List of art reference books


This is a list of out-of-copyright books and journals about art and artists, available online to read or download. Includes the visual arts, such as painting, engraving, sculpture etc., only.

Encyclopedias of artists

Art history

Engraving

  • Die deutschen Maler-Radierer des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts by Andreas Andresen & Josef Eduard Wessely. German text.
  • French engravers of the eighteenth century by A. Younger.
  • French engravers and draughtsmen of the 18th century by E. F. S. Dilke. Illustrated.
  • Les graveurs du dix-huitième siècle by Roger Portalis & Henri Béraldi. French text:
  • The old engravers of England: in their relation to contemporary life and art, by Malcolm C. Salaman.

Painting

  • Animal painters of England from the year 1650 by Sir Walter Gilbey :
  • Artistes Francais a l'étranger by Louis Dussieux. French text.
  • English painters by H. J. Wilmot-Buxton. Illustrated.
  • Die deutschen Maler-Radierer des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts by Andreas Andresen & Josef Eduard Wessely. German text.
  • French Painting by R. H. Wilenski. Comprehensive history of French art from earliest times. Illustrated in b/w
  • French painting in the sixteenth century by Louis Dimitier.
  • The history of American painting by Samuel Isham. Illustrated.
  • A history of painting by Haldane Macfall. Illustrated:
  • The history of modern painting by Richard Muther. Illustrated:
  • A history of water-colour painting in England by G. R. Redgrave. Illustrated.
  • Six centuries of painting by Randall Davies.
  • The story of Spanish painting by C. H. Caffin.
  • Women artists in all ages and countries by E. F. Ellet.
  • Women painters of the world, from the time of Caterina Vigri, 1413–1463, to Rosa Bonheur and the present day by W. S. Sparrow. Illustrated.

Biographies of artists

Individual artists

Collected biographies

  • Four Irish landscape painters, George Barret, R. A., James A. O'Connor, Walter F. Osborne, R. H. A., Nathaniel Hone, R. H. A. by Thomas Bodkin. B/w illustrations.
  • German masters of art by H. A. Dickinson.
  • Great English painters by Alan Cunningham. Illustrated. Included early artists up to Holbein, then, Hogarth, Wilson, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Blake.
  • Great English painters by Francis Downman. Illustrated. Life and work of Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Romney, Morland, Lawrence, Turner and Constable.
  • by F. F. Sherman. Biographies of Homer Dodge Martin, Robert Loftin Newman, Ralph Albert Blakelock, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Lilian M. Genth, Elliot Daingerfield, Winslow Homer, Alexander H. Wyant, Dwight W. Tryon, J. Francis Murphy. Illustrated.
  • The landscape and pastoral painters of Holland: Ruisdael, Hobbema, Cuijp, Potter by Frank Cundall.
  • The modern school of art by Wilfrid Meynell. Biographies of British 19th-century painters. Illustrated:
  • Old English Masters by Timothy Cole. Artists from Hogarth to Landseer. Illustrated.
  • The Wyons by L. Forrer. Talented family of designers, die-engravers and medallists. Illustrated in b/w.

Specific art topics

  • British Marine Painting by C. G. Holme, Ed. Illustrated.
  • China painting by W.H. Miller. Encyclopedia of methods of decorating and firing porcelain.
  • The development of British landscape painting in water-colours by Charles Home . Illustrated.
  • The earlier English water-colour painters by W. C. Monkhouse. Illustrated.
  • Early English water-colour drawings by great masters by Geoffrey Holme .Illustrated.
  • The English pre-Raphaelite painters, their associates and successors by Percy H. Bate. B/w illustrations.
  • Famous Paintings: Volume 1, Volume 2. Many high-quality colour plates of paintings by artists of all nationalities.
  • The French pastellists of the eighteenth century by Haldane Macfall.
  • A history of the "Old water-colour" society, now the Royal society of painters in water colours: Volume 1, Volume 2 by John Lewis Roget.
  • The ideals of painting by J. Comyns Carr. An Art history focusing on the ideals that inspired European artists throughout the ages.
  • International Art Markets by James Goodwin subtitled The Essential Guide for Collectors and Investors.
  • Landscape painting and modern Dutch artists by E. B. Greenshields
  • Modern British water-colour drawings by Alfred Lys Baldrey.
  • The Norwich School by Geoffrey Holme . About the artists of the English Norwich School.
  • Shakespeare in pictorial art by M. C. Salaman. Illustrated.

Art Journals

The Magazine of Art. Illustrated art journal which ran from 1878 to 1904.The Studio International – an illustrated magazine of fine and applied art. 1893–1980. Illustrated. Only volumes out of copyright are held.The Wide World Magazine. Travel and adventure magazine. Hundreds of b/w photos and drawings by top illustrators of the Victorian/ Edwardian period.