Modern Art and Publishing between 1935 and 1955

In autumn 2019, the Paul Mellon Centre will display highlights from the very large collection of books and exhibition catalogues that was generously donated by Peter and Renate Nahum. This gift was transformative for the Paul Mellon Centre’s library collection, considerably enhancing our holdings on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British art. The donation comprises thousands of books, exhibition catalogues and journals. Contained within the Peter & Renate Nahum Gift are some of the most significant modernist periodicals and publications of this period – Unit One, Axis and the London Bulletin.

This workshop will gather together experts on art publishing and the art world in early twentieth-century Britain, and also explore highlights from the Peter & Renate Nahum collection in more depth.

Programme

10.30–11.00: Coffee and registration

11.00–11.30: Welcome and introduction by Sarah Victoria Turner (Paul Mellon Centre)

Landscapes of art publishing: chaired by Mark Hallett (Paul Mellon Centre)

11.30–11.50: Valerie Holman (Independent) ‘Art Publishing: a changing landscape?’

11.50–12.10: Anna Nyburg (Imperial College, London) ‘Émigrés in Art Publishing’

12.10–12.45: Discussion

12.45–1.45: Lunch & time to view “Modern Art and Publishing between 1935 and 1955: The Peter & Renate Nahum Gift”

Journal cultures: chaired by Rachel Rose Smith (Independent)

1.45–2.10: Chris Mourant (University of Birmingham) ‘"No crystallised opinion": British Periodicals and Modern Art Before 1914'

2.10–2.30: Caroline Maclean (Independent) ‘“A circus rider with his feet planted astride two horses”. The battle between abstraction and surrealism in Unit One and Axis.’

2.30–2.50: Clare Nadal (University of Huddersfield/The Hepworth Wakefield) 'Barbara Hepworth in British Journal and Print Culture, 1935-1950'

2.50–3.30: Discussion

3.30–4.00: Tea

Making and breaking formats: chaired by Tom Powell (Paul Mellon Centre)

4.00–4.20: Lucy Myers (Lund Humphries) ‘Promoting Modern Art and Design: The Development of Lund Humphries’ Post-War Publishing on Contemporary Artists’

4.20–4.40: Alan Powers (University of Kent/London School of Architecture) ‘Cropping and Bleeding: Modernism and tradition in book and magazine design’

4.40–5.10: Discussion

5.10–5.40: A chance to look at more material from the Nahum donation in conversation with Peter Nahum

5.40-6.20: Drinks