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John Smith (art historian)

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John Smith
Born1781
Died1855
NationalityUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

John Smith (1781–1855) was a 19th-century British art dealer who developed the concept of the catalogue raisonné.

Smith was born in London. He began dealing in art as a framemaker, specializing in wood-carving and gilding.[1] He became an art dealer and art consultant known for his "reasoned catalog" of painters that he wrote in 8 volumes and sold by subscription to his art clients during the years 1829 to 1837, and to which he added a 9th volume as a supplement in 1842.

Sources

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Smith died in Hanwell. His work was carried on and expanded by Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, who published a new update to his catalogue in German starting in 1907, that was later expanded and translated into English by Edward G. Hawke, along with a concordance of catalog numbers.

References

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  1. ^ Review of book about Smith on CODART [nl]
  2. ^ Volume 1 on archive.org
  3. ^ Volume 2 on archive.org
  4. ^ Volume 3 on archive.org
  5. ^ Volume 4 on archive.org
  6. ^ Volume 5 on archive.org
  7. ^ Volume 6 on archive.org
  8. ^ Volume 7 on archive.org
  9. ^ Volume 8 on archive.org
  10. ^ Volume 9: A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French painters : in which is included a short biographical notice of the artists, with a copious description of their principal pictures; a statement of the prices at which such pictures have been sold at public sales on the continent and in England; a reference to the galleries and private collections, in which a large portion are at present; and the names of the artists by whom they have been engraved; to which is added, a brief notice of the scholars & imitators of the great masters of the above schools, by "Smith, John, dealer in pictures" on archive.org