1

The Courtauld Friends

at the heart of the art movement Gift Impact Report 2018/19

Prepared for the Trustees of The Friends of The Courtauld Institute of Art

June 2020

Thank you for your support

We are grateful to The Friends of The Courtauld Institute for its longstanding commitment to our mission and work. Your exceptionally generous grant of £200,000 in 2018/19 provided support across The Courtauld’s core activities, strengthening the institution as a whole. We are delighted to present this overview impact report to highlight just some of the ways in which, together, we are shaping the future of art history. Right: Susannah Kingwill, PhD candidate, History of Art Friends of The Courtauld Institute Scholar 2018/19 and 2019/20

Your impact in 2018/19: £15,000 towards our Public Programmes outreach activities in schools and colleges

We aim to transform the way art history is taught to young people, and to raise their aspirations within higher education and the cultural sector. At a time when the arts and humanities are gravely endangered, there is an urgency in this enterprise. Our public programme aims to change lives, offering opportunities for personal, educational and career development, which would not otherwise be open. The Courtauld’s programme targets schools with a high number of pupils qualifying for free school meals (primary and secondary), and the sixth form and further education (FE) colleges, which serve them. With the generous support of The Courtauld Friends, we have continued to enrich and develop our programmes for young people throughout this crucial stage of the Gallery’s transition and closure. Through innovative and relevant outreach sessions, regular communication and the creation of two new learning resources, the programme has continued to meet its objectives.

2

In 2018/19, a total of 5,163 students and young people from non- selective state schools and further education (FE) colleges across the UK took part in our programmes. In London, 4,289 participants took part in a range of outreach activities, an increase of 81% from 2017/18, including; 2,356 students from 40 state schools and colleges across London taking part in one-off outreach workshops, with a further 963 students from 16 state schools and colleges across London taking part in multi-session special projects. Programmes included; Art History in the Classroom, Drawing on Art History, Art and Identity, Art and Maths, Art and Politics, Art and Impressionism, Speaking About Art (ESOL course) and many others. Whilst the total number of participating students is a decrease of 39% on 2017/18, with the Gallery closure in September 2018, and with the financial assistance from the Friends, the Public Programmes department focused on delivering an extended outreach programme. This has ensured continuity and we were able to take advantage of new partnerships, finding ways of engaging young people with the art and architecture found in their local area. We were successfully able to maintain, and in many cases, deepen relationships with existing partner primary and secondary schools, and build new relationships with 14 primary schools and 17 secondary schools. Well-established partnerships and collaborations continued with other charitable organisations and universities, to extend the scope and reach of our programmes, including; The Brilliant Club, FirstStory, IntoUniversity, ARTiculation, as well as HEI partnerships with the Department of Midwifery at Kings College London and the Music Department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Finally, a new partnership was forged with Arts Emergency, whose mission is to help marginalised young people overcome barriers to participation in higher education and the creative and cultural industries. “This workshop has changed the way I look at paintings. The looser way of working has been really interesting and I am very pleased with the results. It has changed the way I want to work with my [art and design] folder and has taught me to use colour in different ways and that I don't have to blend everything” Course participant, Explore Art History outreach study day, 2018 “Looking deeply into a work and looking at art history has been incredibly beneficial. I have never particularly looked into the history side of art before and I enjoyed discovering how the background to a work can be crucial and develop different readings.” Course participant, Explore Art History outreach study day, 2018 “Our students gained experience on working with other agencies; they gained knowledge about analysing art and curating. And above all, they learned a lot about how to write an essay, which will hugely benefit their Unit 3 AQA ‘A’ Level Personal Study. The students have gained confidence and skills to get on with their personal studies as well as collaboration and teamwork skills. The structure of the programme, the content, the resources and the delivery were outstanding. The presentations on curating and writing an essay that Fran prepared will be hugely beneficial to our department, to both students and teachers.” Class teacher, Kingsdale Foundation School. £35,000 towards the Gallery for Curating and Collections Care (inclusive of £10,000 additional grant)

As you well know, The Courtauld is undertaking the most radical transformation in its history, to create a new Courtauld for the coming century. The project, Courtauld Connects, is now well underway as we strive to realise Samuel Courtauld’s vision of ‘art for all’. We aim to put accessibility at the heart of all of our programmes, and at the centre of all Gallery activity. The closure of the Gallery in September 2018 afforded the Gallery team the opportunity to foster new national and international partnerships to achieve some of our most ambitious projects to date. We are delighted to share just a few highlights.

3

The Courtauld Collection on Tour: National and International Partnerships Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cézanne, London, The National Gallery The exhibition, Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cézanne, closed on 20 January 2019. Featuring the largest number of works from The Courtauld’s collection ever seen on the walls of The National Gallery, the exhibition attracted a total of 141,718 visitors, which exceeded predicted visitor figures by 20%. The partnership with The National Gallery has continued with a rolling series of smaller displays in a dedicated room. The first display in March 2019, presented 17 old master paintings from the collection (below). This was followed by 6 further works on view in The National Gallery’s permanent collection displays, shown from May 2019. A further 20 works, including ivories and metalwork, are due to be added to The National Gallery’s displays in the coming months. The partnership will continue until April 2020 and will ensure that the Collection has a London presence until we re-open.

The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paris, Fondation Louis Vuitton (LVMH) On 20 February, a major exhibition, The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, opened at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, publicly initiating our partnership with LVMH. The exhibition brought together over 110 works purchased by Samuel Courtauld, the majority of which had not been seen in Paris for over 60 years. The show explored Samuel Courtauld’s role as one of the great collectors of the 20th century and showcased his extraordinary collection.

4

The exhibition was given an exceptional reception by the French media, with extensive television, radio and newspaper coverage, including the front page of Le Figaro. Dedicated special editions of popular arts publications Connaissance des Arts and the Le Journal des Arts were produced. The Art Newspaper issued its first ever supplement dedicated to an exhibition (circulated as part of the UK, French and Chinese editions) and there was much coverage in cross-over media, ranging from fashion publications to current affairs and society (e.g. Point de Vue).

LVMH’s reach and prestige has also generated significant international coverage, from Korean Elle and Eva Air (Taiwan) inflight magazine. The Courtauld team worked hard to support the media campaign at all levels. A strong advertising campaign further increased awareness of the exhibition. A dedicated evening for social media influencers helped ensure extensive coverage online, together with dedicated online content produced and disseminated by the FLV itself. Alongside the superlative quality of the collection and the ‘homecoming’ aspect of the exhibition, Samuel Courtauld and his vision and purpose were strong points of focus for the media. The Courtauld Institute of Art has also received valuable coverage. Within the ten week run, the exhibition had 482,849 visitors, far exceeding all expectations. The exhibition was supported by a catalogue, which offered an opportunity to undertake and publish new research on Courtauld. Finally, a concert in honour of Elizabeth Courtauld was held on 20th March, and the following day a conference was organised on aspects of collecting, and on the Courtauld Institute of Art - past, present and future. Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld, Truro, Bradford, Bath, Oxford From September 2019 through to 2021, a touring project will present The Courtauld’s 10 best pieces of Islamic metalwork, starting at The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, The Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford, The Holburne Museum in Bath, and the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford. The aim of this tour is to highlight an important, but little known area of the collection whilst engaging with new audiences and new communities, enabled through the temporary closure of our Gallery.

5

On 28 March 2019, Dr Alexandra Gerstein, McQueens Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, hosted a meeting for representatives from the partner organisations at the Courtauld’s temporary premises in Vernon Square. This included a handling session, work on planning and logistics, and discussion of curatorial content and outreach/educational opportunities. In addition to the partner museums, participants included members of the Subject Specialist Network in Islamic Art and Culture, which is co-organising the exhibition. The exhibition is supported by the Art Fund. Courtauld involvement includes a PhD student as research assistant, the Public Programmes department, and a Widening Participation dimension, as well as a contribution from Sussan Babaie (the Courtauld’s Reader in the Arts of Iran and Islam). This integrated approach will contribute to what is very engaging project. The works have been conserved and cleaned before the tour, also benefitting their eventual redisplay in the Gallery. £40,000 towards Student Services (inclusive of £10,000 additional grant) Our students are at the heart of all we do and our Student and Academic Services team is dedicated to ensuring that all students feel fully supported during their time with us. We understand the pressures that students may face and want to offer as much as support as possible in order to accommodate their physical and well-being needs. The Courtauld of the future needs to continue to be accessible, inclusive and equal. We are committed to achieving these goals and with the support of The Courtauld Friends, we can go so much further. The Courtauld has range of advisers and services to aid in wellbeing, disability and mental health. Our advisors provide a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space in which students can discuss any issues that may be affecting their ability to study or cope with the pressures of university. The Student and Academic Services team also provide advice on welfare support services, health issues, immigration matters and financial support for students across all levels of study. In November 2018, Conrad Sackey joined the department as our Wellbeing Manager. He brings over 25 years’ experience working in a wide range of educational settings ranging from local authority, secondary, further and higher education. In his spare time, Conrad volunteers as a trainee Bereavement Counsellor and is involved in the National Association of Disability Practitioners’ Accreditation Second Pilot. He holds a MA in Education from UCL Institute of Education. £40,000 towards supporting interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarship in art history (inclusive of £10,000 additional grant) Generous support from the charity ensures the continued vitality and success of The Courtauld’s History of Art Department. As you well know, many of our faculty are the global leaders in their fields, contributing to our reputation as the world’s pre-eminent place to study art history. A few highlights include: Professor Antony Eastmond, Dean and Deputy Director, A. G. Leventis Professor in the History of Byzantine Art, maintained an active and international profile and was invited to speak at a number of conferences across the UK, Europe and the USA, including delivering The Dr John and Helen Collis Lecture at the Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland St Luke: a portrait of the artist as copier, bureaucrat or artist?” on Sunday 30 September 2018. The Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship held by Professor Susie Nash, The Deborah Loeb Brice Professor of Renaissance Art, came to a successful conclusion and Professor Nash returned to her combined teaching/research role in the 2018-19 year. The monograph, which was the main focus of her research leave, ‘Making Lists: Inventories and Objects at the Courts of France 1360-1420’ has developed significantly but now has a slightly longer timetable. She did present her latest

6

findings and scholarship on the subject in a lecture, ‘From Invention to Inventory: Object lessons from the courts of France’, which took place in The Courtauld’s Research Forum on Wednesday 24 April 2019. Dr Sussan Babaie, The Andrew W. Mellon Reader in the Arts of Iran and Islam continued her prolific research activity alongside her teaching obligations, having prepared over 30 essays, books chapters, publications, lectures and events in the past year, including, the publication Iran After the Mongols. The Idea of Iran. The publication is the gathering of 12 essays as a result of two symposia organised by Dr Babaie earlier in 2018. £30,000 towards much-needed Library resources

Through its contributions, The Friends of The Courtauld Institute ensures that Courtauld students have access to world-class learning resources, such as our specialist libraries. £30,000 from the charity in 2018/19 has enabled us to add to our unique collection some resources that would normally be beyond our budget, thus further supporting The Courtauld’s teaching, learning and research. Furthermore, your support has enabled us to purchase essential items to improve the ergonomical environment for students. These have included document stands, book rests, laptop stands and daylight lamps to help students undertaking personal research or study within the library or other areas dedicated to self-learning and research.

£40,000 towards postgraduate scholarships The Friends of The Courtauld Institute scholarships have a transformative impact on the lives of the recipients. Two talented PhD students gratefully received support in the academic year 2018/19; Susannah Kingwill, under the supervision of Professor Susie Nash, and Victoria Ibbett, under the supervision of Professor David Peters Corbett. Susannah’s End of Year progress report is included as Appendix I. The generous grant of £40,000 in 2018/19 enabled six PhD students and one MA student to continue their studies during the academic year 2019/20; Niall Billings, Matteo Chirumbolo, Giosue Fabiano, Susannah Kingwill, Wei Chi Peh, Saskia Rubin, and Harvey Shepherd. Their start of academic year Thank You letters from December 2019 are included as Appendix II.

Thank you for your support

The Courtauld Friends are a hugely important part of our community. With your involvement, The Courtauld continues to go from strength to strength as one of the world’s leading institutions for research, teaching and engagement with the arts. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all those who benefit from the charity’s generosity to thank the Trustees for their continued support and commitment.

Contact:

Natalia Fenyoe Head of Membership and Alumni Relations +44 (0) 20 3947 7748 natalia.fenyoe@courtauld.ac.uk

Appendix I End of Year progress report from the 2018/19 Friends of The Courtauld

Institute Scholars

April 2019 Dear The Courtauld Friends,

As the recipient of one of your scholarships for the Courtauld Institute of Art I am writing to thank you

for your generosity which has enabled me to pursue my academic career to doctoral level. Recently, I passed my first year monitoring exercise and have now been fully upgraded to PhD candidacy. Prior to starting my doctorate, I completed an MA (Hons) at the University of Glasgow in 2014 and an MA

at the Courtauld in 2017. Following my undergraduate degree, I worked at the Royal Society of Sculptors as a Project Manager for nearly three years, and before beginning my Doctorate I was as a researcher and temporary cataloguer at Christie’s Auction House in London.

I began my doctoral research in October last year under the supervision of Professor Susie Nash with the working research title ‘Croix d’Or at the Valois Courts – an examination of the presence,

perception, and function of metalwork crosses during the reigns of Charles V and Charles VI of France (1360 to 1422)’. My thesis aims to explore the long and varied meaning and use of the cross by concentrating on the particularly resonant and materially rich context of the Courts of France

around 1400. Drawing together an exceptional body of documentary and material evidence yet to be explored to this effect, my research will examine the distinct role that these complex objects occupied for a courtly audience in late medieval France. Professor Nash’s extensive knowledge of the visual

culture of this period and her experience with these materials makes her an ideal supervisor and I am greatly enjoying working with her. So far this year my research has been focused on establishing a solid understanding of the available documentary material and objects, as well as the techniques and

materials used in their production. In addition to this, I have been researching the Baugé Cross, an unusual example from the period that

is made almost entirely from a relic of the wood of the cross, once owned by the Dukes of Anjou. This case was the subject of my first year monitoring piece and, following further work, will form the basis of the third chapter of my thesis.

Over the past two terms I have enjoyed immersing myself into The Courtauld’s wider academic community and attending the many lectures and seminars on offer by the Research Forum. I have

been involved in handling sessions, a particular highlight being one at the V&A museum with senior curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Elizabeth Morrison, and have participated in the 2018/2019 Painting Pairs programme with in the Conservation department. As part of the programme I was able

to investigate and witness the restoration of an early 16th century panel painting from the Netherlands of the man of sorrows alongside a graduate student in the conservation department. We presented our research findings in two public presentations in the Research Forum at the Courtauld and in a

written report which will be published on the website later this year. I was also given the opportunity to teach on a number of occasions throughout the year, which was

something I greatly enjoyed and hope to be able to do more of over the course of the next academic year. Outside of the Institute I have been acting as a teaching assistant for Art History Link Up, a charity, which provides state school students with the opportunity to study Art History A Level at the

Wallace Collection and National Gallery of Art. I have also been working on advancing my research skills completing both workshops in the CHASE Material Witness Programme and Dr Jenny Stratford’s palaeography course at the Institute of Historical Research.

Furthermore, I have organised an enamelling course for a small group of students and members of academic staff that will take place in the June.

Over the spring and summer terms I was also fortunate enough to be included in a number of research trips. At the beginning of April I joined my fellow PhD students and professors from across

the medieval section on a four-day trip to Barcelona to visit the Bermejo exhibition at the MNAC as

well as a number of other collections in the city, and in May I travelled to Utrecht and Rotterdam with the supervisor and her two other PhD candidates.

Without this scholarship I would not have been able to make the most of the incredible opportunities available to me at The Courtauld and I am truly grateful for your support.

Kind regards,

Susannah Kingwill

Exploring the cloisters at Canterbury Cathedral as part of CHASE Material Witness Training Programme

Appendix II Start of Year Thank You letters from the 2019/20 Friends of The Courtauld

Institute Scholars December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends,

I am writing to thank you for supporting my studies at The Courtauld this year. I am currently in the first year of my PhD after having completed my undergraduate degree at UCL in 2017 and my

masters at The Courtauld in 2018. During the MA my research centred around questions and representations of the body within dance and performance costume.

My dissertation topic explored constructions of queer identity within the works and performances of Vaslav Nijinsky and his work with the Ballet Russes. It was throughout the re-search process for this project that I came to develop what has now become the beginnings of my doctoral thesis which

focuses on the development of ballet in London during the interwar period.

During this first year of my PhD I will

primarily be working on how the notion of ballet-as-sport developed and the ways in which this was implicated within

contemporary socio-political ideals of the body. Ultimately, I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to continue my

research within the field of dance history. My supervisor is fashion and dress

historian Dr Rebecca Arnold whom I worked under previously during my masters. I also have a co-supervisor at the

University of Kent, called Dr Freya Vass-Rhee, who is a former professional ballet dancer and now dance historian. My

supervision is going very well and I am incredibly pleased with how their feedback is shaping my project. It is through my

supervisions that I decided to begin taking ballet classes as a means to better understand the composite artistry and

athleticism that was required of the dancers I will be examining in my project.

Over the course of the next few months I have plans to attend the ‘Let’s Dance’ exhibition at the

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag which focuses on fashion and its relationship to dance and performance. Furthermore, I also plan to visit the Fashion Institute of Technology’s exhibition entitled ‘Ballerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse’ that opens in February 2020. The way in which these exhibitions

consider the correlations be-tween ballet and fashion is something that I will consider throughout the course of my PhD studies as this will most definitely form a part of my thesis. I will also be presenting a paper at the annual Association of Art History’s conference in April 2020. What I plan to present is

based upon a chapter from my Masters dissertation in which I examined the depictions of the queer body within Nijinsky’s performances as a mal-formed and bestial figure. I will explore sculptures by Barry Flanagan that were inspired by Nijinsky and how these represent a queer infiltration within

heteronormative public spaces.

Thus far I am incredibly satisfied with my PhD studies at The Courtauld and am excited by the

opportunities that this will afford me post-graduation. While I have no explicit plans for what I intend to do after the completion of my doctoral thesis, I am hugely grateful for this experience and intend to use my time wisely to gain as many skills as I am able to help further the progression of my career.

For example, since October I have been interning with the theatre and performance archive at the Battersea Arts Centre which has not only been thoroughly enjoyable but has also given me crucial archival experience.

Overall, I would like to reiterate how thankful I am for your support of my studies this year in allowing me to continue to research a topic for which I have an incredible interest and passion.

Yours faithfully,

Niall Billings

December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends,

I am a second year PhD student at The Courtauld Institute of Art, working on the patronage of two important fifteenth-century cardinals, Girolamo Basso and Domenico della Rovere, in Rome, Loreto and Turin. I decided to work on this topic while I was doing my MA at The Courtauld, as it tied

together elements of my undergraduate training in the reception of antiquity and Classical culture, with the study of a region, Piedmont, which has yet to be explored in international scholarship.

My research is heavily based on works of art that are still in situ in Italian collections and churches, as well as on archival sources. Specialised training and the ability to travel and reside in Italy to engage with such documents are fundamental aspects of my project. In summer 2019, I took part to the

prestigious palaeography course at the Medici Archive Project (MAP) in Florence, before visiting numerous religious and state archives across Italy. The Courtauld scholarship has allowed me to achieve all this in the course of the past year.

The scholarship has also given me the opportunity to connect with an international research network; in December 2019, I will be delivering my first paper at a conference at the Université de Nantes,

discussing the extent of patrons’ engagement with artists and workshop practice in the early -sixteenth century. The paper developed from a month’s long observation of two fresco cycles in Rome, in the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Sant’Onofrio al Gianicolo. This year, I will spend a

substantial amount of time gathering further archival material in Italy, and continuing to build the international outlook of my research.

I am very excited to have been given the opportunity to pursue a subject I am pass ionate about. The Courtauld, its community, and particularly my tutor, Professor Scott Nethersole, have nurtured my intellectual growth, and provided a most stimulating environment for my research to develop.

I am all the more grateful to you for allowing this to continue during this academic year.

Thank you. Matteo Chirumbolo

December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends,

As a second-year PhD student at The Courtauld, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for your financial support. At the start of this academic year, I was honoured to hear that I would be the

recipient of a scholarship from such an important community. My academic interest lies at the intersection of medieval arts, religion and sciences, with a specific focus on the impact of optics, astronomy and meteorology on the devotional painting of Trecento Italy. I previously completed an

MA in Art History, Curatorship and Renaissance Culture at The Warburg Institute with a dissertation on the natural lighting and solar iconography of Giotto’s ‘Last Judgement’ in the Arena Chapel, Padua. I also hold a BA in Art History at Sapienza University of Rome, with options in Conservation

Studies and Medieval Philology. In my PhD project, titled ‘Illuminating Late Medieval Frescoes: The Agency of Light in the Making of

Devotional Painting and Sacred Space (Italy, 1200-1400),’ I investigate how medieval architects and painters deliberately directed beams of light from windows to strike special spots of a church’s furnishings and pictorial decorations. So far, I have been humbled by the interest manifested by

professors and peers for the work I am undertaking. In particular, I found in my supervisor, Professor Joanna Cannon, a critic of the most supportive kind—the choice of studying with her at The Courtauld being so far one of my wisest.

During the last months, I was involved in a vast range of activities, which I all enjoyed very much. I delivered my first academic paper at UCL, Institute of Advanced Study, and participated in a

workshop on Light and Darkness in Pre-modern Times organised by Dr Tom Nickson at The Courtauld. The latter event revealed incredibly formative for the high calibre of the participants and the helpful feedback I received. In January 2019, I discussed my ongoing research at The Courtauld’s

Student Work-in-Progress Seminar, as well as in the study group Giotto’s Circle organised by Prof Cannon. Meanwhile, I worked as an assistant for the Classical, Byzantine and Medieval Section, as well as an associate editor for Immediations, the peer-reviewed postgraduate journal of The

Courtauld. In July, I presented a paper at the annual symposium of the International Medieval Society in Paris and in May 2020, I will be presenting at the International Congress on Medieval Studies (ICMS) in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University.

The support provided by your scholarship, together with funding by CHASE, has allowed me to face these stimulating challenges (and enjoy the achievements) with due tranquillity. The prestige of being

awarded your scholarship at The Courtauld has already had a positive impact on my academic applications. During the summer, I resided at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence as a Postgraduate Research Assistant, and I am now undertaking a fellowship at the Dutch University

Institute of Art History in Florence. I wish to thank you once again for investing in The Courtauld, and for allowing me and other students

to pursue our educational goals. Yours faithfully,

Giosuè Fabiano

December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends,

As the recipient of one of your scholarships for the Institute I am writing to thank you once again for your generosity, which has enabled me to pursue my academic career to doctoral level. I am currently completing the first term of my second year as a PhD candidate. Prior to starting my doctorate I

completed an MA (Hons) at the University of Glasgow in 2014 and an MA at the Courtauld in 2017. Prior to undertaking my MA I worked at the Royal Society of Sculptors as a Project Manager for a number of years, and before beginning my Doctorate I spent a six months as a researcher and

cataloguer at Christie’s Auction House in London. I began my doctoral research in October 2018 under the supervision of Professor Susie Nash with the

working research title ‘Croix d’Or at the Valois Courts – an examination of the presence, perception, and function of metalwork crosses during the reigns of Charles V and Charles VI of France (1360 to 1422)’. My thesis aims to explore the long and varied meaning and use of the cross by concentrating

on the particularly resonant and materially rich context of the Courts of France around 1400. Drawing together an exceptional body of documentary and material evidence yet to be exploited to this effect, my research will examine the distinct role that these complex objects occupied for a courtly audience

in late medieval France. So far this year my research has been focused on understanding the way in which materials were used in small scale crosses and the meanings they were understood to convey, as well as examining the visual and textual evidence available in manuscripts, paintings, and chronicles regarding how they were used.

In the new year I will turn my attention to a new case study on the Oath Cross of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which is now housed in the collection of the Imperial Treasury in Vienna. I will be

visiting the treasury in January and hope to be able to examine the cross outside of its display case and alongside the leather box it was believed to have been kept and transported in.

I am excited to be presenting my research at my first international conference in Philadelphia in the Spring in a session titled “Objects of the Cult: Liturgy/Devotion and Its Instruments in Early Modern Europe” at the 2020 Renaissance Society of America Conference. I also hope to be selected to speak

about on the meaning and manipulation of materials in metalwork crosses at The Courtauld’s Annual Medieval Colloquium in February.

Alongside making advancements in my doctoral studies, this term I have also had my first full time experience of teaching the undergraduate students at the Institute as a TA on the BA1 Foundations course, which has been extremely rewarding. I have developed new skills in teaching that I hope to

build on throughout my PhD and had the great benefit of working with some of the senior lectures at the Institute as well as hearing them discuss their research areas with the students.

As part of my ongoing efforts to contribute as well as benefit from the academic research community at The Courtauld myself and two other PhD candidates working predominantly on metalwork were recently successful in our application for seed funding to set up an informal research network All that

Glitters: Mak ing with Metals in the Middle Ages , the programme for which we will be developing over

Making a cloisonné enamel plaque during 3 day vitreous

enamelling workshop at West Dean College, June 2019

the coming months. I have also organised two practical workshops, one on enamelling and the other on gilding techniques. These workshops formed part of a new and developing programme of practical

sessions I have been putting together with my supervisor which will help PhD students and faculty in the Medieval and Renaissance department to understand materials and techniques more deeply through practical experience.

Without this scholarship I would not have been able to make the most of the incredible opportunities being provided to me at The Courtauld and I am truly grateful for your support.

Kind regards,

Susannah Kingwill

December 2019 Dear The Courtauld Friends,

Hope this finds you well. I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to you for your generous scholarship.

Before The Courtauld, I completed my undergraduate studies at Yale-NUS College, a young liberal arts college founded jointly by Yale University and National University of Singapore. At Yale-NUS, I

majored in Economics and minored in Art History. After I learnt about Art History as a field of knowledge in my second year of university, I have taken

every opportunity to learn more about the discipline. I took most of my electives in Art History. I interned at Christie’s New York to be in close proximity to some of the most exciting contemporary art institutions. I worked with Singapore’s Economic Development Board to think about how Singapore’s

visual arts are being promoted and perceived. This summer, I also worked with Singapore’s National Arts Council as an Ambassador for the

Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Even so, I have always yearned for more. While these experiences have been eye-opening, they have all shown me that I would like to acquire more structured and specialized academic knowledge in the field of Art History. This motivated me to

pursue a Masters at The Courtauld, where I have been awarded the privilege of focusing on Art History, at one of the most influential institutions in the world.

I am currently studying under the special option, Global China: Contemporary Chinese Art and

Geopolitics, with Dr. Wenny Teo. I was drawn to this course as I began to realize that, although I have lived

in Asia my whole life and studied art at various levels throughout my academic career, most of the art I

have learnt about is exclusively from the West. The only education I have undertaken on Asian art – the art

from my region – has been in accompaniment to Western art, through the lenses that are invented

to talk about Western art. Realizing this motivated me to want

to push the conversation on global art history forward, to learn to write and talk about Asian art in its own

right. Having grown up in China for more than 13 years and developing a strong interest in Chinese art, this course was a perfect fit for my interests.

The past two months at The Courtauld have been extremely fulfilling. As a course group, we attended the Cai Guo-Qiang Symposium at the Ashmolean Museum with my course. We visited galleries that

held exhibitions of Chinese contemporary artists and held discussions of their artistic practices. We went to Venice on a study trip, where we focused on artworks presented by Chinese artists. The most enlightening experiences for me, however, have been inside of the classroom. I have thoroughly

enjoyed my seminars and tutorials with Dr. Teo. In a small course-group of seven, we have the opportunity to really get to know each other and where we are coming from, in terms of academic and cultural backgrounds.

At the Cai Guo-Qiang Symposium with my course, and the artist himself

As I am the only student in the course who did not major in Art History during her undergraduate studies, I was rather nervous about how I could contribute to the course and learn alongside my

classmates. After arriving, however, I have been able to receive support and guidance throughout the term, which has helped me feel much more confident and comfortable with the material and push myself to engage with the course as much as I can.

After the Masters, I hope to gain some work experience before returning to school and completing a PhD, where I can continue to learn and write more about Chinese Contemporary Art. I would like to

focus on research areas such as the interactions between art and commodity culture and art in the age of social media, to investigate how today’s artistic production and consumption is developing in China.

I am extremely grateful to be a recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship has allowed me to direct my time and energy on the most important aspects of this program and focus on learning. Thank you

for your generosity and support, I hope to make the absolute most out of my time at The Courtauld. Sincerely,

(Clara) Che Wei PEH

December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends,

The first term of my second year as a PhD student is now coming to a close. It has been an eventful term for me on both a personal and a

professional level, and I must start by saying that the financial assistance offered by my scholarship has been an invaluable support during this time.

I am focusing on French art under Louis XIII and his Cardinal Minister, Richelieu. My Courtauld supervisor is Dr Stephen Whiteman, who is

working on my project in collaboration with Prof. Genevieve Warwick at the University of Edinburgh. PhD-level study does not involve a prescribed course, but instead consists of a lot of independent work, with

supervisory input. I am grateful that my supervisors are exceptionally dedicated and involved with my project, which makes what can be quite a solitary experience feel like a team effort.

Prior to this phase in my research life, I was a Music student at the University of Cambridge, and then an MA student at The Courtauld. The

latter institution fostered such a love of history of art in me that I decided, a couple of years after graduating in 2015, to return for a research degree.

Following the first-year monitoring exercise in June, in which I submitted a chapter and a thesis plan, I have had the opportunity to explore my subject area more broadly and reflect on interesting new

avenues to take. For example, it has become clear that I would benefit from writing about Rubens’s famous Marie de’ Medici cycle (1624) in Paris, which is a dazzling example of seventeenth-century propagandistic art. I will also be studying the book illustrations of Abraham Bosse (1602–76), which

often accompany publications that celebrate the French crown. Since there is no better way to study these artworks than by seeing them in the flesh, I will be travelling to Paris one week from now for a period of ten days. I am really excited about the trip, in which I will have the opportunity to meet

colleagues at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA). I will also be studying at the Bibliothèque nationale and at the Graphic Arts department within the Louvre. These activities will be interspersed with trips to Versailles and even to regional museums at such cultural hubs as Besançon.

Alongside my studies, I work part-time for The Courtauld Gallery’s Prints and Drawings Department. This kind of privilege, which provides exceptional professional development opportunities, is just one

of the advantages of doctoral study at The Courtauld. I have co-written a text on the artist Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652–1725) for the gallery blog, as well as writing website texts on highlights in the collection. We even have a podcast series in the pipeline!

For me, the backdrop to these activities has been a house move from my parents’ place to a shared flat. While perhaps a mundane addition to a thank you letter, I mention it to explain that your

generosity has enabled me to approach this new period with confidence and reassurance that the rent will be paid, and I will have the time that might otherwise have been spent working to subsidise living, on academic fulfilment. As such, your gift is immensely impactful on my day -to-day life and prospects.

Yours sincerely,

Here I am giving a speech to celebrate the opening of the Guido

Reni exhibition at the Bowes

Museum, County Durham

December 2019

Dear The Courtauld Friends, I am writing to express my gratitude for the scholarship that has allowed me to pursue my

postgraduate career at the Courtauld Institute of Art. I am no stranger to the institution, having studied both my undergraduate and Masters degrees at the Institute from 2014-2017. My MA looked at the decorative arts of Ancien Régime France, and was under the tutelage of Professor Katie Scott, whom

I am now fortunate enough to have as the supervisor for my PhD project. In the intervening year between finishing my MA and beginning my PhD, I worked to digitise the estate of the late artist Peter De Francia, while also spending my free time doing preliminary research to lay the foundation of my

PhD project. I am incredibly honoured to have spent the duration of my tertiary education at the Courtauld. The

Institute’s scale means that there is the opportunity for greater contact among both the student and academic communities, and, as has been discussed in the wake of the UCU strike, the opportunity to enact real and positive change within our community through the closeness of intellectual and

interpersonal relationships. In addition to this, Professor Scott is one of the most respected scholars working on the arts of eighteenth century France, and it is a true privilege to have and have had her input into my postgraduate education.

My project is interested in decentring the post-revolutionary notions that the cultural focus of France before 1789 lay entirely in Paris and Versailles. This position often states that the disenfranchised

peasantry were entirely ignored, living in their microcosmic societies until they became part of the discourse of French citizenship through the act of revolution and the casting-off of the feudal past. Instead, my work aims to look more widely at the material culture of rural, non-urban France in the

century or so leading up to the revolution, connecting it to folkloric and nativistic ideas around place and history, and to consider this in terms of wider concerns about national identity in early modern France. Professor Scott’s work has always aimed to consider non-dominant narratives in the Ancien

Régime, and she is a constant font of insight in regards to my research.

Along with my research, I have also delivered my first paper at an academic conference in October 2019 - just as I started my PhD. The

event was the annual postdoctoral conference, and my paper examined images of the ‘Beast of Gévaudan’: a large wolf-like creature that

killed over one hundred people in the Gévaudan region of Languedoc from 1763-1764. My paper was interested in the wildly

differing visual interpretations of the beast, and the implicit narratives behind these visions of the monster, which allow us to unpick the

contrasting scientific and folkloric interpretations of the animal and its abilities as the its killings became a national obsession

among the French population.

I have other plans for conference papers on the go at the moment, including researching a 25ft stone wine fountain gifted to the city of Strasbourg by Louis XIV in 1698. Like so much of the objects I

encounter in my research, despite this (now long-disappeared) monument’s sheer scale, it has never been studied because of my field’s bias towards Paris and Versailles as the chief areas of interest when examining artistic production and reception. I would love to carry on in this line of work, and

hope to work in academia and higher education following the completion of my PhD.

Giving my first ever conference paper on ‘The Beast of Gévaudan’ at the Courtauld’s Imagining the

Apocalypse conference in October 2019.

I cannot quite convey how important this scholarship has been in allowing me to fulfil my academic ambitions of moving on to PhD study. My family are not wealthy, and if it weren’t for this funding, I

would have no way to fund myself, and would have had to put the thought of doing a PhD on hold for some years while I worked and saved money. I cannot thank you enough for your kind donation. It has allowed me to throw myself entirely into what I love, and to become a part of a vibrant, interesting,

and caring community of like-minded people. Best,

Harvey Guy Shepherd