An instant classic--a lively new introduction to contemporary art that stretches from Andy Warhol's Brillo boxes to Marina Abramovic's performance art to today's biennale circuit and million-dollar auctions. Encountering a work of contemporary art, a viewer might ask, "What does it mean?" "Is it really art?" and "Why does it cost so much?" These are not the questions that E. H. Gombrich set out to answer in his magisterial The Story...