Marion Harry Spielmann by John Henry Frederick Bacon

Marion Harry Alexander Spielmann (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 22 May 1858 – 1948) was a prolific Victorian art critic and scholar who was the editor of '' The Connoisseur'' and ''

Magazine of Art A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

''. Among his voluminous output, he wrote a history of ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', the first biography of

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

and a detailed investigation into the evidence for

portraits of William Shakespeare No contemporary physical description of William Shakespeare is known to exist. The two portraits of him that are the most famous (both of which may be posthumous) are the engraving that appears on the title-page of the First Folio, published in ...

Early life

Marion Spielmann (perhaps confusingly, several female relatives were similarly called Marian Spielmann) was born in

in 1858, the youngest son and eighth child of Adam Spielmann (1812–1869), one of three brothers who had emigrated from Schokken (now

Skoki Skoki (german: Schokken) is a town in Poland, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Wągrowiec County, with 3,779 inhabitants (December 2004). It is located about 40 km north of Poznań. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called ...

), near Posen (now Poznan). Of Marion's own brothers, two were also celebrated figures: Sir Isidore Spielmann (1854–1925) was the eldest and was a civil-engineer turned art-connoisseur, knighted in 1905; the middle brother, Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936) was primarily concerned with education and youth-rehabilitation, knighted in 1928, but was also an art-collector. Marion's nephews and nieces included the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

campaigner

Eva Hubback Eva Marian Hubback (13 April 1886 – 15 July 1949) was an English feminist and an early advocate of birth control and eugenics. Early life Eva Marian Spielmann was born on 13 April 1886, daughter of Sir Meyer Spielmann (1856–1936). Sir Meyer wa ...

. Spielmann was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He soon established himself as an art journalist, writing for the ''

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed in ...

'' from 1883 to 1890, most notably discussing the work of G. F. Watts.Marion H. Spielmann, ''The Jewish Encyclopedia''
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Career

By the 1880s, Spielmann had become "one of the most powerful figures in the late Victorian art world".Julie F. Codell, ''Marion Harry Spielmann and the Role of the Press in the Professionalization of Artists'', Research Society for Victorian Periodicals, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring, 1989), pp. 7–15. From 1887 to 1904 Spielmann edited the ''Magazine of Art''. The influence of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

Aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...

was particularly strong at this period, and under Spielmann's editorship, the journal encouraged lively debate about these movements. Spielmann commissioned articles from traditionalists like

William Powell Frith William Powell Frith (9 January 1819 – 2 November 1909) was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian era. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1853, presenting ''The Sleep ...

and Millais as well as supporters of the new art. He also founded '' Black and White'', a journal devoted to the print revival, and was a regular contributor to ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

'', the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

,'' and other periodicals." Spielmann was also active in arts administration and was closely involved with the controversy over the

Chantrey Bequest Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

, which led to his altering the conditions under which works were purchased for the bequest by the Royal Academy of Arts. He was the juror for England in the 1898 Brussels Fine Art Exhibition. He also advised internationally on art collecting. He was a member of the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

. Spielmann was himself essentially a traditionalist who resisted the advance of Post-Impressionist and modern art. He typically emphasised masculine and decisive qualities in art, for example describing the sculptor

George Anderson Lawson George Anderson Lawson (Edinburgh 1832 – 23 September 1904) was a British Victorian era sculptor who was associated with the New Sculpture movement. Life He was born at Edinburgh in 1832, the son of David Lawson and Anne Campbell. He wa ...

as "strong, manly and artistic". For Spielmann, Millais epitomised these qualities. With the rise of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, Spielmann's influence became increasingly marginal.

Family life

In 1880, Spielmann married his first cousin, Mabel Henriette Samuel (1862–1938), sister of

Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to be ...

; they had one son. Mabel was herself an accomplished writer, best known as a children's author, but also a biographer of

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

and a writer on the history of art. As a children's author, Mabel Spielmann is probably best known for her 1909 work: ''The Rainbow Book: Tales of Fun and Fancy''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spielmann, Marion 1858 births 1948 deaths People from London English art critics People educated at University College School English Jews English people of Polish-Jewish descent