Francis Russell is a British travel writer, historian and art expert. He was educated at the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he read history. Russell's maternal grandfather was the chemist and

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

George Ingle Finch; both his father, the botanist and Arctic explorer Robert Scott Russell, and his brother were also mountaineers. Russell joined Christie's as a specialist in 1972, initially in the Department of Old Master Drawings and later in Old Master Pictures. He is a former Head of the International Old Master Picture Department. He advised Gervase Jackson-Stops on the selection of paintings and assisted on the catalogue for the ''Treasure Houses of Britain'' exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and has published discoveries by artists as varied as Fra Angelico, Pontormo and Wright of Derby. Considered one of the world's leading experts on

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

gold-ground painting, Russell was a friend and frequent correspondent of

Miklós Boskovits Miklós () is a given name or surname, the Hungarian form of the Greek (English ''Nicholas''), and may refer to: In Hungarian politics * Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist * Miklós Horthy, Regent of the Kingdom of Hun ...

and

Everett Fahy Everett Fahy (1941-2018) was an American art historian. He was director of The Frick Collection from 1973 until 1986, and then until 2009 the John Hennessy Chairman of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Biography Everett Fahy w ...

. He is also an expert on Italian Seicento and

Settecento The 1700s refers to a period in Italian history and culture which occurred during the 18th century (1700–1799): the ''Settecento''. The Settecento saw the transition from Late Baroque to Neoclassicism: great artists of this period include Vanv ...

painting, especially Venetian

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

by artists such as Canaletto and Guardi, and on British eighteenth-century art history. His first published

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

was a catalogue of the iconography of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

Books and articles by Francis Russell

Russell has contributed to

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

, Country Life and Cornucopia. His contributions to The Burlington number more than 79 individual titles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Francis British art historians Christie's people Year of birth missing (living people) Living people