The Gombrich Archive

Professor Sir Ernst Gombrich OM was born in Vienna in 1909 and died in London on November 3, 2001, aged 92. He studied at the Theresianum and then at the Second Institute of Art History at the University of Vienna under Julius von Schlosser (1928-33). He then worked as a Research Assistant and collaborator with the museum curator and Freudian analyst Ernst Kris. He joined the Warburg Institute in London as a Research Assistant in 1936. During World War 2 he was employed by the BBC as a Radio Monitor. After the war he rejoined the Warburg Institute eventually becoming its Director in 1959.

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His major publications include The Story of Art (1950), Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (1960), Aby Warburg: An Intellectual Biography (1970), Symbolic Images (1972), The Sense of Order: A Study in the Psychology of Decorative Art (1979). His book, The Preference for the Primitive, which he completed before his death, was published by Phaidon in July 2002. The long-awaited English translation of A Little History of the World (Eine kurze Weltegeschichte für junge Leser) authorised by Gombrich himself, was published by Yale UP in October 2005. It is the subject of a BBC interview with Leonie Gombrich. A selection from his work edited by Richard Woodfield, The Essential Gombrich was published by Phaidon in 1996. A full bibliography of his publications to 2000, edited by J. B. Trapp, E. H. Gombrich: A Bibliography, was published by Phaidon in 2000 (the Trapp numbers in this archive refer to that volume). This website is being constructed by Richard Woodfield [Emeritus Research Professor at Nottingham Trent School of Art and Design]. He may be contacted at info@gombrich.co.uk. The site presents previously published material that does not appear in other collections of Gombrich's work, as well as a forum for its discussion. It is undergoing constant revision and expansion. Feedback and contributions are very welcome. Every effort is being made to obtain permissions from copyright holders in addition to the permissions obtained from the Estate of E. H. Gombrich.

For access to unpublished material or to enquire about reproducing Gombrich's writings in any other form or context, apart from normal academic reference, please submit your specific request to Leonie Gombrich, Estate of E. H. Gombrich, 6 Celia Road, London N19 5ET, England.

In 2009 there were four events to celebrate the centenary of Sir Ernst's birth in Venice, Greifswald, London and Glasgow. Some of the papers from Glasgow have been published in the first issue of the Journal of Art Historiography. Other publications from those events will also be announced on this website.

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