The Canadian-born, London-based writer, journalist, and sociologist of culture achieved renown for Seven Days in the Art World (Norton, 2008) a closely observed account of the institutions and markets of art. What set Thornton’s lucid account apart from other books of its kind was a level of rigor the author had developed through years of research on other contemporary cultural frontiers, including advertising and the club scene. The Sunday Times called the book “a Robert Altmanesque panorama of…the most important cultural phenomenon of the last ten years.”

Thornton serves as chief writer on contemporary art for The Economist and publishes and lectures regularly as a leading authority on the art world.