Two new series vie to expand art book market
It's only natural that Oxford University Press's Oxford History of Art and Phaidon's Art &Ideas series are drawing direct comparisons. The first titles in both series came out at the same time this spring; and both series cover a wide range of art history movements and artists while promising a fresh approach to the subject matter. Both are affordably priced (Phaidon's titles range from $19.95 to $22.95, Oxford's are $15.95 each), are in trade paper format (although Oxford offers $35 hardcover versions, primarily for the library market) and are aimed at the generalist, trade market.
Both publishers can point to characteristics that set their series apart, but art book buyers are the ones who will ultimately decide whether these series really do offer something new. So far, the word is good.
"It's delightful to have two new series," said Marilyn Jensen, a book buyer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. "Both of them are doing very well in our store." Jensen points to Oxford's Art in China as a title that has filled a specific need. "The Oxford book is a great introduction to the subject, and since the reopening of our renovated Chinese galleries, they've been going fast," she said.
Mark Hennessey, owner of Hennessey and Ingalls in Santa Monica, one of Southern California's major art book stores, said that art history specialists have been impressed with the Phaidon series. "Scholars from the Getty Museum come in here all the time," he said, "and they'd be the first ones to slam a new book down and say it was terrible. But they've been giving me good feedback."
But to succeed, both Oxford and Phaidon need to attract more than just art history insiders. Getting adopted in college courses, for example, will be critical to the success of both series, and buyer Hennessey thinks this may be difficult to achieve. "Once professors adopt a text, they stay with it for 20 years," he said. "Thames and Hudson's World of Art series has had that niche for a long time."
Indeed, Thames and Hudson d sn't plan to relinquish its place at the top. "These two series are obviously aiming at our market," said Peter Warner, president of Thames and Hudson. While the World of Art has been attacked as outdated, Warner points out that the series has added 28 new titles and revised 17 others since 1993.
"Thames and Hudson has one of the best art backlists of any publisher in the country," said Jensen of the Met. "It will take quite a while for these other two series to catch up." So far, Oxford has released five titles, while Phaidon has come out with six. But both plan ambitious publishing schedules. Oxford will publish 12-15 titles a year through the year 2001. Phaidon has set itself an even more daunting goal: 10-12 titles per year, for a total of 130.And while there may be more general trade interest in art books tied to specific blockbuster museum exhibits (witness Abrams's successes in this category over the years), buyers and publishers both wonder if the market can support so many new art history titles. "Just because there are these two new series d sn't mean the market will suddenly grow," said Warner of Thames and Hudson. "It will be interesting to see how it all sifts out."
