The British collector William Beckford helped to define many of the most significant parameters of nineteenth-century collecting, as he was unbound by conventional intellectual or aesthetic prejudice. He was among the first of the great connoisseurs to collect Asian and Islamic art while breaking with the taste of his contemporaries. He assembled an eclectic and luxurious collection that included ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art, as well as seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and early-nineteenth-century objects. His active participation in the design of various objects reveals a discriminating aesthetic sensibility that set him apart from his contemporaries. His influence also extended beyond his day: generations of renowned private collectors in Great Britain, on the Continent, and in the United States have reflected his interest in the art of many cultures and periods. This magnificent book describes Beckford's flamboyant personality and unconventional life. Authorities tell us that at an early age, Beckford was known as "England's wealthiest son", due to a prodigal income generated from Jamaican sugar plantations. As a youth, he travelled widely and made his mark as a novelist, composer of music, and impresario of design. His most ambitious project was his fantastic residence Fonthill Abbey; the construction and furnishing of this Gothic Revival edifice consumed nearly twenty-five years of Beckford's life and vast amounts of his fortune, branding him with a reputation as a recluse and eccentric. In addition to providing details about Beckford's life, the book discusses 175 of the finest works of art that once were part of Beckford's legendary collections and examines his travels and great building projects. This richly illustrated book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture from October 2001 to January 2002 and at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, from February to April 2002.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The title truly describes this historical and scholarly work on a notable British collector extraordinaire. William Beckford had the advantage of wealth, social status, and privilege, and he used these assets to acquire one of the most distinctive 19th-century decorative arts collections of his time, including not only European works but those of Asian and Islamic cultures spanning several centuries. The first portion of this outstanding catalog for an exhibition at Bard, which will travel to London this year, briefly discusses Beckford's life but concentrates on his collections and insight as a discriminating collector. The last portion contains the exhibition catalog of 160 objets d'art arranged not chronologically but by significant aspects of his life. Ostergard (director, Bard Graduate Ctr. for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture) dramatically enhances the text with the excellent use of historical drawings and sketches. The exhibition items reveal Beckford's varied interests in architecture, design, and the decorative arts through fine examples of furniture, metalwork, porcelain, and rare lacquer objects. The entire volume is well documented through detailed chapter endnotes, source notes, and a bibliography. Highly recommended for collections focusing on the decorative arts and design. Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Libs., Johnson City
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
A scholarly saga of Beckford as collector, designer and builder. . .experts provide new research and fascinating detail. . . -- Linda Hales, Washington Post Book World
[E]xcellent use of historical drawings and sketches. . . Highly recommended for collections focusing on the decorative arts and design. -- Library Journal
[E]xcellent use of historical drawings and sketches. . . Highly recommended for collections focusing on the decorative arts and design. -- Library Journal
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