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Books and Reference Material

Books

This page contains Amazon affiliate links, meaning, if you click through and purchase a book I may earn a tiny commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

photo of the book

“Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving” by David Esterly

A history of Gibbons’ woodcarving work through the eyes of an expert carver. David Esterly has become today’s leading authority on Gibbons, and carves in ways similar to Gibbons. His book takes us on a very thorough tour of Gibbons’ work and how it evolved through Gibbons’ lifetime.

photo of the book

“The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making” by David Esterly

At its base, this is the story of restoring the Gibbons’ carvings that were damaged by a fire at the Hampton Court Royal Palace in 1986. Yet, it is very much more; full of history, analysis, discovery of woodcarving techniques and the art of making art.

photo of the book

“Grinling Gibbons & the English Woodcarving Tradition” by Frederick Oughton

A study of English woodcarvers that uses Gibbons as the center of focus.

photo of the book

“The Work of Grinling Gibbons” by Geoffrey Beard

The description says, “This magnificently illustrated book…” A review says, “Disappointed in the number of photos of his fabulous woodcarving…. But, it does show what an incredible talent he possessed!!”

photo of the book

“Grinling Gibbons: his work as carver and statuary 1648-1721” by David Green

I found little description of this book, but see it in the “Select Bibliography” of one of Esterly’s books. Published in 1964, it has been out of print so long that copies are difficult to find. I don’t yet own it.


Videos and Audios – specifically Gibbons

  • [Video] BBC Program: “The Glorious Grinling Gibbons – Carved with Love” – in four parts. (about an hour)
  • [Video] “Grinling Gibbons’ carvings at Hampton Court Palace” – a short video featuring Royal Court warder Konrad Jordann talking about “a few of my favourite things.” (2:41)
  • [Audio] NPR All Things Considered – “Re-Creating The ‘Lost Carving’ Of An English Genius” – an interview with David Esterly (7:05 at upper left)

Videos and Audios – Esterly

  • Artists Do Not Stand on the Shoulders of Giants. (2:08) [focus: Gibbons]
  • Type 2 creativity … a TED talk (20:06) [focus: florals, trophies, letter racks, thunderbolts, process, adventure]
  • Woodcarving: A Master Class (3:23) [focus: process]
  • Leaving His Mark – CBS Sunday Morning (5:39)
  • [Audio] NPR All Things Considered – “Re-Creating The ‘Lost Carving’ Of An English Genius” – an interview with David Esterly (7:05 at upper left)

Videos – Damiaens

  • The dentist’s overdoor, part 1 (7:01)
  • The dentist’s overdoor, part 2 (3:46)
  • YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jplully/videos

Videos – Grabovetskiy

  • YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/grabovetskiy/videos

Research databases and catalogs

The Henry Moore Institute maintains a research library in Leeds. Among their plentiful resources is a Sculpture Research Library which contains information about sculptors working in Britain from 1660 to 1851. That database proved very helpful, although old slow and creaky, like me, when I was doing my original research. It is in the midst of a modernization / update, and as I write this in September 2020, it is offline. Watch for it to be back online when you need it.

There is an excellent catalog at the Victoria and Albert museum. Their catalog is not only useful for their holdings, but for other objects that have at some time passed through the museum.

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Text Copyright © 2025 · Bob Easton ~~ Most photos · Public Domain (CC0)

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