Preface

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Preface

Benedict Read

Victorian Sculpture

~The aim of this book is to offer an introduction to a particular, large area of artistic activity, Sculpture in Britain between about 1830 and about 1914. The fact that no such introduction exists in part explains how the book came about and its manner of presentation. Originally I was asked by Alan Bowness to give a brief survey of the subject to his...

Author

Benedict Read

PublisherPaul Mellon Centre

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21349

Preface

The aim of this book is to offer an introduction to a particular, large area of artistic activity, Sculpture in Britain between about 1830 and about 1914. The fact that no such introduction exists in part explains how the book came about and its manner of presentation. Originally I was asked by Alan Bowness to give a brief survey of the subject to his Courtauld Institute students; but it soon became clear to me that with no frame of reference on which to base either my account or their comprehension, it was essential to go right back to the basics; and what follows is really an extended elaboration of my initial efforts. This may help to explain the perhaps rather simple-minded deictic tone of much of the book, as well as the somewhat archaeological approach adopted; for, starting rather in a vacuum, I was prepared to let the facts and the evidence dictate the structure of my interpretation. Such a basis may preclude the expression of personal critical opinion about the works in question; but I would suggest that a superfluity of experience, familiarity and understanding is necessary before one can begin to exercise discrimination and make value judgements. It is possible that nonetheless I have not entirely succeeded in concealing occasional personal sympathies.

One net effect of these background considerations is the way in which the book is structured. Chapters 1 to 6 are very much focussed on the 1830s to the 1870s, the period that has hitherto wholly lacked a conceptual framework of presentation. In an effort to reinforce my account I have often had recourse to a précis of contemporary sources, and this may sometimes explain a change in prose style. The period from the 1870s onwards—covered in chapters 8 to 10—has more apparent cohesion to it, thanks to the published accounts of such as Gosse and Spielmann (for which the Bibliography should be consulted). In addition much more work has been done recently on artists active in this latter period, so that my account of it can be less personalised and my presentation of its events more securely based. I am nevertheless very conscious that since this book is not thesis-based, it will inevitably not have been subject to the assistance that formal supervisory discipline can bring.

In this respect I am the more aware of my immeasurable debt to two authorities without whom the problems might have seemed virtually insuperable. First must be the work of Rupert Gunnis, whose Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 in fact extends its coverage over a good two-thirds of the period I deal with and has been a constant source of information. In addition Gunnis’s collection of photographs, bequeathed to the Courtauld Institute and now incorporated into the Conway Library there, has frequently directed me to the works themselves. Second only in this respect and equal in value as a source of inspiration and as testimony to the value of studying this period has been the work of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, to which again I am greatly indebted.

As my involvement with sculpture has proceeded over the years, I have received great encouragement from a number of those involved in the field. I cannot forget the kindness shown to me at a very early stage of my studies by Charles and Lavinia Handley-Read, while the generous cooperation of the descendants of certain of the artists I deal with—particularly Professor John Lough, Mrs Katharine Macdonald (née Munro), Mrs Elfrida Manning (née Thornycroft), Mrs Catherine Roper (née Brock), and Major-General Christopher Woolner—has given a special fillip to what I was seeking to achieve. Their generosity has been equalled by that shown by other scholars in the field, now I am happy to say increasing in number, and I owe a great deal to the spirit of friendly interchange with Dr Nicholas Penny, Susan Beattie, Elisabeth Darby, Richard Dorment, Fiona Pearson and Dr Homan Potterton.

There are many other individuals to whom I am indebted: the staffs of libraries, galleries and other institutions throughout the British Isles who have responded so kindly to my enquiries; of all these I must single out the services (as so many have done before me) of the London Library, the Courtauld Institute Book Library and the R.I.B.A. Drawings Collection. Many vicars and members of the public have been invaluable in drawing works to my attention. There are others I would like to thank individually for their company, help or hospitality, and in particular A.F.C., Geoffrey Fisher, Richard Hopkinson, Peter Howell, Mr and Mrs Ian McClure, Simon Mahon, Lady Mander, Mr and Mrs Alec Parker, Mr and Mrs William Read, Dr Helen Smith, Hugh Stevenson, Christian Thwaites, Rosemary Treble and Raleigh Trevelyan. For their fast and efficient typing I am grateful to Ros Fisher, Sarah Hyde and (in an emergency) my sister Sophie Hare. John Nicoll and Caroline Williamson have as publishers been both generous and patient. The index was most competently compiled by Mrs A. A. Mackrell, of the Society of Indexers.

The dedication of this book is I think self-explanatory. Again though there are some whom I must specify: particular teachers such as Alan Bowness and Peter Kidson, and that anonymous Friend of the Courtauld Institute who, by providing the money to go out and photograph many of the works illustrated here, gave me an exceptional opportunity to inspect a large number of the originals. That the major part of the photographs that appear were taken by the Courtauld Institute should indicate the extent of my debt to the Photographic Services there, including Janet Balmforth and Bridget Klebinder of the Photographic Department. To my successive Departmental superiors Constance Hill (Conway Librarian) and John Sunderland (Witt Librarian) I owe a great deal, and I am most grateful to them for the opportunity both afforded for me to undertake and complete the present work. Two colleagues and friends must occupy a special place in my indebtedness: James Austin who patiently photographed a major proportion of the works illustrated in the pages that follow, and Dr Philip Ward-Jackson for his constant presence and intellectual stimulation, even if often by virtue of a differing standpoint.

There is finally a fundamental debt that I cannot adequately repay: to my parents, not just for my life and education, but for the enhanced value of art in life that they represented. I am quite sure that my awareness of art owes everything to them, and that growing up in an environment where sculpture was valued so highly has helped to produce this work. Just as my father dedicated his Andrew Mellon Lectures of 1954, The Art of Sculpture, ‘to Naum Gabo, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore Sculptors and Friends In Gratitude’, so with temerity I would suggest that this book is in its way a fruit of the love and appreciation of these artists and their work with which I have been familiar from my earliest days.

Benedict Read

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