Art Today by Edward Lucie-Smith (Phaidon Press)

This is a large-format hardcover art survey book titled 'Art Today', authored by the renowned art critic Edward Lucie-Smith and published by Phaidon Press. The book features a stark, modern graphic design on the dust jacket, consisting of a matte black background with the title 'ARTODAY' prominently displayed in a bold sans-serif typeface. The letter 'T' is highlighted in a vibrant red, while the remaining letters are in white. The publisher’s name, 'PHAIDON', appears in red at the bottom left, and the author's name is in small white text at the top left. Subtly printed in the glossy black background are lists of artists' names, which only become clearly visible under direct light. The book appears to be a substantial coffee-table volume, likely spanning several hundred pages of high-quality semi-gloss paper. Regarding its condition, the dust jacket shows minor signs of shelf wear and light scuffing, particularly around the edges and corners, as well as some light fingernail scratches or handling marks typical of matte black surfaces. There are no major tears, stains, or structural damage visible in the image. The binding appears tight and intact. This edition was originally published in the mid-1990s and serves as an influential compendium of postmodern and contemporary art movements.

Based on my visual examination of the provided images, I have appraised this copy of 'Art Today' by Edward Lucie-Smith, published by Phaidon Press. The book represents a large-format hardcover survey of contemporary art. The dust jacket exhibits minor shelf wear, light scuffing, and handling marks typical for matte black finishes, but appears structurally intact without major tears. The binding presents as tight. As a mass-produced, widely circulated reference volume from the mid-1990s, this item is highly common on the secondary market. There is ample supply on platforms such as AbeBooks and eBay, which keeps the market value relatively low. Its primary appeal is as an educational resource or reading copy rather than a collectible antiquarian volume. Consequently, market demand from rare book collectors is negligible. While authenticity is rarely an issue for modern mass-produced books like this, please note that an appraisal based solely on photographs has limitations. A physical examination would be necessary to confirm the structural integrity of the binding, ensure no pages are missing, torn, or marked, and verify the specific edition or printing year, which could slightly affect its value. Taking current market comparables into account, I place the fair market value of this reading copy in the range of $10 to $25.