The Museum is a breathtaking book and perfect for anyone who likes ... you guessed it ... museums. You can get so much out of this book whether you just enjoy looking at the pictures or reading more. I definitely want to buy this book for myself.

An interesting history of the cultural and historical idea of the museum — a rich narrative account, filled with pertinent questions about the nature and role of the museum today as a space of enlightenment and oppression.

I read this beautiful book page by page and stared at all photos and now all I want is to get the actual book to keep forever.

I loved the side-by-side comparison of historical and new photos of the same spaces the most! But also all the stunning photos, and the grouping of museums by age and style... it's a gorgeous book. Seriously. If you love museums and coffee table books, put it on your wishlist ✨

An explorative history of the (primarily Western) Museum with wonderful imagery and studious study. Covering themes of Museum architecture, collections and the construction of identity. It's a delightful coffee table book introduction to museums and and would be suitable for a budding museum enthusiast or institutional professional.

I love museums, so figured I would enjoy this book - I mean, the title is 'The Museum'. I seemed to get lost in the pages - in a good way. Museums are fascinating, and now even more so for me after reading this book.

This book was amazing in every way. You could tell from the start this book was very well researched and packed full of very interesting facts. The author did an epic job of marrying together aspects of architecture, history, photography, art, politics and social interactions. Creating this spectacular book. The layout of the book was brilliant looking at the changing dynamics of museums through time both in the buildings themselves, the collections they hold and the change of social classes using them. What's more I learnt so much while reading this book. You never think while visiting a museum how much work or how many people are actually involved in creating that museum experience its just mind blowing reading about it. I mean there are even court battles over ownership of pieces. I was astonished just how many museums there are in the world and how they have changed across the years. I just loved looking at how the architecture changed as new buildings materials are created and tested. I loved learning about the ownership of museums pieces and how there were many controversial issues. This book was packed full of beautiful photographs and so much wonderful information that I had days of fun reading this book and learning new things you might never of thought about before. This is a brilliant book that would interest so many different types of people, even my 9 year old was showing interest at the photographs in the book saying cool.
So much praise goes to the author and publishers for creating such a wonderful experience while reading this book it just blew me away. I really do hope to read more from this author. 
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-museum-by-owen-hopkins-quarto-publishing-group-5-stars
Under either of these names ladyreading365, lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

A gorgeous and informative book!

The photography is simply stunning, so I can't imagine how good this will look in print on glossy paper. This will be an amazing coffee table book and an even grater gift for art lovers.

Okay I also have to admit that I loooove museums so I was very happy that I got to read this. Owen Hopkins did a wonderful job researching the topic and organizing this book. "The Museum" explores the history of museums from earlier years to modern time, the variety of museums existing around the world, and the effects these culture preservers have for us humans and our societies.

I will have to go and look this up at my local bookstore to also see the printed version.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Museums are very dear to me. If I had the means, I’d spend the rest of my life traveling abroad and visiting art installations–there’s so much beauty in the world I’d like to see first-hand! Until someone delivers a truck full of money to my doorstep, though, traveling via books will have to do.

That’s why I’m glad publishers like Quarto exist 😀

**


Visited by millions around the world every year, discover the untold story of The Museum, one of mankind’s most essential creations.

Using examples of the greatest cultural institutions to shape the narrative, this book outlines the history of the museum movement, tracking the evolution from princely collections in Europe and the Enlightenment’s classically inspired temples of curiosities, via the public museums of the late nineteenth century, on to today’s global era oficonic buildings designed by the world’s leading architects.

Over the course of five chapters filled with stunning imagery that highlights the beauty of these venerated buildings, the origins of key institutions are revealed, including:
Louvre
Metropolitan Museum of Art
British Museum
Tate Modern
Hermitage
Guggenheim
Smithsonian Institute
Acropolis Museum
Also outlined are the motivations of the architects, curators and patrons who have shaped how we experience the modern museum, a cast that includes names such as King George II, Napoleon, Henry Clay Frick, Peggy Guggenheim, Andrew Carnegie, Alfred Barr, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Courbusier, Frank Gehry, Richard Rogers, Nicholas Serota and Zaha Hadid.

By examining how these venues became intrinsic to our shared cultural experience, analysing the changing roles they play in society and questioning what the future holds in a digital age, this book is for anyone who has stood in awe at the spectacle of a museum.

320 pages
Photography, art
Quarto Publishing – White Lion
Goodreads

**

Cover: It’s magnificent, but it’s also a little meh. A detail of the same place would have worked better.

Yay!

- The Museum features art pieces and the buildings themselves. It’s a great idea, because both elements are part of an indissoluble whole. Take the Apollo Belvedere out of the Vatican Museums, for example; it would be a magnificent statue regardless, but the context would be missing. I got the same feeling when I went to see itinerant exhibitions: nice, and still…

- Good structure. The idea of splitting The Museum in sections, going from the origins to the modern concept of a museum, is a winning one. I like to see how museums evolved through the years.

- Spectacular pictures. Quarto is among a bunch of publishers I expect top-notch content from; all the photos are clear and bright, handpicked with care. Some leave me a little meh because I’m not that taken with the subject, but they’re still impressive.

- Once again, the prose is mistake-free. That’s another important point, one worthy of a full star. Well done!

Special mention:

- Virgin on the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci
- Museo de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil – the brutalist museum!
- Grand Staircase of Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA
- Hermitage Museum, Russia.

Nay!

Less Europe, please? Give me some more variety!

TL;DR

5 stars on GR.

Do you need a gift for the art lover in your life? I think The Museum will likely fit the bill!

Owen Hopkins discusses the history and evolution of museums over time, covering some of the world's most beloved institutions, including the Louvre, the Met, the National Gallery and others. In addition to these well-known museums, he also includes lesser-known but equally spectacular institutions, and I enjoyed learning about these under the radar gems, especially those outside major US and European cities!

Hopkins views the museum not just as the art it contains, but also the building(s) that house the art. And there are some beautiful pictures in this book - perfect for your coffee table. Along the way, we learn about the architects' missions in designing the museums, and how changes in art styles influenced changes in museum structure and organization, and vice versa. The writing can be a little dense at times, but the pictures help greatly in getting his points across.

I especially enjoyed the last section on the future of museums, including the responsibility to repatriate looted objects, as well as those obtained through deals with colonial governments. Hopkins makes the important point that a museum's attendance should reflect the demographic makeup of its location. After all, a museum cannot claim to be of the community if it does not reflect that community.

A thought-provoking and enjoyable read that's also lovely to just flip through, as a coffee table book should be. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

Thank you to Quarto - White Lion/Frances Lincoln for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a marvelous study! I wasn't able to read the descriptions, but that didn't matter to me at all. The beautiful colored photographs of the exterior and interior of so many wonderful museums around the world are a real treat and absolutely fascinating! I can't wait to get a print copy.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, Frances Lincoln via NetGalley. Thank you!

Really informative with lots of lovely photographs. Loved it. That you to NetGalley and the published for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Informative and beautiful…

This book has just... stunning. There are a lot more words to describe it, but in a nutshell, the pictures, the history it shared, was beautiful. Museums exist to inform, to educate, to open worlds and this book has done them justice. As the caretakers, showcasing art and artifacts, the museums became the subject in a stroll through the past and present that was just remarkable…

I’ve been to a few museums, not nearly enough, but reading this book makes me feel that I have a sense of what these places are like. The contents is not only the draw in these historical buildings that have stories of their own to tell. Supported by succinct biographies, the pictures are amazing, highlighting what the real thing must be…

I viewed this in e-book and can’t wait for it in paper copy – it will be one I will look at often.

Owen Hopkins' The Museum: From its Origins to the 21st Century lives up to the mission statement of the title. Beginning with a chapter framing the topic, Hopkins splits the book into six chapters. Each one looks at a different chronological era and that era's conception of the museum as it related to society. It is a story of privilege and wealth and how that origin still inhibits usage. While not exploring the topic in depth, this work provides an excellent summary and survey of the history and challenges of museums in the modern world.

Two particular strengths of the work are the copious images to supplement important references in the narrative and that Hopkins does take time to consider the global history and criticisms of the ways collections were built and interpreted. The latter has become a major issue that has been the rallying point of activists to return objects to their native countries, to be more equitable in discourse and to increase access. As the book was just released, some thought has been given to the added challenge of post COVID life. I would expect much more to be written on this particular topic.

The only note of complaint I have, is the author's occasional change of tone. For much of the work Hopkins speaks with an open and informative voice. However, there were times were Hopkins stated assertions or asides that I found jarring or flatfooted. For example on page 14, after describing that museums as "the essential institution" he states that "We can imagine a world without libraries, for example, in fact we are quite possibly entering one, but it is impossible to imagine a world without museums." As one who works in the library industry, I know I am biased in my viewpoint, but I feel that this assertion is negated by many points in Hopkins own narrative. In latter chapters he points out that museums have been future focused; preserving and interpreting materials for the future, how does that differ from the mission of a library with special collections or an archive, to say nothing of the Internet Archive a fully virtual library.

A great coffee table book (meaning, much better to enjoy a physical copy rather than digital). Worth a read if only for the photographs.

This beautiful book transports the reader to crowd-free/reduced-crowd locations that will inspire you to visit remarkable museums, castles, and archeological sites around the world from the comfort of your reading nook. ‘The Museum’ explores the intricacies of museums, such as acquiring antiquities and plunder, as well as the preservation of priceless works of art during the world wars, and topics on repatriation, proving that beauty is rarely conflict-free.

The Museum provides a useful survey of the history of museums, supplemented by a wealth of excellent photography that enriches the text and would make this a great coffee table book. Hopkins discusses a wide variety of museums and brings in extremely current, relevant issues.
This book is probably best for readers new to the history of museums and collecting; since I already knew quite a bit, there wasn’t much until the last couple of chapters that was truly new to me.
It seems to me that some of the assertions made in the book--mostly in the Introduction and the final chapter--need more explanation or unpacking, such as the idea that museums “embody architecture at its most fundamental,” or the idea raised in relation to the Capitoline collection in Chapter 1 that a museum *needs* a museum building, or the idea expressed in the final chapter that the object is not central to the museum, based on three defining characteristics set out by the author.
Despite an insistence on the importance of architecture to a museum, the book seems to treat museum architecture rather unevenly, discussing newer museums’ architectural innovation at much greater length than the architectural developments of museums before the modern age.
Quibbles with the text aside, this book would make a great addition to an art lover’s library or as part of the reading for an undergraduate survey course introducing museum studies. Its extensive inclusion of non-Western museums is especially welcome in a field that often lingers on storied European and American institutions.

This tome delves into the origins, evolution, and architecture of several key museums from around the globe. From cabinets of curiosities and expressions of power to architectural marvels and showcases of culture and social injustice. By no means an exhaustive list, the author does a great job of including several new museums from around the globe in the final two chapters. Stunning photographs add to the depth of this work. Index makes finding specific examples and artists a breeze and further reading list provides insights for those still left hungry for more knowledge.

I am a firm supporter and lover of museums. I have planned entire vacations around getting to certain museums. And in my travels I've stumbled fabulous ones I didn't know existed. This book celebrates museums. The photos are fabulous and although they are plentiful I still would gladly have welcomed more. The book is broken into sections covering: Origins; Enlightenment Museum, Public Museum, Modern Museum, and the Museum Now. Some museums are filled with what once were the royal treasures while other started as collections of curiosities gathered by those that had the money and interest. The Smithsonian in the US was planned to collect and celebrate America. The book takes time to explain the differences in the museums and what they reflect. It doesn't shy away from controversies such as collections that come from colonialism, or as a result of spoils of war. The controversies of repatriation are discussed too. There is a primary focus on Europe but in the later sections it adds museums from North America, South America and Asia. I have been to most of the museums featured in the USA and Europe and look forward to future travels when I hope to get to museums on other continents. This is not a travel guide and it doesn't promote specific museums. But instead uses select museums or their collections as part of topics under discussion. I like that the book talks about displays, curation and purpose which is as important as the collections themselves. I think if I had one criticism it is that the writing is very intellectual and may be difficult for a casual reader. This is a great coffee table book and again the photos are the stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion for a temporary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Owen Hopkins does not disappoint with The Museum. Every page is filled to the brim with information the world over and gorgeous photos of temples, museums, libraries, and other historical sites. This book is a perfect coffee table gift book.

The glossy pictures of museums from all over the world, combined with the interesting and insightful text which charts the development of museums, makes this book a must for anyone who loves museums.
I especially enjoyed the chapter on museums during the Enlightenment, as I find this period of history fascinating. I also think that the book does a great job addressing the role that museums have played (and sometimes still play) in promoting colonialism and the debates around repatriating items taken during wars or colonial expansion. These topics were dealt with in a respectful and thought-provoking way.
This book has definitely sparked my desire to travel again, and I've now got a list of museums I'd like to visit!