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William Gaunt

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William Gaunt


Born
Kingston-Upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England, The United Kingdom
Genre
Art


William Gaunt (1900–1980) was a British artist and art historian.

After serving briefly with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War, Gaunt went on to Worcester College, Oxford, and graduated with honours. He completed an MA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and found work as a painter, art historian, art critic, novelist and travel book writer.

During the Second World War he was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee to paint London city bomb sites.

Gaunt was drawn to the Pre-Raphaelites, whom he considered to be underappreciated, and wrote his most enduring book on the subject, The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy (1942), followed by further studies of Victorian art, The Aesthetic Adventure (1945) and Victorian Olympus (1952).

Average rating: 3.8 · 294 ratings · 36 reviews · 76 distinct works
The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy

3.91 avg rating — 54 ratings — published 1942 — 22 editions
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The Impressionists

3.83 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 1970 — 19 editions
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The Aesthetic Adventure

3.88 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 1945 — 2 editions
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Turner: Phaidon Colour Library

3.84 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1971 — 14 editions
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English Painting: A Concise...

3.61 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1964 — 23 editions
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Renoir: Colour Library

4.14 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1971 — 21 editions
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The Observer's Book of Pain...

3.75 avg rating — 12 ratings14 editions
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Victorian Olympus

3.64 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1952 — 13 editions
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Painters of Fantasy: From H...

3.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1974 — 4 editions
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The Observer's Book of Mode...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1964 — 8 editions
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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All About Books: The Arts & Literary Criticism 29 169 Aug 12, 2023 01:07PM  
All About Books: Recent Acquisitions 2925 809 Dec 30, 2025 03:01AM  


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