Julian Spalding (born 15 June 1947 in

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) is an English

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

, writer, broadcaster and a former

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. Considered to be a controversial maverick and outspoken critic of the art world, he has frequently contributed to arts, news and current affairs programmes on radio and TV. Spalding grew up on a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

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, South London. His upbringing there played an important part in shaping his subsequent outlook, particularly with regard to understanding how social inequality and cultural deprivation have a negative impact on people's lives. He studied

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

and art at Nottingham Art College, and after a brief spell as an artist and designer he chose to work in museums and galleries. Spalding started as an art assistant at museums in Leicester and Durham before becoming director of galleries for Sheffield, and then

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 ...

. In 1989 he was appointed director of Glasgow Museums, responsible for the largest collection managed by a local authority and

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...

. During his career as a curator he established several award-winning, innovative galleries and museum services, including the

Ruskin Gallery The Ruskin Gallery is a gallery within the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield, England. It houses a collection of minerals, paintings, ornithological prints, drawings, manuscripts and architectural plaster casts assembled by John Ruskin. It first ...

in Sheffield; the

St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art is a museum of religion in Glasgow, Scotland. It has been described as the only public museum in the world devoted solely to this subject, although other notable museums of this kind are the State Mu ...

and The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow; and the Open Museum. In 2000, he also instigated the now international

Campaign for Drawing The Big Draw, formerly the Campaign for Drawing, is a British registered charity that promotes drawing and visual literacy. It was founded in 2000 by the Guild of St George, and is now an independent charity. The Big Draw believes that drawing i ...

. In 1999, he was awarded the Lord Provost's Prize for Services to the Visual Arts in Glasgow for his directorship of Glasgow Art Galleries and Museums, although his curatorial career was cut short the same year when his post, along with others, was abolished by Glasgow City Council. Spalding subsequently spoke internationally and advised museums and galleries about new and innovative approaches, later outlined as what he describes as a practical philosophy in his 2002 book ''The Poetic Museum''. He is also a Companion of the

Guild of St George The Guild of St George is a charitable Education Trust, based in England but with a worldwide membership, which tries to uphold the values and put into practice the ideas of its founder, John Ruskin (1819–1900). History Ruskin, a Victorian ...

, and served as Master from 1996 to 2005. Since 2001, he has concentrated chiefly on his writing, winning the Banister Fletcher Prize in 2006 for his book ''The Art of Wonder''.

Bibliography

* "Realisation - from Seeing to Understanding - the Origin of Art' (2015) * "Summers of Discontent - the purpose of the arts today" by Raymond Tallis, with Julian Spalding (2014) * ''Con Art: Why you ought to sell your Damien Hirsts while you can, mazon/Kindle(2012) * ''Nothing On, mazon/Kindle(2012) * ''The Best Art You've Never Seen: 101 Hidden Treasures from around the World'',

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

(2010) * ''The Art of Wonder : A History of Seeing'', Prestel (2005) * ''Contemplating the Reflection of the Moon in a Pool : Musing on museums of the future'', Netherlands Museums Association, Amsterdam (2004) * ''The Eclipse of Art: Tackling the Crisis in Art Today'' Prestel (2003) * ''The Poetic Museum: Reviving Historic Collections'', Prestel (2002) * ''Gallery of Modern Art Glasgow: The First Years'', Scala Books (1996) * ''Happy Days'', ''

Beryl Cook Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 192628 May 2008) was a British artist best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings. Often comical, her works pictured people whom she encountered in everyday life, including people enjoying th ...

'' (Introduction), Victor Gollancz (1995) * ''Is There Life in Museums?'', W H Smith Contemporary Papers (1990) * ''Lowry: The Paintings and Drawings'', The Herbert Press in association with the South Bank Board (1987) * ''The Art of Watercolour Painting'', Manchester City Art Galleries (1987) * ''Modern Art in the Collections of Manchester City Art Galleries'', Manchester City Art Galleries (1986) * ''Three Little Books on Painting: 1. Light'',

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

(1984) * ''Three Little Books on Painting: 2. Movement'',

(1984) * ''Three Little Books on Painting: 3. Image'',

(1984) * ''George Fullard'',

(1984) * ''The Forgotten Fifties'', Sheffield City Art Galleries (1984) * ''Francis Davison'', Arts Council of Great (1983) * ''Fragments Against Ruin: a Journey through Modern Art'',

(1981) * ''Lowry'', Phaidon Press (1979)

References

People of Today: Julian Spalding, Esq.

Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Deb ...

Official Biography
Art in an Ephemeral Age: Julian Spalding Profile
Intelligence² Debate, 14 November 2009

Louis Torres, Aritos: Online Review of the Arts, November 2007

Robert Hewison,

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, Wednesday, 3 April 2002

References

External links

Julian Spalding WebsiteCampaign For DrawingOpen MuseumIntelligence² ''Art in an Ephemeral Age'' DebateBBC News—Julian Spalding attacks Damien Hirst 'con art'
;Articles by Spalding
"Obituary: Nerys Johnson"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Wednesday 4, July 2001
"More central control is the last thing our museums need"
''

'', Wednesday, 24 October 2001
"The death of the National Gallery"
''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', 8 April 2002
"A broad brush. Beauty and skill are no longer relevant to the aesthetic debate"
''

'', 29 September 2003
"Taking a Fresh look at art"
''

'', Thursday, 9 November 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Julian 1947 births Living people English art critics English curators People educated at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School Guild of St George