'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world
Between his appointment as first secretary (and later director) of the National Portrait Gallery in 1857 and his retirement, just a few weeks before his death in 1895, George Scharf worked tirelessly to build a collection of authentic portraits with which to articulate a narrative of British history...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Art History, University of Birmingham
2018-06-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Art Historiography |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/heath.pdf |
| id |
doaj-c0e12d95b75f4433a71666c71b52bf3d |
|---|---|
| record_format |
Article |
| spelling |
doaj-c0e12d95b75f4433a71666c71b52bf3d2020-11-25T00:40:28ZengDepartment of Art History, University of BirminghamJournal of Art Historiography2042-47522018-06-011818EH2'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum worldElizabeth Heath0IndependentBetween his appointment as first secretary (and later director) of the National Portrait Gallery in 1857 and his retirement, just a few weeks before his death in 1895, George Scharf worked tirelessly to build a collection of authentic portraits with which to articulate a narrative of British history. He was also responsible for maintaining, displaying, interpreting and researching the early collection. This article focuses in particular upon Scharf’s distinctly professional approach to portraiture research and considers his contribution to wider developments in art historical scholarship and its methodology over the course of his career. It also seeks to situate Scharf within a network of likeminded individuals – arguably a first wave of emerging museum professionals – and contends that these figures were collectively engaged in carving out a model for proficient art museum practice in Britain, during the second half of the nineteenth century.https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/heath.pdfGeorge ScharfNational Portrait Gallery Londonprofessionalizationcollaborationnetworksart historymuseum practice |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Elizabeth Heath |
| spellingShingle |
Elizabeth Heath 'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world Journal of Art Historiography George Scharf National Portrait Gallery London professionalization collaboration networks art history museum practice |
| author_facet |
Elizabeth Heath |
| author_sort |
Elizabeth Heath |
| title |
'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| title_short |
'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| title_full |
'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| title_fullStr |
'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| title_full_unstemmed |
'A man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: Sir George Scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| title_sort |
'a man of ‘unflagging zeal and industry’: sir george scharf as an emerging professional within the nineteenth-century museum world |
| publisher |
Department of Art History, University of Birmingham |
| series |
Journal of Art Historiography |
| issn |
2042-4752 |
| publishDate |
2018-06-01 |
| description |
Between his appointment as first secretary (and later director) of the National Portrait Gallery in 1857 and his retirement, just a few weeks before his death in 1895, George Scharf worked tirelessly to build a collection of authentic portraits with which to articulate a narrative of British history. He was also responsible for maintaining, displaying, interpreting and researching the early collection. This article focuses in particular upon Scharf’s distinctly professional approach to portraiture research and considers his contribution to wider developments in art historical scholarship and its methodology over the course of his career. It also seeks to situate Scharf within a network of likeminded individuals – arguably a first wave of emerging museum professionals – and contends that these figures were collectively engaged in carving out a model for proficient art museum practice in Britain, during the second half of the nineteenth century. |
| topic |
George Scharf National Portrait Gallery London professionalization collaboration networks art history museum practice |
| url |
https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/heath.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT elizabethheath amanofunflaggingzealandindustrysirgeorgescharfasanemergingprofessionalwithinthenineteenthcenturymuseumworld |
| _version_ |
1725289862347620352 |