Caroline Campbell on the ways in which cities have shaped art history

"I wanted to write a history of art that explains the social, cultural, political and economic contexts within which artists have worked, and which tells the story of makers and users as humans-with all the good and bad that this entails," Campbell says.

Cities bring people together from many places and backgrounds; they engender a spirit of competition; and the surplus resources that they depend on give people the opportunity to make and patronise art. Nowhere do we find more stimulation or interaction, and whether we love them or loathe them, we can all identify with them.

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