Internationalism and the Arts – serie

«Samuel Shaw’s engaging new book on William Rothenstein takes a figure who has frequently made a fleeting appearance in texts on twentieth-century British art and puts him centre stage. Informed by rigorous research in archives and private collections in Europe and the United States, Shaw’s discussion of Rothenstein’s work as an artist, campaigner, educator and organiser will be of interest to anyone seeking out more complex cultural histories of this period. Shaw’s narrative is an impressive balance of detailed discussion about an individual’s career and a larger argument about the tensions between the nationalism and cosmopolitanism that shaped the early twentieth-century art world.»(Sarah Victoria Turner, Director of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) «In this superbly well-researched book, Samuel Shaw argues convincingly that a commitment to British identity, including the experience of British Jews, is in no way at odds with a cosmopolitan openness to artistic activity across the whole of Europe, Asia and beyond. This will be the standard work on Rothenstein in his time for years to come and required reading for anyone interested in the international artworld of the period.»(Elizabeth Prettejohn, Professor of History of Art, University of York) The artist, writer and teacher William Rothenstein (1872–1945) was a significant figure in the British art world of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was a conspicuously cosmopolitan character: born to a German-Jewish family in the north of England, he attended art school in Paris, wrote the first English monograph on the Spanish artist Goya, and became a prominent collector and supporter of Indian art. However, Rothenstein’s cosmopolitanism was a complex affair. His relationship with his English, European and Jewish identities was ever-changing, responding to wider shifts on the political and cultural stage. This book traces those changes through the artist’s writings and through his art, analysing a range of paintings, drawings and prints created from the 1890s into the 1930s. This book – the first in-depth study of Rothenstein’s art – draws on extensive archival material to situate his practice within broader debates regarding transnational exchange and the development of modern art in Britain.

«Nordic Design in Translation: The Circulation of Objects, Ideas and Practices is an exciting and necessary addition to the discourse on material culture, bringing together fresh approaches to the transnational character of Nordic design. The contributors take the reader outside the established frameworks of national, institutional and disciplinary boundaries and offer us a way to think about the circulation of objects, ideas and practices and their interconnection with wider influences and cultural contexts.»(Professor Juliette MacDonald, Chair of Craft History and Theory, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh)«With the ambition to go underneath the veneer of "Scandinavian Design", this volume offers original perspectives on artistic and cultural transfer. Case studies spanning the twentieth century challenge canonical trajectories of unidirectional influence and demonstrate how design and its ideas translate across nations. It is a vital contribution to contemporary scholarship and an inspiring read for everyone interested in design history in the Nordic region and beyond.»(Christina Pech, Senior Lecturer, History of Art, University of Oslo)«Scandinavian Design» as a myth, a brand and a shorthand for a range of design ideas has proved an enduring and adaptable construct. Its export around the world has ensured that it has touched and transformed design cultures from Europe to Australia. At the same time, the Nordic design it draws on has been shaped and reshaped by influences from beyond the Nordic countries and by reflection on its own global success. This collection of essays considers Nordic design from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day within transnational dynamics of cultural interaction, circulations and cross-border flows that highlight exchange and reciprocity. Engaging with a range of Nordic and Nordic-inspired material objects, techniques, practices and concepts, the essays assess both the impact they have had on new cultural contexts and the ways they themselves have been fashioned and refashioned in response to foreign influences. Open Access Chapter 2 is available here.

Views of Albion is the first comprehensive study of the reception of British art and design in Central Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. The author proposes a new map of European Art Nouveau, where direct contacts between peripheral cultures were more significant than the influence of Paris. These new patterns of artistic exchange, often without historic precedence, gave art during this period its unique character and dynamism.Beginning with an analysis of the concept of Central Europe, the book examines knowledge about British art and design in the region. In subsequent chapters the author looks at the reception of the Pre-Raphaelites in painting and graphic arts as well as analysing diverse responses to the Arts and Crafts Movement in Germany, Austria, Poland, Bohemia, Slovakia, Hungary and Southern Slavic countries. The epilogue reveals the British interest in Central Europe, echoed in the designs Walter Crane, Charles Robert Ashbee and publications of The Studio.The book questions the insularity of British culture and offers new insights into art and design of Central Europe at the fin de siècle. It presents the region as a vital part of the international Art Nouveau, but also shows its specific features, visible in the works of artists such as Alfons Mucha, Gustav Klimt and Stanisław Wyspiański.