Events from the year 1738 in art.

• Louis-François Roubiliac's sculpture of George Frederick Handel goes on display at Vauxhall Gardens in London.

• Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin – The Wash Barrel
• Louis de Silvestre – Portrait of the Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony in Polish costume
• Jean-Baptiste van Loo – Portrait of William Murray

• January 3 – Johann Friedrich Bause, German engraver (died 1814)
• June 4 – George III of the United Kingdom, patron of the arts and collector (died 1820)
• June 10 – Hubert Maurer, Austrian painter of portraits and religious themes (died 1818)
• July William Wynne Ryland, English engraver (died 1783)
• August 6 – Johann Balzer, Czech etcher and engraver (died 1799)
• October 10 – Benjamin West, painter (died 1820)
• December 20 – Claude Michel, French sculptor in the Rococo style (died 1814)
• date unknown
  • William Cochran, Scottish portrait painter both in oil and miniature (died 1785)
  • Antoine Raspal, French painter (died 1811)
  • Camillo Tinti, Italian painter (died unknown)
  • Fredrika Eleonora von Düben, Swedish textile artist, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts (died 1808)

• January 20 – Francesco Galli Bibiena, Italian architect/designer/painter (born 1659)
• January 27 – Alessandro Marchesini, Italian painter of allegories with small figures (born 1664)
• February 16 – Carel de Moor, Dutch etcher and painter (born 1655)
• August 9 – Pierre Drevet, French portrait engraver (born 1663)
• October 5 – Antonio Amorosi, Italian painter, active in Ascoli Piceno and Rome (born 1660)
• November – Giovanni Enrico Vaymer, Italian portrait painter (born 1665)
• November 18 – Hendrick Krock, Danish history painter (born 1671)

• date unknown
  • Felice Cappelletti, Italian painter of the late-Baroque period active in Verona (born 1698)
  • Giovanni Battista Cassana, Italian painter of fruit, flowers, and still-life (born 1668)
  • Edme Jeaurat, French engraver (born 1688)
  • Carlo Antonio Tavella, Italian painter of landscapes (born 1668)