The art of compromise: the founding of the National Gallery of British Art, 1890-1892

This article argues that the press played a key role in defining the Tate Gallery by facilitating a national debate about the siting, nature, and purpose of the proposed National Gallery of British Art. Art critics, politicians, journalists and a variety of newspaper editors weighed in on whether Britain should create a museum of modern art, a museum of national art, or both. The understanding of British art as quintessentially modern at the time of the founding of the Gallery meant that from the beginning the Tate Gallery was founded as both the National Gallery of British Art and a museum of modern art. The changing definition of modern art in the twentieth century, however, created fractures between these two identities that eventually led to the split between Tate Britain and Tate Modern

Transformative Beauty: Art Museums in Industrial Britain

https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/facultypubnight/1034/thumbnail.jp

Institutionalizing Identity: Examining the Louvre in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France

With the collapse of the French monarchy in 1789, France sought to solidify their sense of national identity in the wake of revolution. Since the late eighteenth century, museums have long been used to foster nationalism and belonging through the institutionalization of historical narratives-- the opening of the Louvre in 1793, and its transition from a royal palace to a palace of the people, served as a physical metaphor of the complete political transformation that occurred during the French Revolution. Existing literature examines the revolutionary nationalization of the Louvre as it relates to the concept of the modern museum and the field of public history, especially in the eighteenth century and leading into the Napoleonic era. This paper will extend on the nationalization of the Louvre in relation to France’s search for national identity and the artifacts they needed in order to do so, in addition to considering the ways in which this need to find a new identity often came at the cost of marginalized communities through the looting and reframing of artifacts from places like Egypt, Asia, and Africa. These questions will be examined through the use of artifact analysis, government documents, and newspaper articles. Additionally, this will be framed through Edward Said’s Theory of Orientalism, examining the Louvre’s influence in feeding into French Orientalism through the presentation and collection of ‘exotic’ artifacts during Napoleon’s conquests

The art of compromise: the founding of the National Gallery of British Art, 1890-1892

This article argues that the press played a key role in defining the Tate Gallery by facilitating a national debate about the siting, nature, and purpose of the proposed National Gallery of British Art. Art critics, politicians, journalists and a variety of newspaper editors weighed in on whether Britain should create a museum of modern art, a museum of national art, or both. The understanding of British art as quintessentially modern at the time of the founding of the Gallery meant that from the beginning the Tate Gallery was founded as both the National Gallery of British Art and a museum of modern art. The changing definition of modern art in the twentieth century, however, created fractures between these two identities that eventually led to the split between Tate Britain and Tate Modern

Thomas Horsfall in Context

At Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, California) in Spring 2016, the students in Dr. Amy Woodson-Boulton\u27s undergraduate History seminar The Artist and the Machine conducted research into the work of Thomas Horsfall and his context. Each student chose a topic related to his work, and then formed groups around relevant themes - art, nature, labor, children, and the city. From the beginning and throughout the process, the students relied on the vital support, instruction, and expertise of LMU\u27s Digital Scholarship Librarian Melanie Hubbard as they translated their research into a digital exhibition format. The project developed in concert with the Horsfall Space and the University of Manchester, and the seminar class visited Manchester in February 2016, when they shared their initial ideas and website plan with the Horsfall Space web team. The work on this site therefore reflects the students\u27 work and ideas about Horsfall and his historical period. It is intended to examine specific objects, texts, and images from the Ancoats Art Museum and the broader culture, in order to understand the ideas behind Horsfall\u27s work. We hope that visitors enjoy how each student explored the period in a unique way, and how the exhibits combine to provide a kaleidoscopic view of late Victorian Manchester. Please direct any questions to Prof. Woodson-Boulton.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ds-collection/1006/thumbnail.jp

Contested Representations: Debating Britain’s Imperial Legacy

History 4910: Topics in Public History: Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire, was an upper-division History course at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, taught by Prof. Amy Woodson-Boulton in Fall 2017. The course introduced students to the issues and practice of public history, which is dedicated to addressing and engaging the broader public in issues of history, memory, commemoration, and identity. We considered public history through a study of the British Isles in relation to the world. What forms has public history taken in Britain, Ireland, and the former British Empire? How have the British and Irish debated their role in Europe, their own national identities, and their role as colonizers and colonized? How have they engaged with meaningful debate about the role of history in politics and national identity? What debates over commemoration, visibility, and invisibility or erasure have become important for people in Britain, Ireland, and their former colonies? Students identified and researched a specific topic related to Britain, Ireland, and the world, and collaborated to translate their research into this website. By putting their study of public history theory into practice in a public forum, students were able to connect their (virtual) out-of-classroom experience with their academic content. Public history as a practice means connecting past ideas, lives, and experiences to the present day, illustrating the need for continual re-interpretation, and communicating the gripping interest of historical research to those outside of academia. The experience of considering the broader implications of their academic work has invited students — and invites our broader audience — to consider the meaning and uses of information in general, and of history in particular, in public debates and in the formation of communal (national, racial, ethnic, religious) identities. I include my syllabus, schedule, and website assignments for other instructors to use and adapt. Please get in touch with comments, questions, and suggestions: [email protected]://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ds-collection/1004/thumbnail.jp