The original Gunnis Dictionary of British Sculpture 1660-1851 has been the standard reference work on British sculpture since it was first published in 1953 by Odhams Press. It was researched by Rupert Forbes Gunnis (London 1899– Reading 1965), a civil servant in the British colonial Government of Cyprus, and later curator of Tunbridge Wells Museum. A revision was printed in 1968. The book is considered a major scholarly work.
Under the editorship of Ingrid Roscoe, with assistance from her co-editors Emma Hardy and Greg Sullivan, work began in 2000 on revising the dictionary for the publication by Yale University Press of a new edition. The new edition covers sculptors who were active in Britain at any time between 1660 and 1851, irrespective of their country of origin and even if they also worked outside these dates. All of the artists listed in the original Gunnis remain, but new ones have been added, reflecting later research on the subject. The format of the new book is closely based upon the original Gunnis, each entry consisting of a biographical text followed by a list of works.