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HI Carol -
Look as hard as you can for books by David Friend. They're out of print, but oh my are they good! His book "Composition - A Painter's Guide to Basic Problems and Solutions" analyzes compositions by great masters, but does even more. He takes the reader through a series of exercises, giving a problem to solve, and then shows how a "master" solved it. Among the artists used as examples in his book are Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Winslow Homer, Daumier, Goya, Whistler.
Another excellent, easier to obtain books is Henry Rankin Poore's book "Composition in Art".
I find these two books are my basic course in composition, to which I refer frequently. Either one is a good primer. Poore's book would probably be the best one with which to start, as it gives a general overview of important considerations.
Another David Friend book, "The Creative Way to Paint" is chock-full of more analysis of composition in great paintings.
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