Art and the British Empire - by Tim Barringer & Geoff Quilley & Douglas Fordham (Paperback)

About the Book

This pioneering study argues that the concept of 'empire' belongs at the centre, rather than in the margins, of British art history. Twenty essays by authors from four continents offer innovative methodological approaches to the analysis of visual art as it was produced, exhibited, and distributed throughout the British Empire.

Book Synopsis

This pioneering study argues that the concept of 'empire' belongs at the centre, rather than in the margins, of British art history. Recent scholarship in history, anthropology, literature and post-colonial studies has superseded traditional definitions of empire as a monolithic political and economic project. Emerging across the humanities is the idea of empire as a complex and contested process, mediated materially and imaginatively by multifarious forms of culture.

The twenty essays in Art and the British Empire offer compelling methodological solutions to this ambiguity, while engaging in subtle visual analysis of a previously neglected body of work. Authors from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA and the UK examine a wide range of visual production, including book illustration, portraiture, monumental sculpture, genre and history painting, visual satire, marine and landscape painting, photography and film. Together these essays propose a major shift in the historiography of British art and a blueprint for further research.

From the Back Cover

This pioneering study argues that the concept of 'empire' belongs at the centre, rather than in the margins, of British art history. Recent scholarship in history, anthropology, literature and post-colonial studies has superseded traditional definitions of empire as a monolithic political and economic project. Emerging across the humanities is the idea of empire as a complex and contested process, mediated materially and imaginatively by multifarious forms of culture.

The twenty essays in Art and the British Empire offer compelling methodological solutions to this ambiguity, while engaging in subtle visual analysis of a previously neglected body of work. Authors from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA and the UK examine a wide range of visual production, including book illustration, portraiture, monumental sculpture, genre and history painting, visual satire, marine and landscape painting, photography and film. Together these essays propose a major shift in the historiography of British art and a blueprint for further research.

Review Quotes

"The book is produced to a very high standard: quality paper, spacious lay-out, 127 black and white and 19 beautifully reproduced illustrations. It is a pleasure to hold and behold." --Terry Barringer, African Research & Documentation, No. 103 (2007)

About the Author

Tim Barringer is Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University. Geoff Quilley is Curator of Maritime Art at the National Maritime Museum, London. Douglas Fordham is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Virginia