The Art Journal
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- For the College Art Association publication see Art Journal (CAA)
| The Art Journal | |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Victorian art |
| Language | English |
| Publication details | |
| Publisher | Hodgson & Graves; Samuel Carter Hall; George Virtue (UK) |
| Publication history | Art Union, 1839 — 1849 Art Journal, 1849 — 1912 |
The Art Journal, published in London, was the most important Victorian journal on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall with the title the Art Union Monthly Journal, the first issue, 750 copies, appearing 15 February 1839.
Hodgson & Graves hired Samuel Carter Hall as editor, assisted by James Dafforne. Hall soon became principal proprietor, but, unable to turn a profit on his own, the London publisher George Virtue purchased into Hall's Art Union Monthly Journal in 1848, retaining Hall as editor. Virtue renamed the periodical The Art Journal in 1849.[1]
In 1851, Hall's engravings, 150 pictures from the private collection of the Queen and Prince Albert, were featured in The Art Journal as the "Great Exhibition of 1951". Though this feature was popular, the publication remained unprofitable, forcing Hall to sell off his share of the journal to Virtue, while staying on as editor. In 1852, the journal finally turned a profit.[2][1]
As editor, Hall exposed the profits that custom-houses were earning by importing old masters, and showed how paintings are manufactured in England. Simultaneously, The Art Journal became notable for its honest portrayal of fine arts, but its opposition to fake and misattributed Old Masters, such as a Raphael or a Titian, affected the market in such works adversely.
The early issues of the Journal strongly supported the artists of The Clique and after 1850 it became associated with opposition to the emerging Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), which Hall considered to be a reactionary movement. Its articles attacked the PRB and its supporter John Ruskin. The most notable essayists included: R. N. Wornum, Thomas Wright, F. W. Fairholt, Edward Lewes Cutts, and Llewellynn Jewitt. [2][3]
After Hall's retirement in 1880, the journal changed its position, faced with strong competition from the Magazine of Art and the changing public taste influenced by Impressionism. However, it was unable to retain its position and ceased publication in 1912.
The publication has been referred to, at various times, as London Art Journal and Art-journal.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Original Drawings by W.H. Bartlett. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b Stephen, Leslie (1890). Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, & Co. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- ^ Landow, George P. (July 1999). The Art-Journal, 1850-1880: Antiquarians, the Medieval Revival, and The Reception of Pre-Raphaelitism. "This article originally appeared in The Pre-Raphaelite Review 2 (1979), 71-76.". victorianweb.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
