Archives & Library

Archive Collections

The Centre holds and provides access to archive material relating to the study of British art and architectural history. The collections contain the research papers of art historians, museum directors and curators; dealers; art critics, collectors and other individuals working in the field of art history.

Christopher Wright

21 boxes and 16 volumes. This material has now been catalogued. Please search the archive catalogue for full details. (Ref CW)

Black and white photograph of Christopher Wright with large moustache The archive contains research material collected for the compilation of two publications: Old Master paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master paintings executed before c. 1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, by Christopher Wright (1976) and British and Irish paintings in public collections : an index of British and Irish oil paintings by artists born before 1870 in public and institutional collections in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Christopher Wright, Catherine Gordon and Mary Peskett Smith (2006).

The archive, which mainly relates to the latter publication, comprises listings of paintings in public collections which were collected 1971–2006. These include manuscript and typescript lists, many of which are unpublished, letters, notes, copies of published catalogues, some of which are out of print, and computer print-outs of collection catalogues. These are interspersed with letters and notes about collections. The material collated in the early part of the project has been bound into 16 volumes.

Christopher Wright (b.1945) is an art historian, artist and curator who specializes in 17th century Dutch and French painting. He has published widely, especially French and Netherlandish Art, but also including a huge number of art reference books.