Durham E-Theses Class, nation and localism in the Northumberland art world, 1820-1939' Mumba, Rachel How to cite: Mumba, Rachel (2008) Class, nation and localism in the Northumberland art world, 1820-1939', Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2243/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. Class, Nation and Localism in the Northumberland Art World, 1820-1939' Rachel Mumba PhD Thesis 12/01/2008 - 2 APR 2008 1 The Emergence of Cultural Homogenization or the Survival of Localism? National Identity, Centralization and Class Behaviour in the Northumberland Art Scene, c. 1820-1939. This study examines county identity in the art culture of Britain between c. 1820 and 1939. In doing so it tests the validity of the prevailing historiography of culture. This historiography emphasizes the growth of the state, homogenization of class identity and the importance of'Britishness'. This thesis examines the historiography in relation to the artistic community of Northumberland between the establishment of the Northumberland Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in 1822 and the Second World War. It argues that county identity, its forms and its survival, were as much due to internal factors as nationwide trends. It also asserts that much of the relevant historiography needs to be adapted to take into account the continuing strength of county identity and needs to see this county identity as often being as important as class in all areas of the art world. Furthermore., it demonstrates that the progression towards a 'nationalization of culture' was not always smooth or one way and that the idea of a growth in 'Englishness' and class identity needs to be reviewed. Contents Page Introduction 1 Northumberland and the National Scene 1822-c. 1832 23 The Government School of Design, Fine Art Teaching and Regional Identity, 1842-1864 47 The Artistic Elite and Local Artists, c. 1878-1883 74 Local and National Identity, c.1880-1900 101 Professional and Regional Identity amongst Art Groups, cl 883-c. 1905 136 The Early Laing Art Gallery, from its Conception, c.1880-1914 161 Cultural Homogenization, Britishness and Centralization in Northumberland c. 1930-1939 185 Conclusion 214 Bibliography 228 List of Illustrations and Figures 1.1 J.M.W. Turner's Grand Junction Canal at SouthallMill (1810) 44 1 .2 T.M. Richardson Senior's The Tyne from Windmill Hills, Gateshead (1818) 44 2.1 Wallington Hall 69 4.1 George Horton's Kilcaldy.4nus(n.d.) 110 4.2 Ralph Hedley's Paddy's Clothes Market, Sandgate (1898) 110 4.3 Ralph Hedley's Out of Work (1888) 113 4 .4 William Bell Scott's The Nineteenth Century Iron and Coal (1861) 113 4.5 Ralph Hedley's The Ballad Seller (1884) 114 4.6 Ralph Hedley's The Newsboy (1892) 114 4 .7 John Charlton' s 7V;<? Women (1910) 117 4.8 John Gilroy's Hauling up Ihe Lifeboat, Holy Island (1910-1920) 117 4.9 Robert Johling's The Lifeboat (9/^(1884) 1 28 4.10 Harold Knight's The Last Cobble (190) 128 4.11 Arthur Hardwick Marsh's The Wayfarers (1879) 129 4.12 Arthur Hardwick Marsh's The Turnip Cutter (1902) 129 4.13 Arthur Hardwick Marsh's The Worker (n.d.) 129 4.14 Arthur Hardwick Marsh's The Ploughman Homeward Plods his Weary Way (n.d.) 129 4.15 Henry Helhcrington Emmerson's Bereaved (1888) 130 4.14 Frank Bramley's A Hopeless Dawn (1888) 130 4 16 The Fisherman (n.d.) 131 AM A Cullercoats Fisherman (1820-1840) 131 4.18 Robert Jobling's.4/;.v/o;« Times (1889) 133 4.19 Winslow Homer's Perils of the Sea (1881) 133 4.20 Robert Jobling's Launching the Cullercoats Lifeboat (1902) 133 4.21 Winslow Homer's Watching the Tempest (1881) 133 5.1 Employment Composition I 142 5.2 Employment Composition II 145 5.3 Residential Patterns 147 6.1 John Gilroy's Lovely Day for a Guinness (n.d.) 199 Abbreviations DUL Durham University Library GHA George Morton Archive LPS Literary and Philosophical Society NAL National Art Library NCL Newcastle Central Library NUL Newcastle University Library RHA Ralph Hedlcy Archive RHL Ralph Hedley (Craftsman) Limited Collect TP Trevelyan Papers TWCMS Tyne and Wear County Museum Service TWAS Tyne and Wear Archive Service UBC University of British Columbia 1 Introduction Research Objectives This interdisciplinary study will explore the nature and strength of local-regional or county- identity in the art and culture of nineteenth-century Britain. It will examine the validity of current historiography of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century culture, by testing that historiography against the experience of Northumberland's artistic community between c.l 820-1939. The established historical framework through which to study the cultural developments of the period emphasizes the roles of national identity, the growth of state involvement in culture and middle-class identity in framing artistic culture. According to these views, there was an increasing interest in the idea of 'Englishness', which grew to its apogee in the early twentieth century, artistic education became more standardized and the middle class increasingly shared the same artistic and cultural experiences. This historiography will be studied in relation to the artistic community of Northumberland between the establishment of the county's first ma jor art society, the Northumberland Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in 1822 and the outbreak of the Second World War, which obviously drastically changed the cultural scene across Britain. It will demonstrate that much of the current historiography needs modification to take into account the resilience of local identity, which could be as important as class in artistic production, display and the art market. It will also demonstrate that there was not always a linear progression towards a 'nationalization of culture', through a growth in 'Englishness', the state and class identity. Indeed, one can see in this study that there was a greater local identity amongst artists in the 1890s than in the 1820s and that this was at least partly due to the role played by the Government School of Design in the area. Furthermore, a more potent ingredient in artistic relations, than class relations, was the relationship between artist and members of an 'artistic elite', such as patrons. ' 1 See p. 14 for a definition. 2 Histoiiographical Review The dominant historiography states three important propositions about late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century artistic and culture developments. Firstly, that this was a period that saw the creation of a national artistic identity. Secondly, that the state played an increasing role in fostering artistic culture. Thirdly, that a middle-class identity became more important in patterns of artistic production, patronage, consumption and exhibition and that this identity became increasingly standardized across the country. All of these propositions lead to, and come from, the idea that, in cultural terms, the nation was becoming smaller and more uniform as the period progressed. This fundamental idea is found in the works of historians such as Trevor Fawcett, whose work on the regional art worlds is still regarded as a key text by art historians. Fawcett begins his study of provincial art between 1800-1830, by asserting that in 1800 'as few as twenty percent of the population of distant parts of the country ever travelled to London more than once or twice in their lives,' and there were no provincial art institutions. 2 By the end of the period Fawcelt is not only stressing that 'nowhere was in complete artistic isolation' but that 'there was more homogeneity than might be supposed'. 3 The secondary proposition regarding the development of a national artistic identity is reflected in The Geographies o/Englishness.4 This work studies the search for English artistic and cultural identity, in the Victorian period, when, according to David Corbert, 'ideas of nationhood and national identity were especially important in England' 5 and therefore 'calls for a distinctly English art' 6 emerged. There are arguments between historians as to when this sense of a 'national identity' arose and what form it took. Gerald Newman and Kathleen Wilson, amongst others, see the seeds of'Englishness' as being sown in the late eighteenth century, as a symptom of modernity. 7 Stephanie Barczewski and Krishan Kumar see the growth of a narrow 'English', as opposed to 'British' identity, in the late nineteenth century. According to 2 Trevor Fawcett, The Rise of English Provincial Art: Artists, Patrons, and Institutions outside London, 1800-1830 (Oxford, 1974), p. 10. 3 Ibid, p. 214. 4 David Peters Corbett, Ysanne Holt and Fiona Russell (eds), The Geographies of Englishness: Landscape and the National Past 1880-1940 (New Haven, 2002).