Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms: New Currents in Aestheticism and Decadence

The unusual and catchy title above is that of a conference to be held 30 April–1 May in New York. Organized b Richard Kaye and Talia Schaffer and held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, "Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms" brings together scholars in a variety of disciplines to examine aestheticism and decadence in late Victorian literature, art, theater, politics, and popular culture. Reginia Gagnier is the keynote speaker and the opening roundtable, "What's New in Decadence and Aestheticism,"represents a "who's who" of experts in the field—Dennis Dennisoff, Joseph Bristow, Linda K. Hughes, Richard Dellamora, and Margaret D. Stetz. Longer presentations concern C. R. Ashbee and British utopias, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, and romanticism; Aubrey Beardsley and the art of the poster; Edward Carpenter and domestic interiors, and Black decadence in the work of M. P. Shiel. (Although not specifically named as the subject for any of the papers, one senses that William Morris or Edward Burne-Jones might be mentioned form time to time.)

Thursday, 30 April 2009
5.30 to 8 p. m.
Friday, 1 May 2009
8.45 a. m. to 6 p. m.
Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY

Open to the public without cost or registration.

Illustration: William Nicholson, James McNeill Whistler, woodcut touched with watercolor, 1897 (Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, on loan to the University of Delaware Library)

Pre-Raphaelites in Stockholm: Report by Jan Marsh

What is billed as the first major show of Pre-Raphaelite art ever held in Scandanavia is on until 24 May. Titled (obviously) The Pre-Raphaelites at the National Musuem, Stockhilm, consists largely of loans from UK museums and galleries, but there are several unusual twists to the exhibition. For one thing, the arrangement is not strictly chronological; for another, there is a representation of Northern artists influenced by the PRB; and finally, among the highlights are several works from the National Museum's own collection, some of them--such as this Rossetti sketch of Elizabeth Siddal sketching--purchased quite recently.

Jan Marsh, the noted biographer, editor, and Pre-Raphaelite scholar, has kindly sent us a report on this large and important exhibition, click here for a link.

Anna Sui's "favorite artists"—Beardsley, Burne-Jones, and Waterhouse

We were watching CBS Sunday Morning--arguably the only program on US television which pays regular attention to design, the book arts, and visual culture in general--and were transfixed when the fashion designer, Anna Sui, said that inspiration for a recent collection came from "late nineteenth century artists." A visit to the biography posted on her website reveals that under "Favorite Artists" she lists the following (and only the following):

George LePape
Christian Berard
Aubrey Beardsley
John William Waterhouse
Edward Burne-Jones

Just how much influence Beardsley and Burne-Jones have on Sui's unconventional and interesting fashion lines you can judge for yourself. But if Ms. Sui happens to be reading these words, we want to say--join the William Morris Society!

"The Art of the Book": Design and Craft in 19th-century Britain and 21st-century Canada

This year's William Morris Society of Canada symposium, "The Art of the Book: Design and Craft in 19th-century Britain and 21st-century Canada, " will be held on Saturday, 21 March, at University College, University of Toronto. In keeping with Morris’s own belief that books are the product of diverse talents working in cooperation, our 2009 symposium brings together printers, publishers, artists, and scholars to discuss the material form of the book as it is, has been, and might be. In the morning, William Whitla of York University will speak on the relationship between Morris’s calligraphy, book collecting, and printing practices, followed by William Rueter describing the work of his own Aliquando Press and its recent edition of the diaries of the artist and bookbinder T. J. Cobden-Sanderson. The afternoon will feature presentations on the past, present, and future of printing and book design. Speakers include Don Taylor, bookbinder and artist working in Toronto since 1980; and Reg Beatty, bookbinder, book artist, and teacher at York University and the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Immediately following the symposium, a party in University College’s Croft Chapter House will celebrate William Morris’s 175th birthday.

Saturday, 21 March 2009
9.30 a. m. to 4 p. m.
Room 179
University College
University of Toronto

Registration (includes lunch):
Paid in Advance, before March 14: $40 (members); $50 (non-members); $20 (students)
Paid at the Door: $50 (members): $60 (non-members); $30 (students)

Please note “pre-registration” is strongly recommended because “At he Door” registration may be very limited.

Tennyson Bicentenary

It does seem remarkable that 2009 marks the bicentenary of Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Alfred Tennyson. (Darwin and Lincoln were, in fact, born on the same day.) Although an exhibition last year sought to explore the ties between Darwin and William Morris, and while Morris's politics and ideals might owe something to Lincoln's, the real connection—for Morrisians at least—is with Tennyson. William Morris was a reader and admirer of the poet laureate; his own early poems owed much to Tennyson in theme and manner; in due course the two men became acquainted; finally, Tennyson's Maud was reprinted by the Kelmscott Press in 1893.

There are many events scheudled to mark the Tennyson anniversary, and a full schedule will be found on a site maintained by the Lincolnshire County Council. Two of particular interest are a lecture, on "Morris and Tennyson," by Peter Faulkner, to be given at Kelmscott House in Saturday, 3 March (see 2009 William Morris Events in the UK for details) and an exhibition, Tennyson Transformed, taking place 30 May - 31 August at The Collection, in Lincoln. Alfred Tennyson's influence on Victorian culture was not just literary: he inspired an extraordinary range of artists and designers. This major exhibition at The Collection will assemble vivid examples of artistic responses to Tennyson's poetry and person by some of the best known artists of the period. Unique objects from Lincoln's Tennyson Research Centre will be displayed alongside loans from major national collections.

Other events include an International conference to be held at Cambridge, concerts, a country dance program, and lectures at various locations throughout Britain. One thing that caught our eye is The Lady of Shalott Film, produced by WAG, a group which seems to have expanded an interest in local archeology into movie-making, What is striking about the film is how clearly its visual look is influenced by spefic Pre-Raphaleite paintings—the "teaser" trailers include the death scene on the boat straight out of J. W. Waterhouse. To see for yourelf go to www.theladyofshalott.co.uk.

"Why Victorian Art?" Symposium at CUNY, 6 February

A symposium, open to the public, organized by the Department of Art History,
the City University of New York, Graduate Center.

Friday, 6 February 2009
9 a. m. to 5 p. m.
Martin E. Segal Theatre, Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY

In American academia, British Victorian art has been perceived pejoratively as regressive relative to French art's trajectory toward modernism. In sharp contrast, English departments in the United States have encouraged the study of British Victorian literature since it was first set down on paper, with postmodern scholars championing Victorian literature's handling of issues from colonialism and racism to aspects of gender and sexual identities. The Victorians were the dominant imperial power and leaders of the industrial world at the dawn of the twentieth century, but the study of Victorian visual art and culture is still largely looked upon unfavorably in the United States, with American museums only rarely mounting exhibitions about Victorian art. Recently, this trend has been slowly changing. More students are pursuing dissertation topics in the areas of British Victorian painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography. Furthermore, conferences such as the 2008 annual meeting of NAVSA acknowledge the rising importance of Victorian art, including interdisciplinary panel sessions on topics such as sculpture and global contexts, queer visualities, and Darwinism and the arts. "Why Victorian Art?" will bring together scholars to address two critical issues: why the study of Victorian art has been overlooked in the U.S., and how a closer examination of Victorian art can provide new or alternative perspectives in the study of nineteenth-century art and culture.

For more information download the symposium announcement.

"Vernon Lushington: Pre-Raphaltie" Lecture in New York on 12 March

Although he was a friend and colleague to many famous artists, authors, and activists, the lawyer and positivist Vernon Lushington (1832–1912) remains virtually unknown today. In “Vernon Lushington: Pre-Raphaelite, Friend of William Morris, and Father of ‘Mrs. Dalloway,’” historian David Taylor will draw upon previously unavailable materials from the Lushington archive to shed light on the interesting and influential figure who arranged the first meeting between Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti and who visited with William and Jane Morris at Kelmscott Manor. Taylor will also discuss the connection between the Lushingtons and the Stephen family. After the death of Mrs. Lushington, Vernon's three daughters (above) were taken under the wing of Julia Stephen, wife of Leslie Stephen and mother of Virginia Woolf. Vernon Lushington’s eldest daughter, Kitty, became the model for the title character of Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway (1925). The Lushingtons also spent summers with the Stephen family at Talland House in Cornwall, which provided the setting for the Ramseys’ summer home in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse (1927). Letters in the archive offer insight into Woolf’s fiction.David Taylor is a historian, writer, and lecturer living in Cobham, Surrey.

A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Taylor has published several works on the history of Cobham and presented lectures to the Virginia Woolf Society, the Pre-Raphaelite Society, and the William Morris Society. Vernon Lushington is the subject of Taylor’s doctoral research.

Thursday, 12 March 2009
6 p. m., reception to follow
The Grolier Club
47 East 60th Street
New York, NY

Sponsored by the William Morris Society in the United States, the American Friends of Arts and Crafts in Chipping Campden, the Grolier Club, the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, and the Victorian Society in America.

Tickets: $12 reduced rate for members of the Society and the other sponsoring organizations; $18 for others.

For more details and to purchase a ticket, click here.

Contact Mark Samuels Lasner, (302) 83-3250.