Victoria Harriet Lucy Bridgeman, Viscountess Bridgeman (née Turton; born 1942) is the founder of the

Bridgeman Art Library The Bridgeman Art Library, based in London, Paris, New York and Berlin, provides one of the largest archives for reproductions of works of art in the world. Founded in 1972 by Harriet Bridgeman, the Bridgeman Art Library cooperates with many a ...

, a for-profit company that provides a large collection of fine art images and the Artists' Collecting Society, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company dedicated to the collection of the Artists’ Resale Right (''

Droit de Suite ''Droit de suite'' ( French for "right to follow") or Artist's Resale Right (ARR) is a right granted to artists or their heirs, in some jurisdictions, to receive a fee on the resale of their works of art. This should be contrasted with policies such ...

'') and copyright on behalf of artists and artists’ estates in both the UK and the EEA.

Early life and education

Born to Ralph Meredyth Turton and Mary Blanche Chetwynd-Stapylton in

County Durham, England County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, she is one of four daughters. Throughout her early youth, she was educated at home by a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, under the Parents' National Educational Union System. She then attended St Mary's School in

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree. After graduating in 1964, she worked as an editorial trainee with '' The Lady'' magazine. Continuing with her passion for writing, in 1965, she was appointed Executive Editor for a weekly monograph called ''The Masters.'' Following this, she conceived, edited and produced another weekly magazine, ''Discovering Antiques'', for which she formed her own production company, Harriet Bridgeman Ltd. The many books written, edited, and co-authored by her include ''The Encyclopaedia of Victoriana'' and ''The British Eccentric''. In 1966, she married Robin Bridgeman, the third

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

of that name, producing a family of four sons, including

Luke Bridgeman Viscount Bridgeman, of Leigh in the County of Shropshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the Conservative politician William Bridgeman, who had previously served as Home Secretary and First Lord of ...

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the patrilineal title.

Bridgeman Library

During her time as an editor and author, Bridgeman discovered the need for easier access to illustrations of works of art. There was no central and convenient way to obtain colour transparencies or black-and-white prints other than by going from museum to museum. The concept of the Bridgeman Art Library emerged in 1972 and developed to allow users to access thousands of images at the same time providing extra income for the museums, collections, artists and institutions which it represents. The library now has offices in

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Lady Bridgeman continues to travel internationally in order to support the development of collections and the access to arts generally. In addition to running the Library, Bridgeman was a founder member of BAPLA

British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies BAPLA is the trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An ...

and has chaired their executive committee with special responsibility for copyright. She compiled their first publication on the standardisation of terms in use in the picture industry. She also represents The Artists' Collecting Society CIC on th
British Copyright Council
(BCC), was a Trustee of the British Sporting Art Trust and the Imperial College Healthcare Charity, and is a member of th

(IPAC) and a Director of th
International Catalogue Raisonné Association
(ICRA). She also sits on the council of th
Artists' General Benevolence Institution
and is a patron o
Prisoners Abroad

Awards

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

In 1997, Bridgeman was awarded the European Women of Achievement Award in the Arts. The award was given in recognition of the Bridgeman Art Library's promotion of European culture and the European scope of its clients, collections and research. In 2005, she was voted the International Business Woman of the Year by the judges of the International Business Awards. She has been given funding for three research projects within the arts by the European Union. In 2006, she founded a Community Interest Company, the Artists' Collecting Society to collect Artists’ Resale Right (''

'') on behalf of UK and EEA artists which includes, amongst its many members,

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (born 29 April 1931) is a German-British painter. Born in Germany, he has been a naturalised British subject since 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of London, with fellow artists Francis Bacon ...

and Flora Yukhnovich and the estates of

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

, and

Paula Rego Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game ''EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a si ...

. Lady Bridgeman was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for her "services to art".

References

Sources

External links

Q&A with Harriet Bridgeman
Art of England, July 2012 (copy at bridgemanimages.com) * Catherine Gaffney
Picture perfect: a profile of Lady Harriet Bridgeman

Trinity News ''Trinity News'' is Ireland's oldest student newspaper, published from Trinity College Dublin. It is an independent newspaper, funded by Trinity Publications, which reports on the news and views of the students and staff of Dublin University, a ...

, 22 October 2010
www.debretts.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeman, Harriet Bridgeman, Viscountess 1942 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Harriet English art historians English editors English women non-fiction writers British viscountesses People educated at St Mary’s School, Wantage People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from County Durham British Eurosceptics Women art historians British women historians