Difference between revisions of "Fine Art"

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The '''Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art''' was founded in 1880, the first Chair of its kind in the British Isles.  
 
The '''Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art''' was founded in 1880, the first Chair of its kind in the British Isles.  
  
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The chair was founded by [[Henry George Watson (1796–1879)]] and [[Frances Watson]] in memory of their brother, the late [[Sir John Watson Gordon (1788-1864)]], a renowned portrait-painter and President of the Royal Academy of Scotland. The chair was endowed with a sum of about £12,000, with instructions to the Professor to lecture 'on the History and Theory of the Fine Arts, including Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, and other branches of Art therewith connected'. From a wider perspective, the Chair's focus was 'the promotion and advancement of the fine arts, and prosecution of the studies of painting, sculpture and Architecture, and other branches therewith connected, in Scotland'.
 
  
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Fine art as a subject for university study was in its infancy, and the first holder of the chair [[Gerard Baldwin Brown (1849-1932)]] thoroughly espoused the cause. In his fifty years in the post, he did much to enhances the discipline's academic profile. He is also remembered as a keen supporter of the cause of university education for women, lecturing extensively to the [[Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women]], and as a major benefactor to [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] through the gift of his personal book collection.
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== Foundation of the Chair ==
  
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He was briefly succeeded by Sir Herbert Read [[Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968)]], before the Chair passed to [[David Talbot Rice (1903-1972)]] in 1934. Talbot Rice draw up a curriculum for the new Honours Degree in Fine Art in 1946, working in conjunction with Edinburgh College of Art. This exerted a national influence and remains at the core of art history teaching at the university. Other significant initiatives include Talbot Rice's acquisition of the [[Raymond Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments]], now held in the [[Musical Instruments Museum Edinburgh]] at [[St Cecilia's Hall]].
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The chair was founded by [[Henry George Watson (1796–1879)]] and [[Frances Watson]] in memory of their brother, the late [[Sir John Watson Gordon (1788-1864)]], a renowned portrait-painter and President of the Royal Academy of Scotland. The Chair was endowed with a sum of about £12,000, with instructions to the Professor to lecture 'on the History and Theory of the Fine Arts, including Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, and other branches of Art therewith connected'. From a wider perspective, the Chair's focus was 'the promotion and advancement of the fine arts, and prosecution of the studies of painting, sculpture and Architecture, and other branches therewith connected, in Scotland'.  
  
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There he drew together his respect for the production of art and his belief in its historical and cultural significance in the curriculum of the fine art degree which he designed with the Edinburgh College of Art in 1946 on returning from war service as head of the Near East section of military intelligence. This degree course, innovative when set up and subsequently influential nationally, remains at the core of art history at the university. Talbot Rice held the chair until his death and during thirty-eight years his impact on the character of the university was profound. He held the offices appropriate to his chair and, later, to his position as vice-principal, but his influence was felt most through the university's own cultural life and through its standing in the wider community. Two of his initiatives demonstrate this: first, the acquisition of Raymond Russell's internationally renowned collection of keyboard instruments now housed in the university's St Cecilia's Hall and, second, the foundation of an art centre—now called the Talbot Rice Gallery—to house the university's nineteenth-century Torrie bequest of works of art and to mount contemporary exhibitions. Many generations of students, some equally distinguished in their fields, benefited from his inspiration and generosity as a teacher and from his great kindness. He had a natural sympathy with the young, and so he was all the more distressed at the unfair criticism he suffered as chairman of the disciplinary committee set up to adjudicate on the student unrest of 1968.
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== 1880-1934 ==
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Fine Art as a subject for university study was in its infancy, and the first holder of the chair [[Gerard Baldwin Brown (1849-1932)]] thoroughly espoused the cause. In his fifty years in the post, he did much to enhances the discipline's academic profile. He is also remembered as a keen supporter of the cause of university education for women, lecturing extensively to the [[Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women]], and as a major benefactor to [[Library|Edinburgh University Library]] through the gift of his personal book collection. He was briefly succeeded by [[Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968)]], before the Chair passed to [[David Talbot Rice (1903-1972)]] in 1934.
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== 1934-2011 ==
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Talbot Rice draw up a curriculum for the new Honours Degree in Fine Art, working in conjunction with [[Edinburgh College of Art]]. The teaching programme that he devised exerted a major national influence and remains at the core of art history teaching at the university. Other significant initiatives were Talbot Rice's acquisition of the [[Raymond Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments]] (now held in the [[Musical Instruments Museum Edinburgh]] at [[St Cecilia's Hall]]) and his campaign to open an arts centre on the University Campus. This plan eventually came to fruition under Talbot Rice's successor, [Giles Henry Robertson (1913-1987)]], with the opening in 1975 of the [[Talbot Rice Gallery]], named in his honour. Robertson, who as a young lecturer assisted Talbot Rice in drawing up the Fine Art curriculum, is another significant benefactor to the university, having bequeathed his personal collection to the University Library. Robert's successor [[Eric Campbell Fernie (1939- )]] was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts, before leaving to take up the post of Director of the Courtauld Institute in 1995.  
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== Merger with Edinburgh College of Art ==
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The current Professor, [[Richard Thomson (1953- )]] helped oversee the [[Merger with Edinburgh College of Art, 2011|merger of Edinburgh University with Edinburgh College of Art]] in 2011. Following the merger, the Edinburgh College of Art retained its name and identity as an enlarged school within the [[College of Humanities and Social Science]]. It absorbed Edinburgh University's [[School of Arts, Culture and Environment]], which consisted of the [[School of History of Art]], the [[Reid School of Music]], and the already merged [[Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture]].  
  
 
== Holders of the Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art ==
 
== Holders of the Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art ==
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*1996- : [[Richard Thomson (1953- )]]
 
*1996- : [[Richard Thomson (1953- )]]
  
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Roger Tarr, ‘Rice, David Talbot (1903–1972)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54778, accessed 5 March 2015]
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== Sources ==
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*Roger Tarr, ‘Rice, David Talbot (1903–1972)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)
  
 
[[Category:Academic Units]]
 
[[Category:Academic Units]]

Revision as of 13:57, 5 March 2015

The Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art was founded in 1880, the first Chair of its kind in the British Isles.


Foundation of the Chair

The chair was founded by Henry George Watson (1796–1879) and Frances Watson in memory of their brother, the late Sir John Watson Gordon (1788-1864), a renowned portrait-painter and President of the Royal Academy of Scotland. The Chair was endowed with a sum of about £12,000, with instructions to the Professor to lecture 'on the History and Theory of the Fine Arts, including Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, and other branches of Art therewith connected'. From a wider perspective, the Chair's focus was 'the promotion and advancement of the fine arts, and prosecution of the studies of painting, sculpture and Architecture, and other branches therewith connected, in Scotland'.

1880-1934

Fine Art as a subject for university study was in its infancy, and the first holder of the chair Gerard Baldwin Brown (1849-1932) thoroughly espoused the cause. In his fifty years in the post, he did much to enhances the discipline's academic profile. He is also remembered as a keen supporter of the cause of university education for women, lecturing extensively to the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women, and as a major benefactor to Edinburgh University Library through the gift of his personal book collection. He was briefly succeeded by Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968), before the Chair passed to David Talbot Rice (1903-1972) in 1934.

1934-2011

Talbot Rice draw up a curriculum for the new Honours Degree in Fine Art, working in conjunction with Edinburgh College of Art. The teaching programme that he devised exerted a major national influence and remains at the core of art history teaching at the university. Other significant initiatives were Talbot Rice's acquisition of the Raymond Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments (now held in the Musical Instruments Museum Edinburgh at St Cecilia's Hall) and his campaign to open an arts centre on the University Campus. This plan eventually came to fruition under Talbot Rice's successor, [Giles Henry Robertson (1913-1987)]], with the opening in 1975 of the Talbot Rice Gallery, named in his honour. Robertson, who as a young lecturer assisted Talbot Rice in drawing up the Fine Art curriculum, is another significant benefactor to the university, having bequeathed his personal collection to the University Library. Robert's successor Eric Campbell Fernie (1939- ) was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts, before leaving to take up the post of Director of the Courtauld Institute in 1995.

Merger with Edinburgh College of Art

The current Professor, Richard Thomson (1953- ) helped oversee the merger of Edinburgh University with Edinburgh College of Art in 2011. Following the merger, the Edinburgh College of Art retained its name and identity as an enlarged school within the College of Humanities and Social Science. It absorbed Edinburgh University's School of Arts, Culture and Environment, which consisted of the School of History of Art, the Reid School of Music, and the already merged Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Holders of the Watson Gordon Chair of Fine Art

Sources

  • Roger Tarr, ‘Rice, David Talbot (1903–1972)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004)
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