Algernon Graves (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

1845–1922

) was a British art historian and art dealer, who specialised in the documentation of the exhibition and sale of works of art. He created reference sources that began the modern discipline of

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

research.

Early life

Algernon Graves was born in Pall Mall,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, the son of Henry Graves (1806–1892) a publisher of prints, and Mary Squire (d. 1871). Graves studied German in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, before working for his father's company Henry Graves & Co., researching for catalogues that the company published.

Career

During a period of recovery following an injury, Graves had the idea of creating a catalog of art that was exhibited in London, from his extensive lists of artists and their works that he had compiled while working on other projects. In 1884 he published the first edition of his idea, entitled "A Dictionary of Artists who have Exhibited Works in the Principal London Exhibitions from 1760 to 1880". A second edition followed in 1885 and a third in 1901. In 1899, Graves and William V. Cronin issued the first volume of their work on Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, which they sold by subscription. In 1900, a book on Sir

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

Lord Ronald Gower Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (2 August 1845 – 9 March 1916), was a British sculptor, best known for his statue of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. He also wrote biographies of Marie Antoinette and Joan of Arc, as well as s ...

included a catalogue by Graves. When his father Henry died in 1892, Algernon took over the running of Henry Graves & Company, where he worked until he retired in 1907.

Personal life

Graves married the daughter of an art dealer,

John Clowes Grundy John Clowes Grundy (1806–1867) was an English printseller and art patron. Life Born at Bolton, Lancashire, on 3 August 1806, he was the eldest son of John Grundy, a cotton-spinner there and Elizabeth Leeming, his wife. He was first apprenticed ...

from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England and they had a son,

Herbert Seymour Graves Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

, who later assisted Graves with later editions of the ''Dictionary of Artists'' series. His son died in 1898. Graves remarried in 1919 to Madeline Lilian Sophia Wakeling Walker.

Later life

Graves died in Marylebone, in 1922 and is buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

, London.

Publications

*
''Volume 1: Abbayne to Carrington''''Vol. II Carroll to Dyer''''Vol. III Eadie to Harraden''''Vol. IV Harral to Lawranson''''Vol. V Lawrence to Nye''''Vol. VI Oakes to Rymsdyk''''Vol. VII Sacco to Tofano''''Vol. VIII Toft to Zwecker''
* * "British Institution, 1806–1867" (1908) * "Summary of and Index to Waagen" (1912) * "A Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813–1912" (1913) * "Art Sales from Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the Twentieth Century" (1918 to 1921)

References

Algernon Graves

External links

The Royal Academy of Arts; a complete dictionary of contributors and their works from its foundation in 1769 to 1904, by Algernon Graves, hathitrust.org
* * 1845 births 1922 deaths Burials at Brompton Cemetery People from the City of Westminster English art historians {{UK-art-historian-stub