Herkome - Poster for the magazine of art

''The Magazine of Art'' was an illustrated monthly British journal devoted to the visual arts, published from May 1878 to July 1904 in

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 ...

and

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Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co Cassell & Co is a British publishing, book publishing house, founded in 1848 by John Cassell (1817–1865), which became in the 1890s an international publishing group company. In 1995, Cassell & Co acquired Pinter Publishers. In December 1998, ...

. It included reviews of exhibitions, articles about artists and all branches of the visual arts, as well as some poetry, and was lavishly illustrated by leading wood-engravers of the period such as

William Biscombe Gardner William Biscombe Gardner (1847 – 23 February 1919, Tunbridge Wells) was a British painter and wood-engraver. Working in both watercolour and oils, he exhibited widely in London in the late 19th century at venues such as the Royal Academy and ...

.Joanne Shattock. ''The Cambridge bibliography of English literature'', Volume 4 (Cambridge University Press, 2000) p. 2962.Liela Rumbaugh Greiman
"William Ernest Henley & The Magazine of Art"
''Victorian Periodicals Review'' Vol. 16, No. 2 (Summer, 1983), pp. 53–64 (Retrieved 9 Sep 2010)

History

Its origins can be traced back to May 1851, when the House of Cassell started publication of a journal devoted to

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

of that year. It evolved, in 1852, into ''The Illustrated Exhibitor and Magazine of Art'', a weekly devoted to the arts, educational in purpose and offering "culture for the little cultured". It changed name in February 1853 to ''The Illustrated Magazine of Art'' but never achieved great popularity and ceased publication in 1854. The magazine was revived for a while during the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

but then lay dormant until 1878.Cassell and Company.
The story of the House of Cassell
' (1922) p. 96 ff. ''The Magazine of Art'' itself started publication on 25 April 1878, the same year as the Exposition Universelle in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was edited initially by Arthur J. R. Trendell until 1880. Editorship then passed in turn to Eric Robertson (1880–81),

William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...

(1881–86), Sidney Galpin (1886) and

Marion Harry Spielmann Marion Harry Alexander Spielmann (London, 22 May 1858 – 1948) was a prolific Victorian art critic and scholar who was the editor of '' The Connoisseur'' and ''Magazine of Art''. Among his voluminous output, he wrote a history of ''Punch'', ...

(1886–1904), who also edited ''

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 int ...

''.The Magazine of Art
(Walt Whitman archives). Within three years of starting publication, the magazine had become firmly established and now included art reviews. Artist

Hubert Herkomer Sir Hubert von Herkomer (born as Hubert Herkomer; 26 May 1849 – 31 March 1914) was a Bavarian-born British painter, pioneering film-director, and composer. Though a very successful portrait artist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered fo ...

was persuaded to design a poster for the magazine which depicted the goddess of art on the steps of a temple with the great masters of art looking on in approval (see image above). No expense was spared in producing the journal which was regarded as the "flag of the house". It sought to engage the interest of the art lover and art collector while retaining an independent critical voice. One of its most popular contributors was artist William W. Fenn who by then had lost his sight. Despite his blindness, he was able to contribute reviews with the help of his wife who took him around the galleries and gave him verbal information about the exhibits. W. E. Henley (1881–86) was responsible for revitalising the magazine and transforming it into a "lively cosmopolitan review of the arts" that was influential in shaping the public's perception of and taste in art. He engaged eminent artists and literary figures to write for the journal including R. L. Stevenson,

Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...

J. Comyns Carr Joseph William Comyns Carr (1 March 1849 – 12 December 1916), often referred to as J. Comyns Carr, was an English drama and art critic, gallery director, author, poet, playwright and theatre manager. Beginning his career as an art critic, Car ...

and others, and the quality of the wood engravings was further improved. He also introduced poetry to its pages. M. H. Spielmann was editor for 17 years from 1886 to 1904 and encouraged many well known artists, as well as leading art critic

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

, to contribute articles. In 1888, a supplement was introduced called ''Royal Academy Pictures'', which, as its name suggests, contained reproductions of the chief works from the annual

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

exhibitions in London. However, ''The Magazine of Art'' failed to make sufficient returns to justify its continued existence and publication ceased in 1904, though ''Royal Academy Pictures'' continued until 1916.

References

External links

(Bedfordshire Libraries) Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Cassell (publisher) books Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1878 Magazines disestablished in 1904 Victorian culture {{italic title

History

References

Further reading

External links