From Library Journal
This detailed volume is the first catalog in 65 years of the 168 British paintings at the Huntington Library Art Collection and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. All the paintings are cataloged with standard information; 123 of them also receive a fuller discussion that includes information about the artist, the painting's provenance, exhibitions at which it was shown, and technical details about its physical condition sometimes with illustrations. This is followed by information about the subject whether portrait or landscape in as full and scholarly a manner as could be desired. The entries abound with full-scale footnotes. The quality of the photographs throughout is superb, as is the scholarship. Fully and carefully indexed, the work also includes Bennett's well-written and informative essay, "The Formation of Henry E. Huntington's Collection of British Paintings." This is a splendid scholarly achievement not likely to be superseded as well as a beautifully produced volume that is a joy to use. Editor and catalogers are to be congratulated on a book that belongs in most libraries. Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CTCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Library Journal
[D]etailed. . . entries abound with full-scale footnotes. . . a splendid scholarly achievement. . . a beautifully produced volume. . . a joy to use. . .

Choice
A splendid book.

Book Description
Some of the most famous British paintings in the world are to be found at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Huntington Collection, begun by railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington in 1908, today holds over 170 portraits and landscapes that include such icons of British art as Thomas Gainsborough's The Blue Boy, Joshua Reynolds's Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, and John Constable's View on the Stour near Dedham. This lavishly illustrated catalogue of the Huntington paintings is the first full length catalogue of the collection in 65 years as well as the first to examine the circumstances of Henry Huntington's art acquisitions and his fascinating dealings with art dealer Joseph Duveen. This book abounds with new interpretations and information about the paintings in the Huntington Collection. In addition to standard catalogue information, the volume includes substantive biographies of the portrait sitters, full interpretive discussions of the 120 most important paintings in the collection, and detailed assessments of the paintings' physical condition and development. A revealing introductory essay draws on unpublished correspondence and internal records to show how value, both aesthetic and monetary, was established for eighteenth-century British art in the early twentieth century. This extensively researched catalogue provides an introduction to the methods, meanings, and reception of British art.

From the Publisher
Published in association with the Huntington Library

About the Author
Robyn Asleson is research associate and Shelley Bennett is curator of British and European art at The Huntington.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Some of the most famous British paintings in the world are to be found at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Huntington collection, begun by railroad magnate Henry R. Huntington in 1908, today holds over 165 portraits, landscapes, and other paintings, including such icons of British art as Thomas Gainsborough's The Blue Boy, Joshua Reynolds's Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, and John Constable's View on the Stour near Dedham. This illustrated catalogue of the Huntington paintings is the first full-length catalogue of the collection in 65 years, as well as the first to examine the circumstances of Henry Huntington's art acquisitions and his fascinating dealings with art dealer Joseph Duveen.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal