Charles Handley-Read
Encyclopedia
Charles Handley-Read was an architectural writer and collector and the first serious 20th century student of the work of William Burges
, "a pioneer in Burges studies who was the first to assess the historical brillance of Burges as gesamtkunstwerk
architect and designer."
Handley-Read was born in 1916 to a father who was a magazine illustrator and military artist and a mother who, beside being one of the first qualified female doctors and dentists, was a militant suffragette
. In the thirties, he went up to Cambridge University to St Catharine's College
to read architecture and, on graduation, became art master at his old school, Bryanston School
. At this stage, Handley-Read's architectural passion was Modernism
and in 1951 he completed his monograph on "The Art of Wyndham Lewis
." However, the subsequent, and different, course of his life was set when, in 1952, he saw the Exhibition of Victorian
and Edwardian Decorative Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum
.
Following the exhibition, and his marriage to the devotee of Victorian sculpture Lavinia Stainton, Handley-Read "pinned all his hopes and dreams on one central, all-consuming passion: the work of William Burges." In the period between the First World War and the 1960s Victorian architecture reached its nadir of appreciation; "at best an unhappy interlude between Neo-Classicism and Modernism; at worst a period of grotesque bad taste, associated with religious cranks like Pugin
and Socialist crackpots like Ruskin
and William Morris
." The desire for, and consequently the prices of, the Victorian decorative arts were therefore at an all-time low. Handley-Read and his wife, aided by a considerable inheritance, began to collect on an increasingly gargantuan scale. But whilst his collection expanded, his ability to write about the works he bought did not: "A lifetime spent struggling to write produced just seventeen articles." Realising his inability to write with meaning about the object of his passion, Handley-Read wrote to a friend, Joseph Mordaunt Crook; "Now look. You have just edited Eastlake's Gothic Revival..with complete success. You are well soaked in John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. You know all about Smirke
...why not do William Burges?...partnership is less than I am looking for. I want to hand the job over."
On 15 October 1971, Handley-Read committed suicide, followed by Lavinia on 9 December the same year. Their collection of Victorian artefacts was broken up at sale. Handley-Read's notes on William Burges
were passed to Joseph Mordaunt Crook and became the basis of his seminal work on Burges, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream.
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...
, "a pioneer in Burges studies who was the first to assess the historical brillance of Burges as gesamtkunstwerk
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
architect and designer."
Handley-Read was born in 1916 to a father who was a magazine illustrator and military artist and a mother who, beside being one of the first qualified female doctors and dentists, was a militant suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
. In the thirties, he went up to Cambridge University to St Catharine's College
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
to read architecture and, on graduation, became art master at his old school, Bryanston School
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
. At this stage, Handley-Read's architectural passion was Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
and in 1951 he completed his monograph on "The Art of Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
." However, the subsequent, and different, course of his life was set when, in 1952, he saw the Exhibition of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian Decorative Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
.
Following the exhibition, and his marriage to the devotee of Victorian sculpture Lavinia Stainton, Handley-Read "pinned all his hopes and dreams on one central, all-consuming passion: the work of William Burges." In the period between the First World War and the 1960s Victorian architecture reached its nadir of appreciation; "at best an unhappy interlude between Neo-Classicism and Modernism; at worst a period of grotesque bad taste, associated with religious cranks like Pugin
Pugin
Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin , English architect and designer.Other members of his family include:...
and Socialist crackpots like Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
and William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
." The desire for, and consequently the prices of, the Victorian decorative arts were therefore at an all-time low. Handley-Read and his wife, aided by a considerable inheritance, began to collect on an increasingly gargantuan scale. But whilst his collection expanded, his ability to write about the works he bought did not: "A lifetime spent struggling to write produced just seventeen articles." Realising his inability to write with meaning about the object of his passion, Handley-Read wrote to a friend, Joseph Mordaunt Crook; "Now look. You have just edited Eastlake's Gothic Revival..with complete success. You are well soaked in John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. You know all about Smirke
Smirke
Smirke is a surname, and may refer to:*Robert Smirke *Robert Smirke , son of Robert Smirke the painter*Sydney Smirke, son of Robert Smirke the painter*Charles Smirke, British jockey...
...why not do William Burges?...partnership is less than I am looking for. I want to hand the job over."
On 15 October 1971, Handley-Read committed suicide, followed by Lavinia on 9 December the same year. Their collection of Victorian artefacts was broken up at sale. Handley-Read's notes on William Burges
William Burges (architect)
William Burges was an English architect and designer. Amongst the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, Burges sought in his work an escape from 19th century industrialisation and a return to the values, architectural and social, of an imagined mediaeval England...
were passed to Joseph Mordaunt Crook and became the basis of his seminal work on Burges, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream.
Sources
- J. Mordaunt CrookJ. Mordaunt CrookProfessor Joseph Mordaunt Crook, CBE, FBA, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, D.Phil, MA, generally known as J. Mordaunt Crook, is an English architectural historian and specialist on the Georgian and Victorian periods...
, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream. John MurrayJohn Murray (publisher)John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
, 1981.