Hosted in partnership with colleagues at The Courtauld, The Church of England, and English Heritage, this symposium marks the culmination of the first major phase of a grant-funded digitisation project to make the National Wall Paintings Survey publicly accessible through a dynamic new online database.
Begun by Professor David Park at The Courtauld in 1980, the Survey has grown into a vast and internationally important resource, comprising records of all known British medieval wall paintings as well as extensive material on post-medieval schemes of painted decoration. Encompassing photographic records, conservation reports, annotated publications and previously unpublished research, the archive documents the UK’s most lavish courtly and ecclesiastical murals alongside paintings in more humble contexts. Incorporating material bequeathed from the archives of some of the UK’s earliest pioneering conservators, the Survey constitutes an exceptional record of the condition of Britain’s wall paintings and forms an essential point of reference, both for scholars of art history and for those charged with the ongoing care of these works.
This interdisciplinary study day is an opportunity for those working across the field of British wall paintings to reflect upon the evolution of approaches to their study and conservation, and to explore collaborative endeavours which might better inform their future care. Comprising three sessions of short papers from a diverse and engaging line-up of scholars and heritage professionals, the day will conclude with an informal panel discussion around the theme of collaboration.
Agenda:
Session I
Chaired by Caroline Babington, formerly Palace of Westminster
Emily Howe, National Wall Paintings Survey Project
Tracy Manning, Cathedral & Church Buildings Department, Church of England
Sophie Stewart, English Heritage
Mark Perry, Perry Lithgow Partnership
Session II
Chaired by Alixe Bovey, The Courtauld
Kate Giles, Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture, University of York
Tobit Curteis, Tobit Curteis Associates
Lizzie Woolley, Opus Conservation
Stephen Rickerby, Rickerby & Shekede
Session III
Chaired by Jane Spooner, The Courtauld
Miriam Gill, University of Leicester
Andrea Kirkham, Andrea Kirkham Conservation
Florence Eccleston, The Courtauld,
Jane Rutherfoord, Rutherfoord Conservation
Sophie Godfraind, Historic England
Session IV – Chaired by Sarah Pinchin, Icon Stone and Wall Paintings Group /Historic Royal Palaces
Panel to be confirmed including:
Katy Lithgow, Independent Conservator, Former Head Conservator at the National Trust
Peter Martindale, Peter Martindale Conservation
Ruth McNeilage, McNeilage Conservation
Helen Howard, National Gallery, London
Dr. Nigel Walter, Conservation Architect, Archangel