Sarah Thornton’s Seven Days in the Art World is a funny series of non-fiction narratives, which reveal the inner workings of the institutions that contribute to an artist’s place in art history. The book is an international hit, available in 15 translations.
Thornton has written regularly about contemporary art for The Economist and other publications. She is taking a break from journalism to write a new book.
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Seven Days in the Art World is an “exhaustively researched and intelligently written… refreshingly open-minded exploration.” Washington Post
“The best book yet written about the modern-art boom… an excellent, vivid, wittily written book… a Robert Altmanesque panorama of… the most important cultural phenomenon of the last ten years….” The Sunday Times
“An entertaining and lucid account of the mysterious ways of contemporary art… [Thornton] does well to resist the temptation to draw any glib, overarching conclusions. There is more than enough in her rigorous, precise reportage… for the reader to make his or her own connections.” Financial Times
Seven Days “is poised to endure as a work of sociology… Where others would be content to gawk and gossip, [Thornton] pushes her well-chosen subjects to explore the questions ‘What is an artist?’ and ‘What makes a work of art great?’” The New York Times
Seven Days in the Art World “will survive as a hard-thinking but high-spirited memorial… Thornton brings to light the bizarre machinery that keeps studio showbiz on the road, and in the headlines.” (“20 Best Books of the Year”) The Independent