Correspondence: organisations and institutions

Description

This series contains correspondence and associated material chiefly addressed to Herbert Read from 170 organisations and institutions with some letters, carbon copies and manuscript drafts by Read. Carbon copies of Read’s responses were often typed onto the verso of correspondence he received.


Read was a prolific correspondent and founder or member of many organisations, and the material in this series conveys the diversity of his interests and contacts as well as his international reach.


Correspondence included in this series follows Read’s career milestones, from his joining of the Civil Service in 1919, to his post as Curator in the Department of Ceramics and Glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1922, to taking up the Watson-Gordon Professorship in Fine Art at Edinburgh University from 1931 – 1933. Read was the first Director of the Design Research Unit (DRU) from 1943, the President of the Society of Education through Art from 1946 until his death in 1968 and co-founded the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) alongside Roland Penrose in 1947 and the British Society of Aesthetics in 1960. Files also reveal the strength of Read’s involvement in various political organisations including the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Committee of 100. Letters between Read, Bertrand Russell and Graham Greene discuss their proposed resignation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in protest of the Vietnam War in
the late 1960s.


Much of the correspondence in this series is from the 1950s and 1960s. In the post-war period Read championed the work of Yorkshire-born artists including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Kenneth Armitage, illuminated by such files including the British Council and the Gregory Trust. Read was on the Fine Arts Committee for the British Council-owned British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and was instrumental in establishing the Gregory Fellowships at the University of Leeds (alongside E. C. Gregory, T. S. Eliot, Henry Moore and Bonamy Dobrée) in the 1950s. The latter file includes correspondence to Read from Dobrée, Hepworth and Quentin Bell, amongst others. Read was also a friend and advisor to collector Peggy Guggenheim, and the Tate Gallery file (Read was a Trustee of the Tate Gallery from 1965 until his death in 1968) includes correspondence between Read, Guggenheim and the Tate Gallery regarding the potential bequeathment of her collection.


The carbon copy responses of Read offer an insight into his professional life and offer his critiques of contemporary art and literature, alongside details of his current projects. They also allude to his work rate – (most letters are answered within several days), the breadth of his presence on various committees and his generosity: replies to unsolicited letters often include detailed responses to questions.

Access and usage

Access

Access to this collection is protected under the Data Protection Act. You will need to complete a data protection access form and return it to Special Collections for review by staff before access can be granted

Related subjects / tags

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