William George Archer, OBE (1907-1979) was a British

civil servant 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 ...

and art historian, and later museum curator.

Career

Archer was born on 1 February 1907, and studied first history at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

, and then

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, Indian history and law at the

School of Oriental Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

in London. He subsequently served in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

, in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, from 1931 until around 1947, when India gained independence. His roles included

District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

and Superintendent of the Census.He ordered to shoot 7 unarmed students who were trying to put the Indian flag on Patna secretariat during Quit India movement. He was also Additional Deputy Commissioner in the Naga Hills from 1946 to 1948. While in India, he developed a love and knowledge of Indian culture, including poetry and art, and of the

Santal people The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

. In the summer of 1934, while home from India on sick leave, he married the sister of one of his friends, Mildred Agnes Bell, who returned to India with him (she later worked as curator of prints and drawings at the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

). The couple, who had two children while in India, shared socialist politics and a belief that India should be granted independence. After the family's return to England, they lived on Provost Road, north of London's

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...

, and Archer served as Keeper of the Indian Section, at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

from 1949-1959, and afterwards ''Keeper Emeritus''. In the 1950s and 60s, he presented arts programmes on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

, as part of the series ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

''. He was a champion of the Indian artist

Avinash Chandra Avinash Chandra (28 August 1931 – 15 September 1991) was an Indian painter, who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. Early life and education Avinash Chandra was born on 28 August 1931 in Shimla, India, and was brought up there and in D ...

Recognition and legacy

Archer was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Britis ...

,British Empire: and was awarded

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s by

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

in 1968 and

Guru Nanak Dev University The university is Entitled by University Grants Commission to offer higher studies degree courses online. Guru Nanak Dev University's campus is spread over near village of Kot Khalsa, nearly west of the Amritsar, next to Khalsa College, A ...

in 1976. In 1978, he received the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

Burton Memorial Medal Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to: Companies * Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer ** Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937 **The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...

. He died on 6 March 1979. His papers, together with those of his wife, are held by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Papers

* Archer, Mildred & W.G. Archer (1955) Natural history paintings. In Indian painting for the British 1770–1880, pp. 91–98. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, W.G. 1907 births 1979 deaths Indian Civil Service (British India) officers People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum British art critics BBC television presenters Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Alumni of SOAS University of London British art historians British curators People from the London Borough of Camden