The Art Journal
Encyclopedia
The Art Journal, published in London
, was the most important Victorian
magazine
on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title the Art Union Monthly Journal, the first issue of 750 copies appearing 15 February 1839.
Hodgson & Graves hired Samuel Carter Hall
as editor, assisted by James Dafforne. Hall soon became principal proprietor, but, unable to turn a profit on his own, the London publisher George Virtue
purchased into Hall's Art Union Monthly Journal in 1848, retaining Hall as editor. Virtue renamed the periodical The Art Journal in 1849.
In 1851, Hall's engravings, 150 pictures from the private collection of the Queen and Prince Albert, were featured in The Art Journal as the "Great Exhibition of 1851". Though this feature was popular, the publication remained unprofitable, forcing Hall to sell off his share of the journal to Virtue, while staying on as editor. In 1852, the journal finally turned a profit.
As editor, Hall exposed the profits that custom-houses were earning by importing old masters, and showed how paintings are manufactured in England. Simultaneously, The Art Journal became notable for its honest portrayal of fine arts, but its opposition to fake and mis-attributed Old Master
s, such as a Raphael
or a Titian
, affected the market in such works adversely.
The early issues of the magazine strongly supported the artists of The Clique
and after 1850 it became associated with opposition to the emerging Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
(PRB), which Hall considered to be a reactionary movement. Its articles attacked the PRB and its supporter John Ruskin
. The most notable essayists included: R. N. Wornum, Thomas Wright, F. W. Fairholt, Edward Lewes Cutts, and Llewellynn Jewitt.
After Hall's retirement in 1880, the journal changed its position, faced with strong competition from the Magazine of Art and the changing public taste influenced by Impressionism
. However, it was unable to retain its position and ceased publication in 1912.
The publication has been referred to, at various times, as London Art Journal and Art-journal.
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...
, was the most important 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...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title the Art Union Monthly Journal, the first issue of 750 copies appearing 15 February 1839.
Hodgson & Graves hired Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall was an Irish-born Victorian journalist who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal and for his much-satirised personality.-Early years:Hall was born at the Geneva Barracks in Waterford...
as editor, assisted by James Dafforne. Hall soon became principal proprietor, but, unable to turn a profit on his own, the London publisher George Virtue
George Virtue
George C. Virtue, Esq. was a 19th-century London publisher, well-known for printing engravings. His publishing house was located at 26 Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, London, EC.-Pictorial publisher:...
purchased into Hall's Art Union Monthly Journal in 1848, retaining Hall as editor. Virtue renamed the periodical The Art Journal in 1849.
In 1851, Hall's engravings, 150 pictures from the private collection of the Queen and Prince Albert, were featured in The Art Journal as the "Great Exhibition of 1851". Though this feature was popular, the publication remained unprofitable, forcing Hall to sell off his share of the journal to Virtue, while staying on as editor. In 1852, the journal finally turned a profit.
As editor, Hall exposed the profits that custom-houses were earning by importing old masters, and showed how paintings are manufactured in England. Simultaneously, The Art Journal became notable for its honest portrayal of fine arts, but its opposition to fake and mis-attributed Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s, such as a Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
or a Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, affected the market in such works adversely.
The early issues of the magazine strongly supported the artists of The Clique
The Clique
The Clique was a group of English artists formed by Richard Dadd in the late 1830s. Other members were Augustus Egg, Alfred Elmore, William Powell Frith, Henry Nelson O'Neil, John Phillip and Edward Matthew Ward....
and after 1850 it became associated with opposition to the emerging Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
(PRB), which Hall considered to be a reactionary movement. Its articles attacked the PRB and its supporter John 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...
. The most notable essayists included: R. N. Wornum, Thomas Wright, F. W. Fairholt, Edward Lewes Cutts, and Llewellynn Jewitt.
After Hall's retirement in 1880, the journal changed its position, faced with strong competition from the Magazine of Art and the changing public taste influenced by Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. However, it was unable to retain its position and ceased publication in 1912.
The publication has been referred to, at various times, as London Art Journal and Art-journal.