First published in April 1893 (price: 6d), is the oldest English art periodical (now appearing under the name ). Charles Holme and Gleeson White were the motivating forces behind the journal, and C. Lewis Hind also had a hand in its launching. White died in 1898, and Holme assumed editorial duties at that time and retained them until his death in 1923.

The cover of the initial issue was designed by an unknown Aubrey Beardsley, but his faun was blotted out because it was “too phallic” (Gordon, 176). Yet Beardsley remained important to in its early years, as the magazine negotiated the competing claims of fine and applied art in its pages. Loosely allied to the Arts and Crafts movement in its early years, included items on decorative and industrial arts as well as on painting and illustration. Clive Ashwin believes that ”It is unlikely that any single periodical has made such an impact on the artistic tastes of a period as did on the 1890s” (“” 22).

In the early 20th century, maintained a relatively conservative position in regard to the French Impressionists, and continued to favor English artists and designers. T. Martin Wood's 1916 article on Rossetti was written in celebration of the National Gallery's acquisition of the Rae Collection of watercolor paintings by DGR.