In this essay, I argue that although philosophers of art have legitimately examined and emphasized the role of sight and hearing in respect to art appreciation, for the most part they have neglected the role of touch. I develop the idea that while sight and hearing form the melody line of art appreciation, touch is its bass line, one that is grounded in our physical nature. I draw on Bernhard Berenson's sound intuitions concerning "tactile values," and then expand upon those sound intuitions using the more recent empirical claims of Ashley Montagu and Robin Dunbar. The former argues that touch is the basis of all sense experience. The latter argues language evolved out of touch, i.e. grooming. From this naturalistic/evolutionary ground, I draw out the art philosophic implications, e.g. the use of tactile laden terms in aesthetic discourse, the concrete and individual character of artworks, the social nature of art, etc. In a specific sense, this essay is about putting touch in its proper art appreciation perspective. In a broader sense, I am advocating the placing of neo-Darwinian ideas at the heart of a possible art appreciation theory. (Contains 52 notes.)