In September of 1921, Adolph Gottlieb left the Art Students League of New York and travelled to Europe. He was 17 years old at the time. He spent his first 6 months abroad in Paris, visiting the Louvre everyday and auditing classes at L'Academie de la Grande Chaumiere. Then, until his return to America in early 1924, Gottlieb toured Germany, Austria, and other countries in central Europe, visiting local museums and art galleries along the way.

Below is a selection of artists' books he brought back from Europe, many from a German series entitled Junge Kunst ("Young Artists"). These books tell a story of Gottlieb exploring artistic influences from a very young age, ranging from masters of the Renaissance to contemporaries of the time period. This collection of books that he brought back from Europe in the 1920s indicates an intellectual interest that began early and grew with Gottlieb as he became part of a new generation of American artists.