History of Art PhD Students
Take a look at what our current History of Art PhD students are researching.
Vivien Bird
Vivien’s PhD research focuses on Richard Payne Knight (1751-1824) and his collection. Payne Knight was a member of the Society of Dilettanti, one of the founders of the British Institution, a Trustee of the British Museum, and he enjoyed a considerable reputation during his lifetime as a art connoisseur and authority on ancient art. His collection of ancient bronzes, coins, cameos and Old Master and British drawings was one of the best known in Britain, and was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1824.
The aim of her thesis is to provide a thorough reappraisal of Payne Knight’s activities as a collector and patron whilst situating his collection within the cultural and intellectual history of late eighteenth-century England. For this research she explores specific contextual factors that could have impacted the assemblage of the objects in his collection that have not yet been discussed in the scholarly literature, in addition to relating them to eighteenth-century debates on the origins of mythology, symbolism and culture, themes which were of central importance to Payne Knight and his circle.
Supervisor: Adriano Aymonino
Margaret Iacono
Margaret’s PhD research concentrates on the art dealer Charles Stewart Carstairs (1895-1928), a member of M. Knoedler & Co. and director of the firm’s London headquarters for more than two decades. Carstairs was an adviser to eminent American collectors like Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and Andrew W. Mellon (1855–1937). Despite this, he has never been the focus of a comprehensive study and has consequently remained a largely overlooked figure in the history of collecting. Her dissertation will examine Carstairs’s career from several perspective including his role within the Knoedler firm, relationship with fellow art dealers, business strategies and overall influence on the art market and history of collecting.
Supervisor: Barbara Lasic