This book deserves a place on the museum–studies reading list and on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in the cultural place of museums today. Its lucid, observant essays take an informed look at a now ubiquitous institution, offering new points of view about the nature of the museum experience. Art and its Publics provides a welcome corrective to the presumption that art museums are monolithic institutions that narrowly control the perceptions and discussions of their visitors." Diana Strazdes, University of California, Davis " Art and its Publics launches a much–needed exploration of art?s audiences beginning with McClellan?s ‘A Brief History of the Art Museum Public,’ an essay which is well worth the book?s price alone." Jeffrey Abt, Wayne State University "A stimulating and provocative review of the range of diverse exhibition strategies used by art museum curators as they endeavor to engage multiple audiences in different aspects of art.