The Holburne Future Collective – our group of young volunteers – are reviewing some of the art books available in our Gift Shop. This month, they look at Art Day by Day: 366 Brushes with History by Alex Johnson. This book gives readers an art history fact for each day of the year, and would be an excellent addition to any art lover’s bookshelf this Christmas!
The perfect gift for those that do not want to read heavy tomes about art history, Art Day by Day relates a different and interesting snapshot from art history for each day of the year, from the burning of the Temple of Artemis by Herostratus in 356BC to the discovery of the statue of Laocoon and his sons in 1506 and the banning of the Frida Kahlo Barbie doll by Mexico in 2018. This book highlights key dates in art histor,y but also picks lesser known events from all continents in the world. Underneath every date one key event is explained, but there are also lists of birthdays, deaths and some other major events such as the creation of buildings and the painting of pieces of art.
In the book, Johnson mainly uses primary sources including journals, newspapers, diaries, letters and various other sources of information. He includes many famed stories from the art world, but also tries to focus on those that are perhaps more obscure, often connecting these to moments from art history that are more well known.
This includes an event which is listed for 16th September: ‘Jane Austen shops for Wedgwood, 1813’. Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra mentions the ailments of her family members, and goes on to mention that they were buying a Wedgwood dinner service for her brother Edward Knight. Wedgwood was a prolific ceramicist and was known throughout Georgian England, and the prominent blue and white jasperware is still well known today as the icon of the Wedgwood pottery factory. Even Austen and her brother were fascinated and wanted to follow the ceramic trends of the day.
Another interesting but crucial event highlighted in the book is the record of John Evelyn visiting one of the first art auctions in the UK in 1693. Here he witnessed the sale of a painting by the Spanish artist Bartolome Murillo, some by Van Dyck and the portrait of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel by Peter Paul Rubens, which is now at the National Gallery. From his diary it does not seem that these paintings were fetching enormous prices because the admiration for art as more than purely decorative had not yet developed. However, the start of these auctions which saw people from all classes including women watching and buying, led to the modern day development of the admiration and sale of art. This has branched out from being small affairs in households of wealthy gentlemen to occurring all over the world, reaching eye-watering prices compared to the £20 which was paid for the portrait of Arundel in 1693.
The events highlighted in this book are “signposts to longer journeys” as Johnson says, encouraging further exploration into the fascinating stories behind art and artists everyday, and would make an excellent addition to any art lover’s bookshelf!
You can buy Art Day by Day: 366 Brushes with History at the Holburne Gift Shop.