Authenticity and Attribution in the Agnew’s and National Gallery Archives 1855-1932
A fully-funded PhD studentship in partnership with the University of Liverpool.
Collaborative Doctoral Partnership
Starting in October 2014 as part of the AHRC’s new Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme, the award provides an opportunity to undertake high quality research combined with an exceptional opportunity to gain practical work experience within one of the world’s foremost art galleries - leading to a PhD with one of the UK’s leading universities.
Research project
Using the recently-acquired archives of the firm of Thos. Agnew & Sons, as well as the institutional archives of the National Gallery, the project will examine the history of provenance research in both commercial and public contexts during a period of time when there was a vigorous debate between connoisseurial and evidential approaches to attribution and authentication. It will examine the methods used for the attribution of paintings sold by Agnew’s and acquired by the National Gallery in a period when the Gallery shifted towards a more connoisseur-led approach to acquisitions and how the archives supported and documented these methods and decisions.
About the Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships
The National Gallery offers a small number of Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and run in partnership with higher education institutions. These studentships focus on specific themes relevant to the Gallery's collection and wider research themes.