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.Review of book about Smith on CODART 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 Volume 1 (1829): Gerard Dou, Pieter van Slingelant, Frans van Mieris the Elder, Willem van Mieris, Adriaen van Ostade, Isaac van Ostade, Philips WouwermanVolume 1 on archive.org Volume 2 (1830): Peter Paul RubensVolume 2 on archive.org Volume 3 (1831): Anthony van Dyck, David Teniers the YoungerVolume 3 on archive.org Volume 4 (1833): Jan Steen, Gerard ter Borch, Eglon van der Neer, Pieter de Hooch, Gonzales Coques, Gabriel Metsu, Caspar Netscher, Adriaen van der Werff, Nicolaes Maes, Godfried SchalckenVolume 4 on archive.org Volume 5 (1834): Nicolaes Berchem, Paulus Potter, Adriaen van de Velde, Karel Dujardin, Aelbert Cuyp, Jan van der HeydenVolume 5 on archive.org Volume 6 (1835): Jacob van Ruysdael, Meindert Hobbema, Jan Both, Andries Both, Jan Wynants, Adam Pynacker, Jan Hackaert, Willem van de Velde, Ludolf Bakhuizen, Jan van Huysum, Rachel RuyschVolume 6 on archive.org Volume 7 (1836): RembrandtVolume 7 on archive.org Volume 8 (1837): Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Jean-Baptiste GreuzeVolume 8 on archive.org Volume 9 – Supplement (1842): Includes corrections to the preceding volumes and new additionsVolume 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
Death 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
External links John Smith in the Dictionary of Art Historians