Art for Art's Sake: Aestheticism in Victorian Painting (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art S) Hardcover – February 20, 2008

I came to this book with a very specific interest, 30years ago I wrote my post grad thesis on a very similar topic, learning that in mind I have found many books on this topic fall between two stools, either popular biography of the Pre- Raphaelites or dry learned volumes that make great reference books but are hard to read. I have not yet had time to finish this but so far it seems to have hit the right balance readable, well researched and informative and informed by a thesis rather than a wandering documentary. The book is beautifully presented, and a pleasure to own

Beautiful and invaluable on Walter Pater!