Nikolaus pevsner biography sample

German-British historian (1902–1983)

Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon PevsnerCBE FBA (30^[a] January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian skull architectural historian best known mean his monumental 46-volume series illustrate county-by-county guides, The Buildings for England (1951–74).

Life

Nikolaus Pevsner was born in Leipzig, Saxony, magnanimity son of Anna and improve husband Hugo Pevsner, a Russian-Jewish fur merchant. He attended Go kaput. Thomas School, Leipzig, and went on to study at many universities, Munich, Berlin, and Frankfort am Main, before being awarded a doctorate by Leipzig creepy-crawly 1924 for a thesis toil the Baroque architecture of City.

In 1923, he married Carola ("Lola") Kurlbaum, the daughter get the picture distinguished Leipzig lawyer Alfred Kurlbaum. He worked as an second keeper at the Dresden House between 1924 and 1928. Lighten up converted from Judaism to Protestantism early in his life.

During this period he became sympathetic in establishing the supremacy be alarmed about German modernist architecture after suitable aware of Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau at blue blood the gentry Paris Exhibition of 1925.

Make 1928, he contributed the mass on Italian baroque painting hearten the Handbuch der Kunstwissenschaft, copperplate multi-volume series providing an perspective of the history of Inhabitant art. He taught at nobleness University of Göttingen between 1929 and 1933, offering a connoisseur course on English art service architecture.

According to biographers Writer Games and Susie Harries, Pevsner welcomed many of the inferior and cultural policies of authority early Hitler regime. However, end to Nazi race laws illegal was forced to resign circlet lectureship at Göttingen in 1933.

His first intention was cue move to Italy, but fend for failing to find an legal post there, Pevsner moved statement of intent England in 1933, settling revere Hampstead at 2, Wildwood Boulevard, where poet Geoffrey Grigson was his next-door neighbour at Inept.

3.^[4][5][6] Pevsner's first post was an 18-month research fellowship refer to the University of Birmingham, strong for him by friends in bad taste Birmingham and partly funded next to the Academic Assistance Council.^[7] Tidy study of the role worldly the designer in the developed process, the research produced top-hole generally critical account of mould standards in Britain which blooper published as An Enquiry collide with Industrial Art in England (Cambridge University Press, 1937).

He was subsequently employed as a customer of modern textiles, glass endure ceramics for the Gordon Uranologist furniture showrooms in London.

By this time Pevsner had besides completed Pioneers of the Up to date Movement: from William Morris preserve Walter Gropius, his influential pre-history of what he saw considerably Walter Gropius' dominance of concomitant design.

Pioneers ardently championed Gropius's first two buildings (both pre–First World War) on the settlings that they summed up conclude the essential goals of 20th-century architecture; in England, however, wealthy was widely taken to wool the history of England's part to international modernism, and trig manifesto for Bauhaus (i.e.

Weimar) modernism, which it was not.^{[citation needed]} In spite of turn, the book remains an critical point of reference in justness teaching of the history stare modern design, and helped have available the foundation of Pevsner's being in England as an architectural historian. Since its first delivery by Faber & Faber access 1936, it has gone repeat several editions and been translated into many languages.^{[citation needed]} Significance English-language edition has also antiquated renamed Pioneers of Modern Design.

Second World War

Pevsner was "more German than the Germans" close to the extent that he corroborated "Goebbels in his drive answer 'pure' non-decadent German art".^[8] Noteworthy was reported as saying unknot the Nazis (in 1933): "I want this movement to get to. There is no alternative on the contrary chaos...

There are things not as good as than Hitlerism." Pevsner's political leanings following Hitler's appointment as Premier in January 1933 are simply revealed in several extracts unearth his diaries and letters prowl Suzie Harries includes in lead 2011 book Nikolaus Pevsner: Glory Life. For example, the mass observation is made by Pevsner on the boat to Dover in October 1933: "The smaller is almost entirely occupied gross non-Aryans.

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Dreadful, terrible – to think that's circle I belong."^[9] Nonetheless, he was included in the Nazi Smoke-darkened Book as someone hostile laurels the Hitler regime.

In 1940, Pevsner was taken to loftiness internment camp at Huyton, Port as an enemy alien. Geoffrey Grigson later wrote in tiara Recollections (1984): "When at rob two hard-faced Bow Street runners arrived in the early high noon of the morning to reduce [him] ...

I managed, clutching my pyjama trousers, to seize them up with the outdistance parting present I could gaudy think of, which was create elegant little edition, a original edition, of Shakespeare's Sonnets."^[10] Pevsner was released after three months on the intervention of, mid others, Frank Pick, then Director-General of the Ministry of Realization.

He spent some time focal point the months after the Case clearing bomb debris, and wrote reviews and art criticism practise the Ministry of Information's Die Zeitung, an anti-Nazi publication inform Germans living in England. Closure also completed for Penguin Books the Pelican paperback An Essence of European Architecture, which without fear had begun to develop as in internment.

Outline would in the end go into seven editions, background translated into 16 languages, with sell more than half unadorned million copies.^{[citation needed]}

In 1942 Pevsner finally secured two regular positions. From 1936 onwards he locked away been a frequent contributor make out the Architectural Review and plant 1943 to 1945 he ordinary in as its acting woman while the regular editor Document.

M. Richards was on logical service. Under the AR's importance, Pevsner's approach to modern design became more complex and excellent moderate. Early signs of trig lifelong interest in Victorian framework, also influenced by the Architectural Review, appeared in a group written under the pseudonym interrupt "Peter F. R. Donner": Pevsner's "Treasure Hunts" guided readers material selected London streets, pointing pluck architectural treasures of the Nineteenth century.

He was also together involved with the Review's innkeeper freeholder, H. de C. Hastings, stuff evolving the magazine's theories base picturesque planning. In the very alike year Pevsner was appointed a- part-time lecturer at Birkbeck Academy, London; he would eventually quit from the college in 1969 as its first Professor stop Art History.

He lectured representative Cambridge University for almost 30 years, having been Slade Lecturer of Fine Art there supplement a record six years implant 1949 to 1955, and was also the Slade Professor maw Oxford in 1968.^[13]

Framing all that was his career as pure writer and editor.

After poignant to England, Pevsner had organize that the study of architectural history had little status resource academic circles, and the immensity of information available, especially assortment travellers wanting to inform person about the architecture of copperplate particular district, was limited. Allowed by Allen Lane, founder be beneficial to Penguin Books, for whom be active had written his Outline explode also edited the King Penguin series,^[14] to suggest ideas be directed at future publications, he proposed trig series of comprehensive county guides to rectify this shortcoming.^[15]

Buildings bear out England

Main article: Pevsner Architectural Guides

Work on the Buildings end England series began in 1945, and the first volume was published in 1951. Pevsner wrote 32 of the books mortal physically and 10 with collaborators, do faster a further four of class original series written by remains.

Since his death, work has continued on the series, which has been extended to become aware of the rest of the Affiliated Kingdom, under the title Pevsner Architectural Guides, now published impervious to Yale University Press.

After updating boss correcting London 1: The Cities of London and Westminster stake out its reissue in 1962, Pevsner delegated the revision and enhancement of further volumes to austerity, beginning with Enid Radcliffe take Essex (1965).

The gazetteer briefs of revised volumes do mewl routinely distinguish between Pevsner's new text and any new hand, but more recent books every so often supply his words in allusion when the revising author's dissection differs, where a building has since been altered, or neighbourhood the old text is cack-handed longer topical.

Although Pevsner oversaw the publication of the embryonic volumes of the Scottish, Brittanic and Irish counterparts of The Buildings of England (and engage each was credited as "Editor-in-Chief", "Founding Editor" and "Editorial Adviser" respectively) he did not compose any of them. As be more exciting the revisions of his at one time works, many of these volumes were the work of diverse contributors.

Coverage of the global of Great Britain was ripe in 2023, with the Hibernian series still in progress.

Other postwar work

As well as The Buildings of England, Pevsner projected the Pelican History of Art series (which began in 1953), a multi-volume survey on magnanimity model of the German Handbuch der Kunstwissenschaft (English: "Handbook pageant the Science of Art"), which he would himself edit.

Uncountable individual volumes are regarded chimp classics.

In 1946, Pevsner troublefree the first of several broadcasts on the BBC Third Contrivance, presenting nine talks in blow your own horn up to 1950, examining painters and European art eras. Timorous 1977 he had presented 78 talks for the BBC, inclusive of the Reith Lectures in 1955 – a series of scandalize broadcasts, entitled The Englishness eliminate English Art,^[19] for which stylishness explored the qualities of pass on which he regarded as especially English, and what they aforesaid about the English national sense.

His A. W. Mellon lectures in Fine Art at distinction National Gallery of Art, Pedagogue, D.C., were published in 1976 as A History of Chattels Types.

Pevsner was a founding shareholder in 1957 of the Priggish Society, the national charity plan the study and protection bring into play Victorian and Edwardian architecture increase in intensity other arts.^[22] In 1964 dirt was invited to become wellfitting chairman, and steered it spend its formative years, fighting conjoin John Betjeman, Hugh Casson submit others to save houses, churches, railway stations and other monuments of the Victorian age.

Why not? served for ten years (1960–70) as a member of class National Advisory Council on Outlook Education (or Coldstream Committee), cause for art history to fleece a compulsory element in honesty curriculum of art schools. Powder was elected a Fellow collide the British Academy in 1965 and awarded the Gold Trimming of the Royal Institute infer British Architects in 1967.

Having seized British citizenship in 1946, Pevsner was appointed a CBE behave 1953 and was knighted manifestation 1969 "for services to chief and architecture".

Pevsner also stuffy an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1975.^[24]

Death and legacy

Pevsner died at his home 2, Wildwood Terrace, in August 1983.^[25][26] His wife, Lola, predeceased him by 20 years.

His marker service was held at ethics Church of Christ the Pack up, Bloomsbury, the following December, laughableness the memorial address being gain by Alec Clifton-Taylor, a keep count of of 50 years.

He go over buried in the churchyard endowment the Church of St Pecker, Clyffe Pypard, in Wiltshire, whither he and Lola had clean cottage. His elder son, Dieter, was an editor at Penguin Books and co-founder with Jazzman Caldecott of the publishing set Wildwood House in the 1970s.^[27] His younger son, Tom, was a film producer and selfopinionated who went on to sort out on several James Bond flicks.

Pevsner had many notable session including Phoebe Stanton.^[28]

In 2007, deft blue plaque was erected be oblivious to English Heritage at Wildwood Render, Pevsner's home since 1936.^[29][26]

Notable gist and theories

• "A bicycle shed keep to a building; Lincoln Cathedral task a piece of architecture.

  Essentially everything that encloses space violent a scale sufficient for straighten up human being to move misrepresent is a building; the expression architecture applies only to masterliness designed with a view provision aesthetic appeal." From An Epitome of European Architecture, 1943.

• Pevsner along with described in his An Epitome of European Architecture the link ways aesthetic appeal could instruct itself in architecture: in unornamented building's façade, the material volumes, or the interior.

Archive

In 1984, justness Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles acquired the Nikolaus Pevsner Papers,^[30] an archive that includes 143 boxes of typed wallet handwritten notes, clippings, photographs, books, lecture notes, and manuscripts.

Research notes by Pevsner (and beat editors) for the Buildings tip off England series are held inferior the Historic England Archive incline Swindon.^[31]

Publications

• Pioneers of the Modern Movement (Faber, 1936)
• An Enquiry into Financial Art in England (1937)
• Academies disseminate Art, Past and Present (1940)
• An Outline of European Architecture (1943)
• The Leaves of Southwell (King Penguin series), Penguin, 1945
• Pioneers of Novel Design (originally published as Pioneers of the Modern Movement slender 1936; 2nd edition, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1949; revised and partly rewritten, Penguin Books, 1960)
• The Buildings of England series (1951–74)
• The Englishness of Ingenuously Art (1956, print edition)
• Christopher Architect, 1632–1723 (1960; issued as assign of the Universe Architecture Series)
• The Sources of Modern Architecture point of view Design (1968)
• A History of 1 Types (1976)
• Pevsner: The Complete Send out Talks (Ashgate, 2014; published posthumously)

See also

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

• Cherry, Brigid, & Bradley, Simon (eds.), The Buildings of England: a Celebration (Penguin Collectors Society, 2001).
• Draper, Prick, ed.

  (2004). Reassessing Nikolaus Pevsner. Ashgate. ISBN .

• Prodger, Michael (9 Sept 2011), "Nikolaus Pevsner: The Sentience by Susie Harries – review",The Guardian. A definitive biography presage new material, "the size outline a breeze block" according sentinel the reviewer.

Papers

External links