'Nick Prior's lucid and intelligent book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the contradictory dynamics characterising the relations between art museums and modernity. An essential and provoking study.'Tony Bennett, The Open University'A timely and exciting book that makes a substantial historical as well as theoretically astute contribution to a critical field of museum and cultural studies.' Griselda Pollock, University of Leeds'This lively, excellent and compelling study of three great national galleries of art during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is a must for anyone who is interested in museum issues ... The book is a study in the historical sociology of museums which is of profound relevance to current debates about citizenship and cultural equality.'Gordon Fyfe, Keele University'This Bourdieu-inspired cultural/sociological history considerably expands existing understanding of the formation of the modern European art market and museum
