Enfilade

The Art History Newsletter resumed publication on September 8. Editor Jonathan Lackman is a Ph.D. candidate at NYU working on nineteenth-century art criticism in France. He’s written for Slate, Harper’s, and The New Yorker. Contributors include Daniel Belasco, Anne Byrd, Allyson Drucker, Ross Finocchio, and Benjamin Lima. Over the past two weeks, postings have addressed Vincent Scully’s decision not to return to the classroom at Yale (he actually retired in 1991 but has continued teaching until now), recent additions to the Dictionary of Art Historians, tenure decisions at Harvard, and the upcoming renovations at the Musée d’Orsay (starting in November the museum will be closed for a year).

The following letter was posted to the CAAH List earlier today:

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Sent on behalf of Professor Deborah Swallow:

I am writing with an important update on the opening times and service provided by the Witt and Conway Libraries. The Courtauld is pleased to confirm that the Witt and Conway Libraries will remain open to the public five days a week and the Photographic Survey collections will continue to be accessible by appointment, contrary to concerns recently expressed by some members of the art community. Please see the attached notice for further details. As you may be aware, The Courtauld, like other higher education institutions worldwide, has had to review all its operational activities and services in the light of the current economic climate. Those activities that are critical to its higher education function must be provided in the most cost-effective way, and those areas with a negative budget impact managed efficiently and the net cost minimized. It is with sincere regret that, as a result, 6 posts (5.1 FTE) in the Witt and Conway Libraries and Photographic Survey will become redundant from 4 September 2009 and the management structure of these libraries will change.

The Witt and Conway Libraries are unique visual resources for the serious study of art history. They are regarded by The Courtauld as an important dimension of its work as a teaching and research institute and as a valuable asset for students, scholars and researchers. By instigating these changes, and by working together with our supporters and the wider art community, we intend to ensure that these valuable resources will not only be efficiently managed but will also remain available for generations to come.

I would be grateful if you could note the forthcoming temporary closure period for the Witt and Conway libraries which will be closed from 7 September and will reopen on 2 November – as well as the adjusted opening times once it reopens of 11am to 4pm (subject to the usual Bank Holidays).

Professor Deborah Swallow

Märit Rausing Director

The following message from Colum Hourihane regarding the Conway and Witt photographic libraries in London went out the CAAH list last Thursday: [N.B. Please also see the follow-up post, added August 25, here.]

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Urgent: Courtauld Photographic Libraries under Threat

Somerset House, home of the Courtauld Institute (Wikimedia Commons)

In response to the current economic downturn The Courtauld Institute is looking to make savings. The Conway and Witt photographic libraries have been identified as areas in which savings could be made without affecting the core activities of the Institute. There is currently a brief consultation period-which ends in the next few days.

If no satisfactory alternative can be found it is possible that the Conway and Witt will be frozen, their staff made redundant, and access limited to one day per week. Silence from the scholarly community on this topic is likely to be taken as acquiescence in whatever plan is finally decided upon. (more…)

Among the various useful online resources available through the National Portrait Gallery of London, there is a directory of British Picture Restorers, 1630-1950. The first edition appeared in March of 2009, and the database is to be updated regularly (there is also a helpful Resources and Bibliography section that introduces various archival materials, many with links). Contributions and corrections should be sent to Jacob Simon at jsimon@npg.org.uk. The following description comes from NPG website:

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This is a directory of leading picture, paper and sculpture restorers, active in Britain before 1950, who worked on major collections or who advertised extensively in art periodicals. Many worked in London but others were based in Bath, Derby, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hull, Leamington, Manchester, Nottingham and Plymouth. Picture restoration only became a specialised trade during the course of the 19th century. As such, this directory includes dealers such as John Anderson and John Bouttats and print publishers including Thomas Gaugain and Robert Guéraut. It also includes the few artists such as Arthur Pond, William Kent, Joshua Reynolds and Joseph Wright of Derby, to highlight the role of the artist. But it excludes most artists’ suppliers and framemakers who only offered an occasional restoration service. The collections covered in some depth in this directory include the Royal Collection, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the Soane Museum and the Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood. It is hoped to treat the Tate Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and National Trust properties in more detail in a subsequent edition.