THE BULLETIN OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ART HISTORIANS No.l. November 1975. THE BULLETIN The Bulletin is intended to distribute information about the Association's activities and to be a means of communication between members. Initially, at least, it will be circulated to members twice annually, early in the academic year and in February, before the Annual Conference. The Editor welcomes news of exhibitions, public lectures, symposia and conferences, personal and corporate research projects, staff appointments and vacancies, and issues connected with departmental organisation of likely interest to the membership. Contributions should be double-spaced on one side of unheaded A4 paper, and for the next issue should be submitted by 12 January. Dr ANDREW CAUSEY, Editor Department of Art History, University of Manchester, Manchester MIS 9PL THE 1976 CONFERENCE IN GLASGOW (MARCH 26-28) Outline Programme In response to members' requests, the art-historical side of the 1976 Conference is to be made much less general. Those who were present in 1975 seemed to be unanimous in thinking that the highly successful programme devised for the inaugural meeting did not provide a pattern which could be repeated. The call was for a more specific programme which would allow smaller groups to come together to listen to and to discuss short papers on matters of particular interest. Consequently, apart from the continuation of the meetings of the Universities, Museums, and Polytechnics Groups on the morning of Friday, 26 March, the afternoon session on that day, and both the morning and the afternoon sessions on Saturday, will be organised around five main Sections. This means, of course, that sometimes difficult choices will inevitably have to be made between concurrent offerings. The importance of Glasgow as a conference centre hardly needs underlining. Kelvingrove and the Burrell Collection, Pollock House and the remains of the Sterling Maxwell Hoard and the Hunterian Collection in the University, the Mackintosh Collection, and a spectacular variety of good nineteenth-century architecture, form the core in the city itself. Northwards, there is the late eighteenth-century Rossdhu with its collection of the period; Ardkinglas, a private early twentieth-century house by Lorimer, with the Noble family collection; and Inverary, the home of the Duke of Argyll. South, there is Pinkhill, a pre-Raphaelite private house, Culzean Castle, and the Buccleuch Collection at Bowhill and Drumlanrig. Finally, for the southerner, Edinburgh comes within reasonable reach. It is, therefore, natural that a lively Scottish Section which will run for at least two sessions is being organised by Alan Tait and Martin Kemp. Roger Billcliffe, on Mackintosh furniture, Lindsay Errington on Wilkie and John Knox, David Irwin on 'Towards the Picturesque: Scottish Landscape Painting', Francina Irwin on the successors of Wilkie, Duncan Macmillan on a topic relating to the Runcimans, and Alan Tait on The Landscape Garden in Scotland and a Scottish Style', are already probable speakers. Apart from the specifically Scottish topics, there will also be talks on major non-Scottish works or groups of works housed in Glasgow or elsewhere in Scotland. These will certainly form part of a General Section covering three full sessions, unless they become sufficiently numerous to form a third 'Scottish' Section. Already, in this General Section talks by Mary Alexander on 'The Sculptural Sources of Fra Angelico's Linaiuoli Tabernacle', by Howard 1 Burns on an Alberti drawing, by Richard Cocke on Veronese's Marriage Feast at Cana, and by David Davies on The Theological and Philosophical Background of El Greco's Painting' are in the wind. The General Section, which has no geographical or chronological boundaries, will be accompanied by a two- session Medieval Section organised by Peter Lasko, which will centre on recent research in architectural history, an area in which much lively work is being done. There will also be a Section organised by John White, and lasting two or possibly three sessions, on Art-Historical Reconstructions and Their Implications. Here, Eric Fernie on 'Medieval Crossing Towers', Andrew Martindale on The Original Site of Mantegna's Triumph of Caesar', John Onians on'S. Sebastiano, Mantua', and John White on 'Duccio's Workshop Method in the Painting of the Maesta,' are probable speakers. Another likely subject is the reconstruction of the Mackintosh House, and contributions would be welcomed on such topics as the reconstruc• tion of historical collections and the like, as well as on reconstructions in the more usual sense. It is hoped that the Section will eventually cover as wide a range of periods and categories of art as possible, as well as broaching the general problems raised by the new relationships between art history and what was formerly the separate domain of archaeology. Finally, because it seems to be warranted by the current state of research and by the many problems which are now beginning to be tackled, a Section is being organised by Philip Barlow, David Bindman, and Michael Kitson, on British Nineteenth Century Art, Design, and Social History. To encourage the growth of the inter-disciplinary approach established at last year's inaugural meeting, it is hoped to attract distinguished social, and possibly literary and economic, historians from outside the membership of the Association. Because of the more advanced state of architectural research, the discussions will centre on painting, sculpture, illustration, design, and related areas of industrial archaeology. How the artist earned his living; collecting and art institutions; the influence of politics and religion, of technology and of the new industrial economy, on design; the processes of design in industry; these are only a few of the topics which may be considered. Contributions The highly tentative nature of the existing programme must now be very clear. Its success will depend entirely on the willingness of members to come forward with further ideas and suggestions, and in particular to volunteer twenty-minute papers for any of the existing five Sections. Papers in the twentieth-century field, for incorporation in the General Section would be especially welcomed in view of the likely coverage in earlier periods. The Com• mittee hope, however, that a wealth of papers, embracing every field, will be proposed and that from them a really lively conference can be designed. If all goes well, it will clearly not be possible to accept all the proposed contri• butions. To assist in the task of selection, members are therefore asked to include a short indication of content with each proposal. The Committee also hopes that many younger members will come forward with ideas and not leave the field merely to the established figures. It is, of course, essential that the topics chosen should be on a scale and of a nature suitable for presentation in no more that twenty minutes, 2L time limit which must be strictly observed if the conference is to run smoothly. If a firm programme is to be ready for circulation in the next Bulletin in February, time is pressing. The need for a swift response to this appeal for contributions is therefore urgent. Could all suggestions and proposals for papers, whether firm or tentative, and all queries about the various Sections please be directed as follows: Scottish Section Martin Kemp Department of Fine Art, or University of Glasgow, Alan Tait Glasgow G12 8QQ Medieval Section Professor Peter Lasko Courtauld Institute of Art, 20 Portman Square, London W1H0BE Nineteenth Century Art and Design Michael Kitson Courtauld Institute of Art, 20 Portman Square, London W1H0BE or \ Birmingham Polytechnic, Philip Barlow 63 Sumner Row, Birmingham B3 1LA or David Bindman Department of History of Art, Westfield College, Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead NW3 7ST Reconstructions Section John White Department of History of Art, General Section University College of London, Gower Street, London WC1E6BT A limited amount of accommodation will be available in Glasgow University halls of residence and will be allocated on a basis of first-come-first-served. Members thinking of attending the conference can make provisional reserv• ations of accommodation without commitment by writing to the Editor of the Bulletin stating how many rooms are required. Confirmation of reservations will be necessary in February, when it is hoped that a list of hotels recom• mended by the Scottish Tourist Board will also be published. Professor JOHN WHITE, University College, London ART AND DESIGN HISTORY COURSES IN POLYTECHNICS Art history became a compulsory subject in colleges and schools of art in 1962. The departments founded to teach it have in a number of cases now begun to offer the subject also as an ingredient in polytechnic Humanities or General Arts degrees. The Council for National Academic Awards has now recognised two honours degrees and one postgraduate diploma in history of art and design. Each of these courses makes some departure from the 2 traditional pattern, in view of the special needs and composition of the polytechnic. All, for instance, place particular stress on the history of design, a necessary service to design students and a subject for whose development polytechnics with large design and technical departments offer advantages. The Newcastle BA course is in its second year and is devoted to the history of modern art and design. The Leicester course, which started this autumn, includes as a part of the programme the study of works of art and design in museums. The one-year postgraduate course in Birmingham Polytechnic is intended mainly but not exclusively for graduates in art of design; it includes provision for elementary language teaching in French, German and Italian. Other proposals for degree courses involving the history of art and design are at various stages of development in polytechnics and other colleges. PHILIP BARLOW, Birmingham Polytechnic GROUP FOR ART HISTORY IN ART EDUCATION A group-meeting at the Association's Annual Conference in March made it clear that many members were interested in the place of art history in the education of artists and designers.