As a curator working within a museum with a large collection of nineteenth-century portraits, I was initially drawn to the Eton College study day for the opportunity to view their well-known collection of Leaving Portraits, often completed by leading society painters such as Sir Thomas Lawrence. However, as the day progressed it was the far-reaching […]
Brill’s Studies in the History of Collecting & Art Markets is a peer-reviewed book series dedicated to original scholarship on the social, cultural, and economic mechanisms underlying the circulation of art. Over the last two decades interest in the formation, display, and dissolution of art collections has increased tremendously; art markets, trade routes, and dealer […]
1857 was an annus mirabilis for both George Scharf (1820-1895) and the cultural life of the United Kingdom due to his crucial role in two watershed events: the foundation of the National Portrait Gallery and the staging of the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition. A new database devoted to Scharf’s activities during this period has now […]
Conference: Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, 28 October, 2019 Deadline for submissions: Friday 10 May, 2019 2019 will see the return to Osterley Park of one of the many remarkable Old Master paintings acquired by the Child family in the throes of Britain’s late 17th century financial revolution. The Childs are part of a long line of […]
Compton Verney, 16 March to 16 June 2019 Symposium: 29 March 2019 (programme and booking here) Painting Childhood is a celebration of children, childhood and innocence brings together some of the most iconic paintings, sketches and sculptures of children produced in the past 500 years. Featuring stunning portraits, amusing scenes and touching ‘fancy pictures’, the exhibition […]
Conference at Kensington Palace: 20-21 May 2019 Conference co-organized by Historic Royal Palaces and the University of Warwick, in partnership with the Royal Collection Trust, the Bodleian Library, the University of Oxford and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London, to mark the bicentenary of Queen Victoria’s birth. Queen Victoria’s name is […]
The November visit to Ham House more than lived up to the very high standard of study days arranged by Understanding British Portraits. Once more the combination of excellent expert speakers covering a wide range of relevant topics, a superb venue and seamless organisation, made for a thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable day. I am very […]
