When I saw the title of the SSN Joint Conference was to be Why Exhibitions? I was immediately intrigued and my first thought was ‘Why not exhibitions?’ I was keen to hear what other museum professionals were experiencing that made them consider not having a temporary exhibition programme. The Mining Art Gallery is the first […]
I had been looking forward to this conference for many months and it certainly didn’t disappoint. As someone who is in the early stages of their curatorial career, working at a museum which is going through a large-scale expansion project and rethinking of art curation, I knew this conference would be beneficial. To give you […]
‘Exhibition’ seems to be a rather slippery term these days. In the context of national museums and galleries it might conjure thoughts of huge blockbuster shows, often bringing together an impressive array of loans from across the globe. If I told you I was going to an ‘exhibition’ in London, this is probably the kind […]
A thin, black thread wound around the wrist of Anne Fanshawe in her 1628 portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger drew me to the study day at Valence House Museum, Dagenham, organised by the Understanding British Portraits network- but more of that later. As a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, I have researched […]
The UBP Annual Seminar, held at the National Portrait Gallery in November, was my first encounter with the network. They say first impressions count the most, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Having recently joined the National Trust as a Regional Curator with responsibility for all properties in Dorset, I am making it my priority to […]
On the 20 September ’17, I attended the Depicting Dress workshop run by Prof. Jenny Tiramani and Vanessa Hopkins, teachers at The School of Historical Dress in Lambeth. In late spring when I had read the description of the workshop, I thought it would provide a fantastic development opportunity; a chance to improve my knowledge […]
This collaborative workshop between the Understanding British Portraits professional network and the School of Historical Dress was led by two of the School’s teachers, Professor Jenny Tiramani and Vanessa Hopkins and took place their newly opened headquarters in Lambeth. The day commenced in the extremely well-stocked library, where Jenny and Vanessa provided a brief introduction […]
The great halls and quiet chambers of Powis Castle are full of pictures of real people. From majestic full-length portraits to intimate miniatures that can be held in the palm of your hand, they are the work of many talented artists and the result of generations of patronage. Some of these works of art feature […]
Venue: The Holburne Museum, Bath William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), playwright and novelist, began collecting paintings of actors in the 1910s. He built a sizeable and important collection of theatrical portraits, which he displayed in his villa in the south of France. The collection remained together throughout the Second World War, despite Maugham himself having to […]
Annual Conference of the Dutch-Belgian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Deadline for submissions: 15 May 2018 Conference: March 2019 This conference seeks to address the various modes and strategies through which female intellectuals (authors, scientists, educators, and others) sought to negotiate and legitimize their authority in Early Modern and Enlightenment Europe (1600-1800). The 17th and 18th […]
