Hugh Honour is one of the leading art historians of our time. With John Fleming, he edited the Pelican 'Style and Civilization' series. John Fleming, with Nikolaus Pevsner and Hugh Honour, wrote The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He died in 2001. Michael Archer teaches at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford.

Over two decades, this art historical tour de force has consistently proved the classic introduction to humanity's artistic heritage. From our paleolithic past to our digitised present, every continent and culture is covered in an articulate and well-balanced discussion. In this seventh edition, the text has been revised to embrace developments in archaeology and art historical research, while the renowned contemporary art historian Michael Archer has greatly expanded the discussion of the past twenty years, providing a new perspective on the latest developments. The insight, elegance and fluency that the authors bring to their text are complemented by 1458 superb illustrations, half of which are now in colour. These images, together with the numerous maps and architectural plans, have been chosen to represent the most significant chronological, regional and individual styles of artistic expression.