Museums and Modernity: Art Galleries and the Making of Modern Culture (Leisure, Consumption and Culture)

Museums and their history have been the subject of intense debate in recent years. This book focuses on the role of national art galleries in continental Europe, England and Scotland. It explores in depth the interrelationship between artistic and exhibitionary forms, as well as between power and governance in those places where the roots of modern culture were being laid most visibly. Drawing upon debates concerning modernity, Prior investigates how the boundaries of art and culture have been determined within the museum world. In particular, he looks at the interface between the project of the nation and the gallery and how galleries were involved in making certain social groups or bodies feel "at home" and others excluded.