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Masterpieces of the Tate & National Galleries
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
John Rothenstein
186 booksSir John Knewstub Maurice Rothenstein (1901 -1992) was a British art historian and director of the Tate Gallery in London from 1938 until 1964, where he supervised the evacuation of works of art during the Blitz.
Rothenstein documented the lives of all the major (and many still overlooked) British artists in his publication, Modern English Painters.
Rothenstein documented the lives of all the major (and many still overlooked) British artists in his publication, Modern English Painters.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 3, 2025
I think a relative picked this up while in england in the 60’s, probably from one of the gallery giftshops but i could be wrong.
Anyway i just wanted a nonfiction read and took this from a shelf, maybe some art will stick in my mind one of these days.
I looked at it before but was intimidated by the fact its like a solid inch think. However each plate is separated by like a cereal box cardboard page and it uses a pretty big font so only about 240 pages really.
The first 60% or so is the National Gallery and the latter 40% the Tate. Most of the pictures are a full page and the notes are quite nice and informative.
However i liked the National Gallery section a lot more than the Tate. Maybe partially due to the art but i think mostly due to the change in writer, the Tate guy seems a bit less technical or maybe just not as clear, and he doesn’t include much of the provenance of the work like the first guy.
Anyway, the best part of this is actually its limitations. Because its confined by the collections described it doesn’t have all of the best artists or even the best work by the artists who are represented.
This turns out to be a good thing as it gives a much more interesting view than books which just cover the best stuff.
This is a really nice item to borrow from a library or keep an eye out for at the second hand bookshop.
Anyway i just wanted a nonfiction read and took this from a shelf, maybe some art will stick in my mind one of these days.
I looked at it before but was intimidated by the fact its like a solid inch think. However each plate is separated by like a cereal box cardboard page and it uses a pretty big font so only about 240 pages really.
The first 60% or so is the National Gallery and the latter 40% the Tate. Most of the pictures are a full page and the notes are quite nice and informative.
However i liked the National Gallery section a lot more than the Tate. Maybe partially due to the art but i think mostly due to the change in writer, the Tate guy seems a bit less technical or maybe just not as clear, and he doesn’t include much of the provenance of the work like the first guy.
Anyway, the best part of this is actually its limitations. Because its confined by the collections described it doesn’t have all of the best artists or even the best work by the artists who are represented.
This turns out to be a good thing as it gives a much more interesting view than books which just cover the best stuff.
This is a really nice item to borrow from a library or keep an eye out for at the second hand bookshop.
Displaying 1 of 1 review