The colloquial tone welcomes readers new to art history, and it is refreshing. However, the material feels a bit heavy-handed at times. The entries are organized only alphabetically, without contextual information for the reader to make connections between all the different terms presented. The illustrations could have been used to convey some data or to present examples of the actual art term being described. For someone completely new to the art world, it might be a helpful starting point.

This is a great, fun, light-hearted take on a topic many people don’t dare delve into. As an artist & former art student myself, I found the book insightful & enjoyable! It is definitely geared towards people without much background in art history & isn’t intimidating to read. The language used is casual yet informative!
The biggest thing missing for me would be actual images of some of the styles being mentioned. There are some cool illustrations, but especially if this is geared toward art novices, it would be greatly helpful to have some examples of what the art, terms, or supplies really look like. Heck, even for someone who has studied art history, it would still be helpful to see those types of images in the book!

Although this dictionary is simple and to the point that is exactly what I need when it comes to describing art. As an art lover who has no real knowledge or education on Art History this is the perfect accompaniment for me when studying art. I loved the humour and the non-stuffy tone of the book, it has a very down to earth feel about it and is very unique in this. It would be a book that I would dip in and out of many times for reference

I hadn't heard of "The Art History Babes" before, but I surely will check out their podcast after reading this book.
I would definitely consider myself as someone who is very interested in art, both making art and looking at other people's works. But I am also someone who doesn't know all that much about it.
With my level of knowledge about it, I can say that this book is very much perfect for everyone with only a vague to intermediate understanding of art. I would even go as far as saying that this could profit art students who need a concise, funny and easy to understand overview in their room. (I was roommates with an art student and I think she definitely would have liked this.)
"The Honest Art Dictionary" features a very good A-Z dictionary of important movements, materials, schools, industry terms etc alongside really nice illustrations, a timeline and further reading suggestions.
Because it is a dictionary you can skip around to only read what interests you or what you need help to understand. For example, I already know a bunch about New Objectivity so instead I can read up on Fauvism, which I knew nothing about.

I was an art student back and the day, and to say I've forgotten a few things, is being incredibly kind to myself. I have a memory hole that I cannot dig deep enough for memories resurface. Reading through The Honest Art Dictionary was a nice kick to what I used to know (and thanks to the book hazily remember). It's definitely more up-to-date than when I was in school (so cool to see Data Visualization included). The illustrations are fun, the book is well designed/laid out and most importantly (for me), the information is not overwhelming and hopefully easy to remember - I'll just flip through each time I go to visit a museum. #TheHonestArtDictionary #NetGalley

A minor aside from the off - I loved the timeline and the absolutely not subtle editorializing therein.

I have a much treasured and never used undergrad minor in art, so I'm not a complete noob to the subject, but this still had such an impressive number of entries that were new to me, so I'm absolutely impressed with the scope of the project. This is definitely a text I'd love to have on the shelf for easy reference.
If their next dictionary project was to artists rather than art terms I would also 100% waitlist for that one - as I'm a fan of the podcast and I really enjoy their analyses.

The only criticism I'd offer here, is that (though the authors do a solid job of explaining their examples) art is a visual medium - and when you can't see the concept in action/example, it is harder to really take it in. But, I imagine the costs to include reference photos would have been prohibitive and and yeah, the book sparks curiosity (as they mentioned was a goal), so perhaps there is your silver lining to a slight issue.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the arc to review.

A vary basic overview of some of the art movements. Not a lot of detail, a distinct avoidance of mentioning all but the most well known artists.