''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usua ...

of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

since 1986.

History

The magazine was established in 1903 by a group of art historians and connoisseurs which included Roger Fry, Herbert Horne,

Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...

, and

Charles Holmes Sir Charles John Holmes, KCVO (11 November 1868, Preston, Lancashire – 7 December 1936, Kensington, London) was a British painter, art historian and museum director. His writing on art combined theory with practice, and he was an expert on ...

. Its most esteemed editors have been Roger Fry (1909–1919), Herbert Read (1933–1939), and

Benedict Nicolson Lionel Benedict Nicolson (6 August 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a British art historian and author. Nicolson was the elder son of authors Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West and the brother of writer and politician Nigel. His godmothers ...

(1948–1978). The journal's structure was loosely based on its contemporary British publication '' The Connoisseur'', which was mainly aimed at collectors and had firm connections with the art trade. ''The Burlington Magazine'', however, added to this late Victorian tradition of market-based criticism new elements of historical research inspired by the leading academic German periodicals and thus created a formula that has remained almost intact to date: a combination of archival and formalist object-based art historical research juxtaposed to articles on collectors’ items and private collections, enlivened with notes on current art news, exhibitions and sales. The lavishness of this publication almost immediately created financial troubles and in January 1905 Fry embarked on an American tour to find sponsorship to assure the survival of the journal, which he had quickly recognized as a magazine for the developing study of art history.

Content

From its first editorial, ''The Burlington Magazine'' presented itself as synthesising opposing traditions – historicist versus aestheticism and academic versus commercial – by defining itself an exponent of "Austere Epicureanism". Against the perceived "sameness" of the contemporary art panorama, ''The Burlington Magazine'' was to act as a disinterested guide, directing the public's attention to high-quality art on offer both on the market and on institutional settings and educating its readers on the elevating qualities of ancient art. ''The Burlington Magazine'' editors and contributors were part of the institutional sphere of museums and academia and yet, unlike their German counterparts, they participated in the emerging world of the commercial galleries. The magazine remained independent from any institution and yet it was instrumental in the establishment of academic art history in Britain: its dialectical dynamic between market and institution contributed to the creation of an original and multifaceted publication. ''The Burlington Magazine'' was founded as a journal of ancient art but already in its first decade, especially under the editorship of Fry articles on modern art became prominent. Topics covered in detail were: Paul Cézanne and Post-Impressionism in a debate between Fry and D. S. MacColl, a debate on a bust of Flora ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci and later discovered to be a forgery, and the role of archival research in the art historical reconstruction, with contributions by Herbert Horne and

Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes (1858–1950) was a British art historian, translator, and scholar of Italian Renaissance art. She participated in the adoption of the 'historical standpoint' method of research, a shift in art criticism that emerged in ...

. ''The Burlington Magazine'', especially in its first decades, was also preoccupied with the definition and development of formal analysis and connoisseurship in the visual arts and consistently observed, reviewed and contributed to the body of attributions to various artists, notably

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

, and

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

. The journal had also many notable contributions by visual artists on other artists, notably Walter Sickert on Edgar Degas.

Production

The journal is published monthly, and features a cross-section of writers. The first issues of ''The Burlington Magazine'' were printed on high-quality paper, had a typeface designed by Herbert Horne and were richly illustrated with black and white photographs, many by the arts and crafts photographer

Emery Walker Sir Emery Walker FSA (2 April 1851 – 22 July 1933) was an English engraver, photographer and printer. Walker took an active role in many organisations that were at the heart of the Arts and Crafts movement, including the Art Workers Gu ...

Editors

* Robert Dell: March–December 1903 *

and Robert Dell: January 1904–October 1906 *

: October 1906– September 1909 * Harold Child Assistant Editor with the advice of a Consultative Committee: October and November 1909 * Roger Fry and

Lionel Cust Sir Lionel Henry Cust (25 January 1859 – 12 October 1929) was a British art historian, courtier and museum director. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1895 to 1909 and co-edited ''The Burlington Magazine'' from 1909 to 191 ...

: December 1909–December 1913 * Roger Fry,

, and

More Adey William More Adey, known universally as More Adey (1858 – 29 January 1942), was an English art critic, editor and aesthete. He was a co-editor of ''The Burlington Magazine'', but is perhaps best known for having been a friend and member o ...

: January 1914–May 1919 * John Hope-Johnstone: July 1919–December 1920 * Robert R. Tatlock: Early 1921–1933 * Herbert Read: 1933–1939 * Albert C. Sewter: 1939–40 *

Tancred Borenius Carl Tancred Borenius (14 July 1885, Vyborg – 2 September 1948, Coombe Bisset) was a Finnish art historian working in England, who became the first professor of the history of art at University College London. He was a prolific author, and recog ...

: 1940–1944 * Edith Hoffmann (Assistant Editor who ran the Magazine with advice from Read): 1944–45 *

Ellis Waterhouse Sir Ellis Kirkham Waterhouse (16 February 1905 – 7 September 1985) was an English art historian and museum director who specialised in Roman baroque and English painting. He was Director of the National Galleries of Scotland (1949–52) a ...

acting editor (the magazine was officially without an editor): 1945–1947 *

: 1947–July 1978 * Editorial Board of Directors: August–October 1978 * Terence Hodgkinson: November 1978–August 1981 * Neil MacGregor: September 1981–February 1987 * Caroline Elam: March 1987–July 2002 * Andrew Hopkins: August 2002–December 2002 * Richard Shone and Bart Cornelis (joint editors): January 2003–March 2003 *

Richard Shone Richard Shone (born 1949) is a British art historian and art critic specializing in British modern art, and from 2003–15 was the editor of ''The Burlington Magazine''. Career At age 16, Shone was already well enough connected in the Briti ...

: March 2003–September 2015 * Frances Spalding: September 2015–August 2016 * Jane Martineau: acting editor August 2016 to May 2017 * Michael Hall: May 2017 to present

References

External links

*
Examples of articlesOnline books page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burlington Magazine, The History magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1903 Magazines published in London Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Art history journals