Reginald Gleadowe

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

(6 May 1888 – 9 October 1944) was a British teacher and designer who was Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University.

Career

Reginald Morier Yorke Gleadowe was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, and the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

. He entered the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in 1912 as a clerk at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

. He became private secretary to the

Secretary of the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a

King's Messenger The Corps of King's Messengers (or Corps of Queen's Messengers during the reign of a female monarch) are couriers employed by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They hand-carry secret and important documents to Br ...

in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a commission as honorary captain in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. After the war Gleadowe was assistant to the Director of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

1919–23. He then became a master at Winchester College, responsible for art. He remained on the staff until his death but with many outside activities including

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collecto ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

1928–33 (a visiting professorship). He exhibited at the

Paris International Exhibition of 1937 The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mus ...

and at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was Admiralty representative on the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

. Among many other items he designed the

Sword of Stalingrad The Sword of Stalingrad is a bejewelled ceremonial longsword specially forged and inscribed by command of King George VI of the United Kingdom as a token of homage from the British people to the Soviet defenders of the city during the Battle of S ...

. Gleadowe was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1943.

Family

In 1921 Gleadowe married Cecil Rotton. Their daughter Tess, a musician,Lady Tess Swann: Organist, viola player and wife of Lord Swann
(obituary), ''The Independent'', London, 13 October 2009 married the biologist and BBC chairman

Michael Swann Michael Meredith Swann, Baron Swann, FRS, FRSE (1 March 1920 – 22 September 1990) was a British molecular and cell biologist. He was appointed chairman of the BBC, awarded a knighthood and subsequently a life peerage. Early life Swann was b ...

Publications

*''Ambrose McEvoy'' (Contemporary British Artists series), Ernest Benn, London, 1924 *''Albert Rutherston'' (Contemporary British Artists series), Ernest Benn, London, 1925 *''Oxford University and the fine arts : Inaugural lecture delivered before the University on 1 February 1928'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1928 *''British art : six broadcast talks'', BBC, London, 1934

Arms

References

GLEADOWE, Reginald Morier Yorke
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Mr. R. M. Y. Gleadowe: Former Professor Of Fine Art At Oxford
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 12 October 1944, page 7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleadowe, Reginald Morier Yorke 1888 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Royal Navy personnel People educated at Winchester College Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Civil servants in the Admiralty British designers Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Slade Professors of Fine Art (University of Oxford) Royal Marines personnel of World War I