Michael Kitson
Encyclopedia
Michael William Lely Kitson (born Ealing
, Middlesex
, on 30 January 1926, died Islington
, London
, 7 August 1998) was an English
art historian
.
clergyman, and his wife Helen May Lely. The novelist Anthony Trollope
and the painter Sir Peter Lely
were among his ancestors.
and King's College
, Cambridge, where he read English (1944-45 and 1948-50), and at the Courtauld Institute of Art
(1950–1952).
and attached to security intelligence Middle East, based in Egypt
. He left the army in 1948 and returned to Cambridge.
at University College, London, as an assistant lecturer in the history of art. He moved on to the Courtauld Institute, London
, as a lecturer from 1955 to 1967 and as a reader from 1967 to 1978. He became Professor of the History of Art there in 1978 and was deputy director of the Institute from 1980 to 1985.
In 1985, Kitson became Director of Studies at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
, London, a British educational charity with close links to Yale University
.
Kitson became an international authority on Claude Lorrain
and organized the first Lorrain exhibition at the Hayward Gallery
, London, in 1969. In 1978 he catalogued the Liber Veritatis, Lorrain's own drawings of his paintings, for the British Museum
and later wrote the article on Lorrain for the Macmillan Dictionary of Art (1996).
He shared an interest in 17th century French painting with Anthony Blunt
and later wrote the article on Blunt for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
After his death in August 1998, a memorial service was held at St Clement Danes
on 23 October 1998, with an address by Neil MacGregor
, Director of the National Gallery
.
In the 1980s Kitson became the partner of Judith Colton 1, an American art scholar.
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, on 30 January 1926, died Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 7 August 1998) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
art historian
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
.
Background
Kitson was the son of the Reverend Bernard Meredith Kitson, a Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
clergyman, and his wife Helen May Lely. The novelist Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
and the painter Sir Peter Lely
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
were among his ancestors.
Education
Kitson was educated at Gresham's SchoolGresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
and King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge, where he read English (1944-45 and 1948-50), and at the Courtauld Institute of Art
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art. The Courtauld is one of the premier centres for the teaching of art history in the world; it was the only History of Art department in the UK to be awarded a top...
(1950–1952).
War service
His three years at King's College, Cambridge, were interrupted in 1945 when he was commissioned into the Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
and attached to security intelligence Middle East, based in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He left the army in 1948 and returned to Cambridge.
Career
In 1952, he joined the Slade School of Fine ArtSlade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
at University College, London, as an assistant lecturer in the history of art. He moved on to the Courtauld Institute, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as a lecturer from 1955 to 1967 and as a reader from 1967 to 1978. He became Professor of the History of Art there in 1978 and was deputy director of the Institute from 1980 to 1985.
In 1985, Kitson became Director of Studies at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to the study of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and opened to the public in 1977, and is endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been situated at 16 Bedford Square in a Grade I listed building...
, London, a British educational charity with close links to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Kitson became an international authority on Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French Claude Gellée, , dit le Lorrain) Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French...
and organized the first Lorrain exhibition at the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
, London, in 1969. In 1978 he catalogued the Liber Veritatis, Lorrain's own drawings of his paintings, for the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and later wrote the article on Lorrain for the Macmillan Dictionary of Art (1996).
He shared an interest in 17th century French painting with Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
and later wrote the article on Blunt for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
After his death in August 1998, a memorial service was held at St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...
on 23 October 1998, with an address by Neil MacGregor
Neil MacGregor
Robert Neil MacGregor, OM, FSA is an art historian and museum director. He was the Editor of the Burlington Magazine from 1981 to 1987, the Director of the National Gallery, London, from 1987 to 2002, and was appointed Director of the British Museum in 2002...
, Director of the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
.
Publications
- J. M. W. Turner (Barnes & Noble, 1963)
- English painting (Art of the Western World) (Golden Press, London, 1964)
- Frans Hals (1965)
- The Age of Baroque: Landmarks of the World's Art, Architecture, Sculpture, Portraits, Landscapes, Interior Decoration (Paul Hamlyn, London, 1966)
- Claude Lorrain, Liber veritatis (British Museum Publications, London, 1978) ISBN 0714107484
- The Art of Claude Lorrain (Arts Council, London, 1969)
- The Complete Paintings of Caravaggio (London, Abrams, 1967, new edition Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1969 and 1986, ISBN 978-0297761082)
- Rembrandt (Phaidon Press, editions in 1969, 1971, 1978 and 1994)
- Discovering the Italian Baroque by Gabriele Finaldi and Michael Kitson (catalogue of Sir Denis Mahon's collection) (National Gallery, 1997) ISBN 1857091779
- The Seeing Eye: Critical Writings on Art Michael Kitson (a collection of essays) (Mnemosyne Press, 2008) ISBN 978-0952597018
- Complete Bibliography
Family
On 8 July 1950 he married Annabella, the daughter of John Leslie Cloudsley. They had two sons.In the 1980s Kitson became the partner of Judith Colton 1, an American art scholar.