Patterns of Artistic Development in Children: Comparative Studies of Talent

This book traces the development of artistic talent from early childhood to adolescence through a series of studies that look comparatively at development in talented and less-talented populations. It presents a model of artistic talent that attributes individual differences to the figurative abilities of talented children. The model proposes that artistic talent results from the continual coordination of heightened figurative abilities with conceptual processes throughout a period critical in semiotic development. The studies focus on the development of form, spatial relationships and composition. Milbrath's theory is richly supported by original examples of children's artwork.

This book presents several original studies of artistically talented children and their less-talented peers. The focus is on the spontaneous drawings children produce and on the types of compositions children generate when given materials to compose. Milbrath's model of artistic talent attributes individual differences to the figurative abilities of talented children, and her theory is richly supported by original examples of children's artwork.