Stella Kramrisch and Art History in the Twentieth Century (London, 7-8 Dec 2012)

London, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Research Forum, Dec 7–08, 2012

Deborah Sutton

Divine Artefacts: Stella Kramrisch and Art History in the Twentieth Century

10.45 – 18.30, Friday 7 December 2012 (with registration from 10.15) 10.00 – 12.30, Saturday 8 December 2012 (with registration from 09.30)

Research Forum South Room, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London

This symposium will address the pivotal role of Stella Kramrisch’s writings on South Asian art in the twentieth century, and the international impact of her work in Europe, India and the United States, placing these within a wider global art historical context. Her scholarship on the art, archi- tecture and visual cultures of South Asia remains redoubtable, even canonical, although her argu- ments often find little currency in contemporary scholarship on the materials she studied. Equally considerable is the material legacy of her work as a collector,connoisseur and curator of Indian art. Often employing the services of the Swiss-born photographer, Raymond Burnier, Kramrisch established an extremely important visual archive of Indian sculpture which she made public in Bri- tain, India and the United States through her publications, lectures and exhibitions.This symposi- um brings together an international group of scholars working on different aspects of Kramrisch's work and career. This series of papers and round-table discussion will map the current field of research on Kramrisch's work and life. Papers will consider biographical, intellectual and practical aspects of Kramrisch's work and the networks in which she framed and formed her work. Held at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where Kramrisch lectured in the second half of the 1930s, this sym- posium will also be of interest to those working on the art-historiography of South Asia.

Organised by Deborah Swallow (The Courtauld Institute of Art), Deborah Sutton (University of Lan- caster) and Sarah Victoria Turner (University of York).

PROGRAMME

Friday 7 December (DAY 1)

10.15 – 10.45 Registration 10.45 – 11.00 Welcome – Deborah Swallow (The Courtauld Institute of Art), Deborah Sutton (Uni- versity of Lancaster) and Sarah Victoria Turner (University of York)

11.00 – 13.00 SESSION 1 – Chair: Sarah Victoria Turner

Deborah Klimburg-Salter (Institute for Art History, University of ): Stella Kramrisch and the

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Study of the Contemporary Art of India Sria Chatterjee (Princeton University): Circa 1922: Stella Kramrisch and the Bauhaus in Calcutta

13.00 – 14.15 BREAK FOR LUNCH

15.15 – 16.45 SESSION 2 – Chair: Deborah Sutton

Sylvia Houghteling (Yale University): Of Space, Stones and Minds: A Return to Stella Kramrisch’s Writings on Ajanta Jayaram Poduval (MS University Baroda): Stella Kramrisch and ‘Unknown’ Regional Art Histories of India Rituparna Basu (Bijoy Krishna Girls College, Howrah, India): Revisiting the Folk Art Collection of Stella Kramrisch and her First Folk Art Exhibition: ‘Unknown India, Ritual Art of Tribes and Villages in India’

16.45 – 17.30 COFFEE/TEA BREAK (tea-coffee provided – seminar room 1)

17.30 – 18.30 Keynote Address – Michael Meister (University of ): ‘How She Really Is’: God's Eyes and Stella Kramrisch

18.30 RECEPTION (Front Hall)

Saturday 8 December (DAY 2)

09.30 – 10.00 Registration and TEA/COFFEE (seminar room 1)

10.00 – 12.30 SESSION 3 – Chair: Deborah Swallow

Brinda Kumar (Cornell University): The Kramrisch Collection and Narratives of Indian Art in post- war America Darielle Mason (Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art): Bringing The Hindu Temple Home Daud Ali (University of Pennsylvania): Stella Kramrisch, Idealism and the Hindu Temple 12.30 END

Ticket/entry details: Open to all, free admission but due to limited space advance booking is required. Book online here: http://courtauld-institute.digitalmuseum.co.uk

The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN tel +44 207 848 2785/2909 web http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/index.shtml

Reference: CONF: Stella Kramrisch and Art History in the Twentieth Century (London, 7-8 Dec 2012). In: ArtHist.net, Nov 15, 2012 (accessed Sep 25, 2021), .

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