1st Edition

The Art-Journal and Fine Art Publishing in Victorian England, 1850–1880

By Katherine Haskins Copyright 2012
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    226 Pages
    by Routledge

    Focusing on an era that both inherited and irretrievably altered the form and the content of earlier art production, The Art-Journal and Fine Art Publishing in Victorian England, 1850-1880 argues that fine art practices and the audiences and markets for them were influenced by the media culture of art publishing and journalism in substantial and formative ways, perhaps more than at any other time in the history of English art. The study centers on forms of Victorian picture-making and the art knowledge systems defining them, and draws on the histories of art, literature, journalism, and publishing. The historical example employed in the book is that of the more than 800 steel-plate prints after paintings published in the London-based Art-Journal between 1850 and 1880. The cultural phenomenon of the Art Journal print is shown to be a key connector in mid-Victorian art appreciation by drawing out specific tropes of likeness. This study also examines the important links between paint and print; the aesthetic values and domestic aspirations of the Victorian middle class; and the inextricable intertwining of fine art and 'trade' publishing.

    Contents: Introduction; 'Artistic works of the best character'; ' A wild experiment'; 'English sympathy'; 'Never-ceasing home enjoyment'; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Katherine Haskins is a writer and editor for Corporate and Foundation Relations in Yale University's Office of Development. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Chicago.

    Semi-finalist, The Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize, awarded by the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP), 2012

    '... a much needed study of the visual culture of a very important and influential nineteenth-century publication, and an important addition to our understanding of the artistic tastes of the time.' Patrizia Di Bello, Birkbeck, University of London, UK and author of Women's Albums and Photography in Victorian Britain: Ladies, Mothers and Flirts

    'Haskins’s interdisciplinary study is a much-needed investigation of the contributions of The Art-Journal to Victorian art, industry, and commerce. It should be required reading for anyone interested in Victorian visual culture, periodical history, art journalism, fine art prints and print-making, and illustrated books.' Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies

    '... this book offers a long-overdue full-length study of the popular Art-Journal. ' Victorian Periodicals Review

    'Katherine Haskins’s monograph is both a pioneering full-length study of an individual magazine and an ambitious portrait of a complex industry, during what was arguable the period of its zenith.' CILIP Rare Books Newsletter

    ’... make[s] a valuable contribution to the study of Victorian prints, and ... goes a long way toward situating them in a wider cultural context.' Victorian Studies