story.

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