author
W. G. (William George) Constable
1887–1976
An English art historian and museum leader, he helped shape major institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. His writing on European painting made complex art history feel clear, organized, and approachable.
1 Audiobook
Forgers and Forgeries
by W. G. (William George) Constable
About the author
Born in Derby in 1887, William George Constable studied at St John's College, Cambridge, and built a career around the close study of painting and the care of collections. He became known as an art historian with a strong gift for scholarship as well as museum work.
Constable worked at the National Gallery in London and then became the first director of the Courtauld Institute in the 1930s. Later he moved to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he served for many years as curator of painting and continued to influence how European art was studied, displayed, and interpreted.
He also wrote widely on art, especially British and European painting, and remained an important figure in the field well into the mid-20th century. His papers and diaries survive in major archives, reflecting a life spent in museums, research, and the history of art.