Samuel Lines and Sons: Rediscovering
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository SAMUEL LINES AND SONS: REDISCOVERING BIRMINGHAM’S ARTISTIC DYNASTY 1794 – 1898 THROUGH WORKS ON PAPER AT THE ROYAL BIRMINGHAM SOCIETY OF ARTISTS VOLUME I: TEXT by CONNIE WAN A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History of Art College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham June 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis is the first academic study of nineteenth-century artist and drawing master Samuel Lines (1778-1863) and his five sons: Henry Harris Lines (1800-1889), William Rostill Lines (1802-1846), Samuel Rostill Lines (1804-1833), Edward Ashcroft Lines (1807-1875) and Frederick Thomas Lines (1809-1898). The thesis, with its catalogue, has been a result of a collaborative study focusing on a collection of works on paper by the sons of Samuel Lines, from the Permanent Collection of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). Both the thesis and catalogue aim to re-instate the family’s position as one of Birmingham’s most prominent and distinguished artistic dynasties. The thesis is divided into three chapters and includes a complete and comprehensive catalogue of 56 works on paper by the Lines family in the RBSA Permanent Collection. The catalogue also includes discursive information on the family’s careers otherwise not mentioned in the main thesis itself. The first chapter explores the family’s role in the establishment of the Birmingham Society of Arts (later the RBSA). It also explores the influence of art institutions and industry on the production of the fine and manufactured arts in Birmingham during the nineteenth century. The second chapter discusses the Lines family’s landscape imagery, in relation to prevailing landscape aesthetics and the physically changing landscape of the Midlands. Henry Harris Lines is the main focus of the last chapter which reveals the extent of his skills as archaeologist, antiquarian and artist. For my grandparents and my parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My search for Samuel Lines and his sons has fetched far and wide, and I am indebted to many researchers and staff from galleries, museums, archives and libraries world-wide who have helped me in my pursuit. I am also thankful to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding this PhD. I owe my deepest gratitude to my academic supervisor Dr Paul Spencer-Longhurst for his guidance, patience and wisdom throughout this PhD. His passion and knowledge of art history has been a constant source of inspiration, without which this PhD would not have been possible. His encouragement has helped me develop my confidence as a researcher and scholar, which continues to grow day by day. I am thankful to all the staff and members at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) for giving me the freedom to pursue my course of research that have formed this thesis and catalogue. I would like to acknowledge Marie Considine, RBSA Gallery Director and my non- academic supervisor, in particular for her part in the exhibition Rediscovering the Lines Family: Drawings of Birmingham and Beyond in the Nineteenth Century (May 2009). Her professional aptitude is something that I aspire to. From Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum I would like to thank David Nash, Garston Phillips and Phillipa Tinsley who have been extremely generous with their time and resources in helping me to sift through their fascinating collection of Lines family ephemera. Jo-Ann Curtis and Victoria Osborne from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have also been extremely accommodating in allowing me access to their collections, and sharing their knowledge on Birmingham’s diverse social and artistic history. In 2009, I was fortunate to have been invited to undertake a fellowship as a Curatorial Scholar at the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA). Therefore, I would like to thank Lisa Ford (Associate Head of Research) and Martina Droth (Head of Research) for giving me the opportunity. Having the chance to study in such a positive working environment with exceptional facilities and staff has made a significant contribution to my research. Whilst researching Samuel Lines I have been lucky enough to meet several of his living descendants. In particular, Maureen and Brian Lawrence have been kind enough to share their family tree with me. Always glad to hear about my research and keen to share theirs, they have kept my enthusiasm alive. Of the many archives and libraries, museums and galleries that I have visited, I would especially like to thank the kind and efficient staff at: Barber Institute of Fine Arts Library, Birmingham Archives and Heritage Service, Cadbury Research Library, National Maritime Museum, Royal Armouries (Leeds), Shropshire Archives, Staffordshire Archives, Victoria and Albert Museum and Worcester History Centre. At every step of this journey I was fortunate enough to have the support of a wonderfully encouraging, caring and, more often than not, sympathetic party of friends and colleagues. I would like to thank my friends Dr. Laura MacCulloch, Dr. Jenny Powell, Dr. Camilla Smith, Dr. Elisa Korb, Dr. Sue Tungate, Aileen Naylor, Dr. Val Loggie and Elaine Williams for sharing their experiences (good and bad) with me. Also, Andrew Chim M.Sc. for helping me keep this PhD in perspective, despite being on the other side of the globe. To Amy Dean, Ema Spry, Rachel and Neil Webber and all my other close friends who have been there to offer welcome distractions from my thesis. I am indebted to my mum, dad and sister, to whom this thesis is dedicated, for their enduring patience whilst I finished the PhD. Thank you for believing in me. CONTENTS VOLUME I: TEXT Abbreviations page i Introduction page 1 Chapter 1 The Development and Production of the Fine and Manufactured page 52 Arts in Birmingham: The Effects of Industry and Art Institutions 1794-1898 Chapter 2 The Lines Family’s Landscapes of the Midlands page 92 and North Wales Chapter 3 Depictions of the Ancient and the Antique: The Impact of page 125 Historical Thought on the Works of Henry Harris Lines Conclusion page 181 ABBREVIATIONS RBSA – Royal Birmingham Society of Artists BMAG – Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery Cat. – Catalogue Entry (referring to works within the catalogue) Cat. no. – Catalogue Number (referring to images within the catalogue) Fig. – Figure No. – Catalogue Number (referring to works exhibited at the Birmingham Society of Arts) YCBA – Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. V&A – Victoria and Albert Museum, London. WCAGM – Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum All museum or accession numbers are given in square brackets, as are author’s comments. It should be noted that authors referenced in the bibliographic footnotes are mentioned by initial(s) and surname to provide consistency. This is followed by the title of their work, place of publication and year published. For a full reference please see the Bibliography on page 241 in Volume II. i INTRODUCTION Contextual notes on this thesis and its Collaborative Doctoral Award This thesis and catalogue have been compiled as part of a Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) which began in 2007, instigated and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The CDA scheme (devised in 2005) is now in its sixth year and has helped to foster doctoral research projects between higher education institutions (HEIs) and non- HEIs with the aim of developing the student’s professional understanding of working in a museum environment, whilst encouraging original research into its collection. In this instance the participating authorities have been the University of Birmingham and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA). Encouraging a more vocational approach to doctoral study by involving participation from a non-HEI, the project has involved writing a thesis and the compilation of an academic catalogue. There was also the opportunity to curate and coordinate an exhibition which took place in 2009, showing works and themes featured in this thesis and catalogue. This thesis includes The Lines Family: A Catalogue of Drawings at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, which documents 56 works on paper by the sons of Samuel Lines (1778- 1863), from the permanent collection of the RBSA.1 Samuel’s five sons were: Henry Harris Lines (1800/1801-1889), William Rostill Lines (1802-1846), Samuel Rostill Lines (1804- 1833), Edward Ashcroft Lines (1806-1875) and Frederick Thomas Lines (1807-1898). Before the start of this doctoral project, virtually nothing was known about the drawings from which this thesis and catalogue have derived. The drawings were purchased by the RBSA with the intention of expanding the historical scope of their permanent collection, however no one had yet researched them thoroughly. Acquired by the organisation in 2005, a selection of the 1 The Lines Family: A Catalogue of Drawings at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists also includes a detailed biography of the family to date, based on original research made for this CDA project. Thus their biographies are not mentioned here in the introduction, nor in the main body of the thesis.